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Oct 30, 2006

And his life should become extinct - Afzal debate!!!

And his life should become extinct

Vinayak asked me to respond to Arundhati Roy’s article in support of clemency for Afzal Guru. The lesser I care for the views for pseudo-secularists like her, the more would I ignore her article – till something that happened today made me search google for her reactions. I will come to the todays happening later… but first lets look at what arguments Arudhati Roy makes in support of Afzal Guru’s innocence.

Of course, the Goddess of Small Minorities that she is – her booker is proof enough that she has a way with words… and that she has leveraged aptly to write a loooong article – which basically just makes the following conclusions, which in my view are just her myopic assumptions:

  • Afzal Guru is innocent – because SAR Geelani was acquitted by the Indian judiciary in the same crime. But now, Indian judiciary is a mad house – because it found Afzal Guru guilty. Interesting to see how this intelligentia has unilaterally decided what the acceptable verdict has to be. Courts be damned!!! If the verdict is not according to its liking, the trial is termed fake and the verdict is a failure of judiciary. I wonder why none of them thought that the very same judiciary was pronouncing a verdict in error when it acquitted SAR Geelani.
  • Afzal Guru’s trial is totally based on all false evidence and there is nothing true in the case. Madame’ Roy could very well have made this case in the court – while the hearings were still in progress and matter under argument. Making such post mortem judgments based on versions which she conveniently wants to believe as true is not only abysmal activism but also pathetic – since it’s a direct insult to the national judiciary. If she had such conviction – she could very well have hired legal help for Afzal earlier on (she is rich enough to afford that) and proved the case in the court of law – rather that damn it now. The case has been heard thrice over and the verdict stands unchanged – ensuring that truth has been given ample opportunity to be validated. Ms. Roy – you better shut up now or join your friend Yassin Malik on a walk to Pakistan – you will get real judicial justice there.
  • Afzal Guru was victimized by the then government so as to be able to find premise for launching a war on Pakistan. Which war? And if this war was such a priority, why didn’t it happen. Ms. Roy is probably weaving yet another plot for yet another novel. If at all successive governments had the urge and the spine to launch an open attack on Pakistan, there is a mountain of evidence to substantiate Pakistan’s role in terrorist attacks in India. Or does Madame’ Roy want to make us believe that Pakistan is the lamb of her God and the cruel cunning devil India needed to fabricate a Parliament attack to get an excuse to kill this lamb. If so, may she please emigrate to the lamb-state and be happy there (as a second class citizen – unless she is willing to convert from Christianity).
  • Madame Roy also makes a reference to her favorite Gujarat riots here – for no evident reason. Gujarat riots were nothing but an extension of the Godhra carnage – but never has one heard her talk of the 100-odd innocent Hindu’ passengers who were killed. ‘Goddess of Small Minorities’ simply wanted to ensure that readers are reminded of her (pseudo)-secular profile and the dharna’s she did for the minorities then. After all, these events are similar – meant to bolster the same element in her resume.
  • As per Ms Roy, the terrorism in Kashmir is due to the para-military forces in the valley – who are plain old-devils and the jehadi’s from across the LOC – the Jaish or Lashkar cadre’s are the men of St. Peter’s guarding the valley. The STF, the SOG and all the security forces in the valley – as per her, should operate without any arms and ammunition and be left ‘both hands tied behind them’ on the street crossings for target practice by the pious young terrorists fresh from their training camps in Afghanistan and POK. She seems to have a blind eye for the fidayeen (suicide attacks) and the guerilla’ war-fare that the security forces have to face each day in the valley.
  • Ms. Roy has empathy for the enraged people of Kashmir, for the war-torn zone that they are living in and the pain related to it. But doesn’t care a hoot for the terror victims of Mumbai, the blast victims of Delhi or Varanasi or the families of those innocent men killed on that fateful day of December 13, 2001. Why should she – they were stupid Indians who deserved to dies anyway. She doesn’t care see that Kashmiri’s are facing a pain in the valley – of their own making. They want to wage a covert war – they invited and hosted the mercenaries from petro-funded Jehad groups in illusion of a Nizam-e-Mustafa, they have a mission of Jihad…so the pain is just a bargain for the fruits of the mission. But what did the innocent foot boarders of 7/11 trains bargain for?

And also other arguments that…

  • There was a media orgy forcing the judiciary and the system to prosecute someone – Afzal becoming the victim.
  • Death Sentence should be abolished as it is not a civil form of punishment.

Well… I neither have the panache’ nor patience like Ms Roy to write reams to weave my story.

My simple question to Ms Roy is – and that’s where today’s this event comes into picture. (Priyadarshini Mattoo case: Santosh Kumar Singh gets death penalty).

With her gift of words, all the above arguments can also be used to plead innocence of Santosh Singh. He was acquitted by a court (like SAR Geelani) – so he must be innocent. He is a victim of media and public orgy to have a result and someone punished. There is total reliance on circumstantial evidence only – so that can be claimed as fabricated. He is a father of an even younger innocent kid – so he should be pardoned. He is also getting the most un-civil punishment – death.

So, let Ms. Roy go out and plead clemency for Santosh Singh as well. In spite of my utter hatred for Santosh and the crime he committed (incidentally, the victim Priyadarshini Mattoo was a Kashmiri too), I would salute Ms Roy for her neutrality and acknowledge that she is truely in there for a belief - and not to just accumulate brownie's for the next Peace Prize.

If death sentence is vulgar, it should be vulgar irrespective of whether the neck belongs to a Muslim or anyone else. If the courts of India are not reliable and unnecessarily trigger happy, they would be so in both cases. If the trial by media (and I have no love for this media either) was trigger for Afzal’s agony, its been worse for Santosh.

So Ms. Roy… Stand up and fight for Santosh too… Otherwise, give me an answer. Why shouldn’t you be tried for treason against India – if you have the audacity to support and share platform with Yasin Malik – a self-confessed murderer out on bail for murder of scores of unarmed Kashmiri Pandits and airmen.


And yeah... Vinayak, to be honest,... in relative terms I do think Afzal got a raw deal... Afterall, if Bitta Karate got away scot free - after murdering more than 40 kashmiri Pandits, and remorselessly confessing it with a brazen face on national TV, Afzal's hands are soaked with blood of just 5 men...


4 comments:

Ashish Agarwal said...

I read the whole article in Outlook as well. There were plenty of points that I could oppose, but I don't think that I would be able to get the same kind of space.

Vinayak Razdan said...

“So Ms. Roy… Stand up and fight for Santosh too…”
Hey, maybe you had wish fulfilled. Ram Jethmalani for some strange reason defends Manu Sharma.
“With her gift of words, all the above arguments can also be used to plead innocence of Santosh Singh.”
Ram Jethmalani with his unquestionable knowledge of law may actually be able to save Manu Sharma. We should be grateful that he didn’t have this mad fit for pure justice during the Mattoo case.
This issue, ‘Justice’ and not the actual hanging debate is what interested in the first place. I realized that it’s quite easy to manipulate the whole system. This may be done by the criminal, police, judges, courts, witnesses, anyone. I realized how much power we- the people, have given them. They abuse this power and use it against us. And occasionally they throw a bone (called Justice) at us and we start waging our tails. Media is always there to capture the moment and play it in slow motion so that even the dumb dogs can catch the action, smell the bone and join the feast. But, I don’t want just the bone. I want the whole hog.
How am I supposed to know the truth? How is the media supposed to know the truth? How is the collective conscience of the nation formed? Whom are we supposed to trust?
Actually only the court of law is supposed to know the truth and deliver justice. In addition, they must do this impartially by examining evidence (to be collected impartially). Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. However, in our system, manufacturing/faking/manipulating-evidence and witness is quite easy. Moreover, this crooked system is being put to use for all kind of endings.
In Mattoo case, we observed that the same set of evidence could first get a man acquitted but later hanged to death. Now, Ram Jethmalani would show us the other face of Justice, a man set be hanged is almost sure to be acquitted now. I am outraged at such a system. And this time I don’t know what this new bone is, this bone thrown at me.

Anonymous said...

Dear Soul,

I am really happy to see that this blog is alive and kicking. I would surely reply to each one of your argument in a few days. If I fail to do that, please drop me a comment (or email me) from my blog.

Juz A Kashmiri
http://kasheer.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Soul in Exile,

As I had promised I am responding to your post and I will try to be as concise as possible to avoid boring you with un-necessary things... things that you must be aware of and pleading ignorance. However, I must admit that your post (a lengthy one indeed) doesn't make my job simpler - for you have jumped from one issue to another to third and then to fourth. I wish you had stuck to one issue. However, I will try my level best to put my thoughts here. Mind you, I am not defending Afzal Guru here. My problem is because you have a problem with someone who attempts to put the true picture in front of the public and then let the public decide.

1. You call Arundhati Roy a pseudo-secular and I cannot help but be reminded of the way a right-wing party in India chooses to call all those who raise any kind of voice for the minorities. Anyways arguing against your such perception -for you won't be convinced - will be a futile exercise.

I must thank you for I have learnt that one who has a way-with-words will make us believe every non-sense in this world. You surely deserve an award for this new theory. Why don't you try for some kinda Nobel or similar award.

Now lets come to the observations and counter-arguments made by you.

Afzal Guru is innocent – because SAR Geelani was acquitted by the Indian ......
2. You have mentioned that Arundhati Roy tries to say "Courts be damned" and what not. I wish you had read the article without any bias and you would have understood what she meant. Hard as it may sound, but I failed to find a single sentence in her write-up which claimed that Afzal is totally innocent. She has merely put the pieces together, and there in what has emerged are glaring loopholes. Well, why would you talk about those loopholes - that would only make you case even more weaker. Just that one innocent professor was not convicted doesn't mean whosoever else is tried has to be guilty. It was only due to the unrelented pressure by NGOs, reputed lawyers and thinkers, his students that today SAR Geelani is a free man.

Afzal Guru’s trial is totally based on all false evidence and there is nothing true in the case. ...
3. What Arundhati Roy should or should not have done is none of our choices. I don't think Ms. Roy wants people like you to believe anything - as you won't believe anyway. She is a booker prize winner not a publicity hungry politician out to hoodwink you and earn votes (read money). Some of you have taken this famous saying to heart "Never believe what is obvious". It is possible that Arundhati too might have had similar views as yours but now after researching the case she has changed her opinion. Let her say what she wants to - but the way you are frustrated at this clearly indicates your nervousness.

Afzal Guru was victimized by the then government so as to be able to find premise for launching a war on Pakistan. Which war? ....
4. Why don't you ask the big honchos of your favourite party which was in power. Operation Parakram and what not was launched at their behest. And I cannot stop laughing when you say that A. Roy has just weaved a plot for another novel and yet is so naive to discuss it in a weekly. Hey my suggestion, why don't you take the cue (for you also have a way-with-words) and come out with a bestseller. And by the way, I never knew A. Roy is a Christian.

Madame Roy also makes a reference to her favorite Gujarat riots here – for no evident reason.
5.It is really sick to find someone refer to a pogrom as "favourite" as if one were talking about some daily soap. I hope you understood what pogrom is (not a program on your favourite channel). What Gujarat riots were and what Godhra riots were, let that be for another post .. some other time. Do you want us to believe no-one was killed in Narodiya-Patiya, Best-Bakery case is a myth, A pregnant woman did not have her womb split and her foetus burnt in front of eyes, In Vadodra no one was inside that Sumo around which barbed wire was wound before setting it on fire... I can go and on.. but as I said some other post. And when has a best selling author needed a riot and minorities support to boost her career. By the way what is the percentage of Muslims who read her... I am sure it wont be even a percent.

As per Ms Roy, the terrorism in Kashmir is due to the para-military forces in the valley ...
6.I found this to be the most absurd argument from your side. You are stretching her views too far and wide. What she is trying to emphasise on is the 'terror" that is unleashed in the name of anti-militant activities by Special Operations Group or STF or SOG. But you were lucky enough to escape them so you won't know how good (or bad) they are. So it would help if you trust ordinary Kashmiris views about them (Oh no you wont do that either.. for you think we all are terrorists).

Ms. Roy has empathy for the enraged people of Kashmir, for the war-torn zone that they are living in and the pain related to it. ...
7. Pain of our own making. Yes Kashmiris (read Muslims) are responsible for everything bad in this country be it Babri Masjid demolition, Mumbai riots in 93, Bhagalpur riots, Gujarat riots. So we deserve to die and we are dying. And yes, the conflict in Kashmir is our own creation - Indira Gandhi, Farooq Abdullah, Mufti Syed and yes His Highness Jagmohan had no hand in anything that has happened till now. Now whether A. Roy had condemned Mumbai blasts or Delhi Diwali blasts hardly matters for it is a different case we are discussing.

There was a media orgy forcing the judiciary and the system to prosecute someone – Afzal becoming the victim.

8. When a confession is obtained on Live TV first and only later proper procedures are followed - what other conclusion do you come to... Simply that the channel in addition to boosting their TRP wants to be knows as the channel on which "Afzal confessed".. Pretty smart but gross. And do I need to tell you what relentless media pressure can force the judiciary to do... No you're well aware.

Death Sentence should be abolished as it is not a civil form of punishment...

Now you are jumping to so many issues together and I don't think my comment needs to tackle all of them issues together. Well you talk of the murder of Priyadarshini Mattoo, despite being from the other side of divide I have always wished for the punishment to guilty - whether the victim is a Muslim or a Pandit. How strongly each one of us feels about this case, have you ever wondered why? The reason is it was only possible due to the pressure maintained by the media esp. 24X7 news channels that today Santosh Singh has been convicted. Some years ago no one knew Priyadarshini and no one knew Santosh Singh's crime either. But tomorrow if anyone stands for him, freedom of expression gives him/her the right to say what he/she wants and I don't think we need a certificate to be issued whether the person is qualified to defend anyone.
And yeah... Vinayak, to be honest,... in relative terms I do think Afzal got a raw deal... Afterall, if Bitta Karate...

I am really amazed that even after nearly two decades whenever we talk of atrocities on Kashmiri Pandits by militants the only name that crops up is of Bitta Karate (incidentally in jail for 16 years till now). An excerpt from a blog I recently visited may be some food for thought for you..."However, at the same point of time I have no hesitation in saying that while there are Bitta Karates on one end of the spectrum, you wont have to do much to find their equal and opposite personality. That person may not have taken as many lives (or may be even more) but he too has killed an innocent human being somewhere in Gow Kadal, Hawal, Bijbehara; hurt the dignity of women in Chhanapora, Handwara so on and so forth.

Tragedy is while you can ascribe a face to a Bitta Karate terror you cannot do the same for the other gun. The reason we all are here is we acknowledge those tragedies and feel the pain that everyone has gone through"

Hope that helps you in having some objectivity in your posts in the future.