On Death Row....

The newspapers and editorials are full of news about the hanging of Mohd Afzal , one of the main accused in the 2001 parliament attack case.

When we read about such an article, the first emotion that our mind grapples with is sympathy. We reason that since we cannot give life, we have no right to take it away either. To some extent, this is correct. We should not indiscriminately hang people who are suspected of less than lethal crimes. The supreme court has stated that the death penalty should be given in the 'rarest of rare' cases. The last time a person was hanged in India, was in 2004. Dhananjay Chatterjee was hanged for raping a 14 year old girl and his mercy petition was rejected by our president.

Agreed, the death penalty has been abolished by many nations, and even those who allow it, very rarely practice it. But isn't Afzal's case one of the 'rarest of rare' cases? Do we need a more stronger reason to sentence a person to death? The parliament is symbolic of our sovereignty. It is the place where one of the most important decisions are taken which impact the lives of a billion Indians. Agreed, 90% of our politicians are corrupt bastards, but that doesn't undermine the importance of the Parliament in our democracy. The attack on it was clearly designed to damage the very fabric of democracy, by people who have never experienced it in their respective countries.

Afzal's involvement with the gunmen who entered the Parliament has clearly been proved. The Supreme court has already upheld his death sentence, characterizing him as a "menace to the society", whose "life should become extinct" to satisfy "the collective conscience of the society".

But inspite of all this, the newspapers and T.V. channels are full of pleas for mercy for him. The chief minister of J&K, Ghulam Nabi Azad has personally requested Dr. Kalam to consider Afzal's mercy petition. Isn't it shameful that the topmost official in a state is recommending mercy for a terrorist? The media as usual, is at its whorish best. Talk shows are being conducted, interviews are taken, the journalists are burning the midnight oil. In the quest for high T.R.P's, they are sensationalizing and exploiting this issue to the max. After October 20'th no matter if he will be hanged or not, Afzal will disappear from the screens and newspaper columns. No one would care anymore, and the media sharks will run in search of another victim, and another.......

Coming back to the core issue, I think the president should grant mercy to those sentenced to death only in the case of crimes done in the heat of the moment. For eg:- self defense. This provision should not be misused for each and everytime a person is sentenced to death. Can Ghulam Nabi Azad give a guarantee that Afzal, if acquitted, will not indulge in terrorist activities again?

And don't we as a nation, owe a debt to CRPF Jawan Kamlesh Kumari and seven others who laid down their lives in the encounter with the terrorists? Kamlesh Kumari was the first to intercept the terrorists' car. She was felled by 11 bullets in her stomach. She was awarded the Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award. The least we all can do is ensure justice for her family. They have said that they will return the Ashok Chakra if Afzal is freed.

I would like to end with a quote from Thomas fuller which is quite apt to this situation: "Law cannot persuade, where it cannot punish"