An American Indian friend sent this to me: "No one is safe in Pakistan, not even Osama........Everyone is safe in India, even Kasab. Isn't it true?"
Usually, I would not even bother to reply, but let me try this time…
Osama lived safely in Pakistan for 10 years. And today even a known terrorist like Hafiz Sayeed, and Dawood and dozens of others, are safe and sound.
Osama was killed without trial by a country that believes it owns the world.
Kasab was captured alive at the cost of the life of a brave constable who snatched his AK47. Kasab was given a fair trial. His capture and trial also, once and for all, showed the world the reality of Pakistan, putting tremendous pressure on them to at least at the face of it, mend their ways to some extent.
Kasab is on death row. He will be hanged at the right time. And frankly, for him, a life in the Anda cell is a much fitter punishment than a bullet in the head.
I prefer living in a country that respects its laws and the right of a human being for a fair trial. Even if he is the incarnation of the devil.
11 comments:
USA is a bully. Zero doubt about that.
But, if we talk about preventive measures....All future terrorists....what will scare them more?
What USA did with Saddam/Osama, or what India is doing with Kasab?
Siddhesh, isn't that what the world wants? An end to terrorism and some semblance of world peace? So people can go to work in the morning and come home to their families at night without the fear of a coward bombing them or gunning down helpless innocent people?
What is more effective as a preventive measure, is what I'm very interested in. I could talk about this forever.
What is your opinion?
One more thing comes to mind. India and USA both: it's like both countries kill people/bad guys to show other people that they should not kill people. :-(
One kills on the spot, and one will eventually kill.
It really makes me wonder.
Meghana, this is not an India - America issue. The question of whether civil society has a right to kill a criminal has long been debated, and I do not think there is a right or wrong answer to it. Euthanasia is another example, where I believe, in many circumstances, it is good to use that right.
The way I see it, it's more effective to punish a person like Kasab and Osama by making him live in isolation till he dies a natural death. Or make him work for the good of the rest of society. Politicians, for example, shouldn't just be incarcerated, they should be made to work for the people they conspired against. However, for folks like Kasab and Osama, is it fair to the society to spend the astronomical sums needed to guarantee their safety?
Sometimes, a bullet to the head might actually be the best action.
Meghana, coming back to your first question - no, neither killing on the spot, nor a long jail term will scare them. Fear is for rational folks. These guys are not rational. In fact, they have already gotten their last rites performed, and are waiting to meet the virgins in heaven. So in that sense, putting them in jail and keeping them from their virgins might actually scare them more than instant death!
There is no way to stop suicide bombers - except intelligence. Starve them of funds. Squeeze supply. And rob them of the glow of martyrdom. Make them look like ordinary criminals with no philosophy, no goal, no vision. That's what has happened to terrorists in India. No one cares a shit whether they fight in the name of Al Qaeda or Allah or anything else. They are just merciless murderers. And it's no wonder, they have no followers here.
When you said you'd rather live in a country which is fair, I thought you were making it an India-America issue, with the way USA handled Osama.
I've always thought this Bin Laden issue is about what works best as a punishment. As a deterrent for future terrorists. I've never believed it's about USA/India/Pakistan.
God, I could never stop talking about this issue.
One more thing: I'm really interested in what works to getting closest to making the criminal feel the guilt.
Have you thought about why Kasab is not even attempting to take his own life? The first few months he was on suicide watch, not any more. If he had any guilt in him, he's had enough time to think about it....all that guilt washing over you in an isolated cell for countless hours every day.I find it very interesting that he seems to be genuinely not interested in taking his own life. It's more self-pity and "not guilty". What do you do with such a person. Someone who refuses to admit to himself that he is guilty.
Brainwashed fanatics don't have a conscience.
How do you adjust the "lesson" they're trying to teach him, in a way that they can somehow convince him that he is guilty before he dies.
Or is there ever a punishment stern enough to bring your conscience back to you?
I think I posted a comment before seeing your last reply.
Kasab isn't trying to kill himself because he is in a window less room with no furniture, watched by CCTV 24*7, and with no way to kill himself other than choking on food, I guess!
Or, for all you know, he is very much trying it... how would you and I know?
Siddhesh,
I agree. Maybe he is trying.
Tell me....It is possible for someone who has publicly pled "not guilty" in court to truly feel the guilt, isn't it?
He doesn't have to tell us, as long as he feels it.
God, how I would love to get into his mind right now, after Osama his God was murdered.
Frankly, what he feels is no longer my worry - I am still worried about families of those who died because of him. Kasab's feelings are irrelevant for me.
I forgot he was/is a coward with no conscience....
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