And today, almost five years after the Indian Parliament was attacked, the nation is rattled with the question: Why Mohammad Afzal should not be hanged? Mainstream political opinion in the Kashmir valley is overwhelmingly calling for clemency to Afzal. Particularly shocking is the stand taken by chief minister Gulam Nabi Azad and the opinion polls that are being conducted. One that caught my eye was, "Farooq Abdullah says that Afzal Guru's hanging would help anti India forces. Do you agree?" Whatever the response to this may be but that image of Farooq Abdullah inconsolably crying after the October 1,2001 fidayeen attack on the J&K assembly immediately flashed in front of me. Now does Mr Abdullah care to answer whom would it help if those behind the Parliament attack and the October one J&K Assembly attack are set free?
Coming back to the rattling question that almost threatens to turn Afzal into a martyr, one gets a peek into the informed opinion that talks of national interest, Afzal not getting a fair trial and the subsequent argument that the real perpetrators would be sitting smug if he is hanged.
What national interest are we talking? The argument that Afzal's hanging would provide fertile ground for those seeking fresh recruits to carry on with the anti India war in Kashmir is flawed. It is just about seeking the votes of those sympathizing with Afzal and his cause during the next elections. So, votes at what cost? A bit of a hypothesis but what if the terrorists had succeeded in what they wanted to do on December 13. What would have we debated then? Maulana Masood Azar who was exchanged for hostages of IC 814 is also one of the alleged masterminds in the Parliament attack case. Is there any reason to believe that there wouldn't be any IC-814 again and that no one would be exchanged for the hostages no matter who they are. Remember Rubia Saeed, that doctor from Kashmir whose father was the chief minister till just about six months back.
And now what is this noise about Afzal not getting a fair trial. What does it mean? Where did this point come from that Colin Gonsalves while representing Afzal requested the high court that he be killed by a lethal injection and not by hanging. Gonsalves has clarified that the constitution permits the death sentence according to Section 354(5) of the CrPC and that there is no other provision for a death sentence in the constitution other than hanging. So how could he have requested for a lethal injection.
Wish some one spoke like this for Dhananjay Chaterjee, the guard in Kolkata who was hanged for raping and killing 16-year-old Hitel Parikh or the two members of the Kal Belia gang who have been sentenced to death for a dacoity cum double murder by a Ujjain Court or for that matter Ranga and Birla whose hanging was broadcast on All India Radio. Those were rarest of rare crimes. Conspiring to blow up the Indian Parliament was not. So it appears.
About the AuthorHemender Sharma A chance reporter, reporting for CNN-IBN from Bhopal. Has reported for the Sun Magazine, Delhi MidDay, Hindustan Times, Asian Age and Sahara Samay in ...Read Morefirst published:October 17, 2006, 15:37 ISTlast updated:October 17, 2006, 15:37 IST
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It's not just about Mohammad Afzal. Perhaps it has more to do with the "Sabr ka baandh" that Atal Behari Vajpayee so eloquently talked about, post December 13, 2001. Vajpayee's rhetoric may not have matched that of President Bush for whom nations were either with him or against him, in the war against terror but it brought two nations to the point of war that never happened.
And today, almost five years after the Indian Parliament was attacked, the nation is rattled with the question: Why Mohammad Afzal should not be hanged? Mainstream political opinion in the Kashmir valley is overwhelmingly calling for clemency to Afzal. Particularly shocking is the stand taken by chief minister Gulam Nabi Azad and the opinion polls that are being conducted. One that caught my eye was, "Farooq Abdullah says that Afzal Guru's hanging would help anti India forces. Do you agree?" Whatever the response to this may be but that image of Farooq Abdullah inconsolably crying after the October 1,2001 fidayeen attack on the J&K assembly immediately flashed in front of me. Now does Mr Abdullah care to answer whom would it help if those behind the Parliament attack and the October one J&K Assembly attack are set free?
Coming back to the rattling question that almost threatens to turn Afzal into a martyr, one gets a peek into the informed opinion that talks of national interest, Afzal not getting a fair trial and the subsequent argument that the real perpetrators would be sitting smug if he is hanged.
What national interest are we talking? The argument that Afzal's hanging would provide fertile ground for those seeking fresh recruits to carry on with the anti India war in Kashmir is flawed. It is just about seeking the votes of those sympathizing with Afzal and his cause during the next elections. So, votes at what cost? A bit of a hypothesis but what if the terrorists had succeeded in what they wanted to do on December 13. What would have we debated then? Maulana Masood Azar who was exchanged for hostages of IC 814 is also one of the alleged masterminds in the Parliament attack case. Is there any reason to believe that there wouldn't be any IC-814 again and that no one would be exchanged for the hostages no matter who they are. Remember Rubia Saeed, that doctor from Kashmir whose father was the chief minister till just about six months back.
And now what is this noise about Afzal not getting a fair trial. What does it mean? Where did this point come from that Colin Gonsalves while representing Afzal requested the high court that he be killed by a lethal injection and not by hanging. Gonsalves has clarified that the constitution permits the death sentence according to Section 354(5) of the CrPC and that there is no other provision for a death sentence in the constitution other than hanging. So how could he have requested for a lethal injection.
Wish some one spoke like this for Dhananjay Chaterjee, the guard in Kolkata who was hanged for raping and killing 16-year-old Hitel Parikh or the two members of the Kal Belia gang who have been sentenced to death for a dacoity cum double murder by a Ujjain Court or for that matter Ranga and Birla whose hanging was broadcast on All India Radio. Those were rarest of rare crimes. Conspiring to blow up the Indian Parliament was not. So it appears.
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