How Green Was My...Err Their(?) Valley
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.
6 comments:
This is about your other blog. The link you've given (ekhon-somoy) redirects to another blog of yours (with your friends). Was it intentional?
Panchu, the link in the comment was wrong. As usual my mistake of acting first and thinking later :) So instead of changing the comments across all the blogs where I had canvassed for the new blog, I thought why not redirect to the intended site. Appreciate your concern in asking this question. Will try to check the comments more carefully from the next time :)
sometimes lifer is a harder punishment than a death penalty.
@Shreemoyee: Yeah that's true.Having a person rot for rest of his life in a dingy cell is much more stronger punishment than let him die at one shot.But the guy in question if left locked up in the cell might evoke unwanted actions from his jihadi friends in order to free him.We have already been there,seen that in case of Masood Azhar.So like my wise friend Arnab said I will too "pray for Azfal Guru's soul"
It could go either way actually. The death sentence would only make in a martyr in the eyes of some.
Shreemoyee,good point.But is'nt he a larger than life hero that too a tragic hero already.But one thing I'm finding out when digging deeper into the internet, that Guru had been facing what all Kasmiri youths undergo...being driven to the walls by Indian army( having spoken to a couple of guys posted in Kashmir cannot blame them also entirely) they choose to move over to the terrorists.And once you cross the line, there's no returning back even if you surrender. That's the reason we need to concentrate on the situations that are creating terrorist. Pardoning Guru will only send out wrong signal,which will be again effectively used by terror camp recruiters like "See Indian state is weakening. Come join us and together we will put the last nail in the coffin". So, we need to decide which is better ?Strong message against terrorism and groundwork to remove the cause of Kashmiri population's hopelessness in Indian system... or to show a soft stance and then blabber on dialouges as we have been doing since the day Kashmir problem started.
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