Two recent incidents, one in Pakistan and one in India, where a prisoner was attacked and seriously injured. Out of them Sarabjit Singh succumbed to injuries and died on May 2nd, and the second one Sanaullah is battling for his life in hospital. The attack and death of Sarabjit has created furious reactions among people in India and even the Indian government registered its protest in very strong words. Because of so much public outrage and the sensitive nature of this issue, Sarabjit's body was brought to India and was cremated with full state honors. Both these incidents and the reactions of people and governments of respective countries (India and Pakistan) clearly show the kind of difficulties both these countries face in dealing with each other. Recently I wrote a post about many similarities and differences between them and if you read about these two incidents one can clearly see how similar people from both countries feel and react.
The uproar in the general public over the attack and death of Sarabjit is perfectly understandable. It was sad that he was held in prison for more than 20 years. But before demanding his release and getting emotional Indians also should take a note that he was tried, and convicted by the supreme court of Pakistan for bomb blasts in Lahore and Faisalabad which killed 16 people in 1990. All his mercy petitions were rejected and he was on death row. None of this justifies the attack on him and his subsequent death but I am giving this information to show the complete picture of this complex problem. Whether Sarabjit actually carried out those bomb blasts or not can be argued and discussed endlessly but courts in Pakistan found him guilty and we don't have any option other than to respect their decision. Imagine a similar convict in an Indian prison with a similar charge (a Pakistani national accused of bombing and killing people in some Indian city), I don't know how many people who are shouting or protesting for Sarabjit's release would entertian a demand for a similar Pakistani person's release. I am pretty sure they will demand execution of his death sentence immediately and would label anyone protesting for his release a traitor and enemy of India.
So in one case people really feel injustice has been done by not releasing that prisoner and rejecting his mercy petitions and in another case the same treatment is deemed as fair and considered proper justice. This is just because of their respective nationalities and the place of crime they committed. Any Pakistani killing Indians is hailed as a hero in Pakistan and Indians promptly reciprocate these feelings and actions. Both countries feel they are doing justice by punishing the accused. No doubt, a person who commits any terrorist activities deserves harsh punishment but this is the job of the judiciary of respective countries. Actually, by displaying such an attitude people from both countries are trying to take revenge on each other and revenge is an endless process. It keeps on going from generation to generation because no one is willing to forgive and forget. Indians and Pakistanis are trapped in this endless vicious cycle and now I see the same thing happening between the USA and some other Islamic countries.
It's the job of respective courts to decide whether Sarabjit or Sanaullah is guilty of the charges put on them or not, but it seems people in their respective countries have already decided that they are national heroes. In fact just because of this attitude some terrorists are treated as national heroes or hold position of power and influence in both countries. So, one can understand the level of hatred for each other among people of these countries. This all is the result of a lack of proper understanding and interaction between them and also the use of people's emotions for political benefit by a few people with vested interests. There are some groups in both countries who benefit from this type of rift and hatred between people. They survive on these types of feelings and don't want them to go away and they are pretty successful in this, their strategy is really working.
I don't see any easy solution for this because as I said the main problem is no one is willing to forgive and forget and unless anyone of them takes some initiative in this direction peace is not possible. Unfortunately the sufferers in all this are the common people, politicians and other wasted interests who keep this fire of hatred burning only reap benefits, but common people are too busy in fighting with each other to understand all this. They all think they are fighting either for their country or religion but in reality most of the time they all are fighting to fulfill some political or personal agenda of some organization. I hope we all will take a break from this endless fight that has been going on for decades, relax, and think about what is going on around us. Then only we will understand that we are being tricked into all this and used as prawns. It is our choice whether to continue to be prawns of this endless game and play for those who just want to use us, or behave like humans, use our own conscious to decide good and bad. The choice is ours.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
The uproar in the general public over the attack and death of Sarabjit is perfectly understandable. It was sad that he was held in prison for more than 20 years. But before demanding his release and getting emotional Indians also should take a note that he was tried, and convicted by the supreme court of Pakistan for bomb blasts in Lahore and Faisalabad which killed 16 people in 1990. All his mercy petitions were rejected and he was on death row. None of this justifies the attack on him and his subsequent death but I am giving this information to show the complete picture of this complex problem. Whether Sarabjit actually carried out those bomb blasts or not can be argued and discussed endlessly but courts in Pakistan found him guilty and we don't have any option other than to respect their decision. Imagine a similar convict in an Indian prison with a similar charge (a Pakistani national accused of bombing and killing people in some Indian city), I don't know how many people who are shouting or protesting for Sarabjit's release would entertian a demand for a similar Pakistani person's release. I am pretty sure they will demand execution of his death sentence immediately and would label anyone protesting for his release a traitor and enemy of India.
So in one case people really feel injustice has been done by not releasing that prisoner and rejecting his mercy petitions and in another case the same treatment is deemed as fair and considered proper justice. This is just because of their respective nationalities and the place of crime they committed. Any Pakistani killing Indians is hailed as a hero in Pakistan and Indians promptly reciprocate these feelings and actions. Both countries feel they are doing justice by punishing the accused. No doubt, a person who commits any terrorist activities deserves harsh punishment but this is the job of the judiciary of respective countries. Actually, by displaying such an attitude people from both countries are trying to take revenge on each other and revenge is an endless process. It keeps on going from generation to generation because no one is willing to forgive and forget. Indians and Pakistanis are trapped in this endless vicious cycle and now I see the same thing happening between the USA and some other Islamic countries.
It's the job of respective courts to decide whether Sarabjit or Sanaullah is guilty of the charges put on them or not, but it seems people in their respective countries have already decided that they are national heroes. In fact just because of this attitude some terrorists are treated as national heroes or hold position of power and influence in both countries. So, one can understand the level of hatred for each other among people of these countries. This all is the result of a lack of proper understanding and interaction between them and also the use of people's emotions for political benefit by a few people with vested interests. There are some groups in both countries who benefit from this type of rift and hatred between people. They survive on these types of feelings and don't want them to go away and they are pretty successful in this, their strategy is really working.
I don't see any easy solution for this because as I said the main problem is no one is willing to forgive and forget and unless anyone of them takes some initiative in this direction peace is not possible. Unfortunately the sufferers in all this are the common people, politicians and other wasted interests who keep this fire of hatred burning only reap benefits, but common people are too busy in fighting with each other to understand all this. They all think they are fighting either for their country or religion but in reality most of the time they all are fighting to fulfill some political or personal agenda of some organization. I hope we all will take a break from this endless fight that has been going on for decades, relax, and think about what is going on around us. Then only we will understand that we are being tricked into all this and used as prawns. It is our choice whether to continue to be prawns of this endless game and play for those who just want to use us, or behave like humans, use our own conscious to decide good and bad. The choice is ours.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)
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