The guy masterminds an attack on the Parliament. The guy is tried and is sentenced to death. The public life is brought to a standstill by protests demanding mercy for the sentenced. If this all sounds familiar, no I am not talking about Mohammed Afzal Guru but Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. The irony of the similarity between the two situations makes us once again stand in front of the mirror to have a second thought.
Personally I have little reason to believe that the same court that had dismissed charges against S A R Geelani, another suspect in the attack, had some jaati-dushmani with Md. Afzal Guru to award him life sentence. The charges and evidences were strong enough for the Judge saab to pronounce such a sentence. But leaving aside the merits-demerits of the case the greater question is why the major part Kashmiris are all rallying behind the cause of Guru's pardon?
The act of attacking the parliament which happens to be the central institution of Indian democracy can be broadly equated to an attack on the democracy itself. So why do the people of Kashmir that happens to be an integral part of India is protesting against the sentence of someone who tried to smash the foremost institution of democracy ? The CM of Kashmir, not be overdone by his opposition's grand show of support for Afzal, joins the bandwagon. The man who had takem the oath to upheld the Indian constitutional democracy and the country's sovereignity goes on to pleads clemency for someone who tried to attack the very symbol of Indian democracy. This is happening only and only because this issue is closer to the hearts of the Kashmiri people. To sway aside this sentiment of the Kasmiri common public as a part of cheap political gimmick will be the bluntest argument.
On the other hand pardoning Afzal Guru's death sentence might have dire consequences. We might see a deja-vu of the compelling situation that led to Masood Azhar's liberation and subsequent creation of JeM and then loss of further lives. To let this guy remain in prison will bring nothing more than further attempts from his jihadi comrades, who need his planning capability for their own cause of destruction. And who knows already plans are being chalked out for the next AI plane hijack.
To show mercy to the killer of the guards at the parliament who died fighting would be an insult to their brave sacrifices. Knowing the Catch 22 situation Congress is facing from UPA partners and oppostion in this issue they might do something very very silly. Whatever they do, they cannot evade the greater task at hand, that is to bring back the majority of Kashmiris to Indian mainstream. The terrorists don't constitute the entire population of Kashmir. They are as we are to believe only a small fraction of people funded by hostile foreign power(s). We truly need to find out why the other sections of people in Kashmir, the ones not supporting terrorism, are displaying in this un-patriotic(!) behaviour?
The valley that the poetic Mughal emperor once described as the Heaven on Earth has been painted with blood with bullets from terrorists, Indian army, Pakistan army all having nearly equal share. It’s high time for the netas at Delhi Durbar to put on their thinking caps and rethink on Kashmir policies. If and only if we succeed in cultivating the strong nationality feeling among Kashmiris in contrast to allienating them with our high-handedness, then only we can claim that Kashmir is an integral part of India.
Otherwise what has started with the movement for pardoning Md. Azfal Guru's sentence will grow on onto something greater and graver that might threaten to redraw the border-lines of India. Need to act now and need to act fast.
