Why Ajmal Kasab should be hanged??

Today Ajmal Kasab, one of the main accused in the Mumbai terror attacks will be sentenced. If I am to believe the news reports which came before the final sentence, then he may well be on his way to the gallows.

I have never been a supporter of capital punishment - I always believed it is a flimsy justification and as horrific as the crime you are trying to punish the criminal for.

But off late the kind of insecure and unsafe world I live in has made me more acceptable of this gross punishment. Every time I mentally debate on why a terrorist like Kasab should not be hanged the images of the IC-814 hijack saga play out fresh in front of my eyes.

It was one of the worst nightmares my country lived through, when a dreaded criminals were left scot-free as ransom for the safety of many innocent Indians. And we all know, those terrorsits then went on to plot many more acts of terrorism - costing thousands of life and colossal damage to our nation.

You can call me judgmental or inhuman or even a coward, but I don't want to live with the fear that because a Kasab is alive in one of our jails, me or someone else can be held for ransom for his release. I don't want to go through the pain, grief and uncertainty, other fellow Indians went through for 6 long days in the winter of 1999.

Yes, I can very confidently say, that I do not trust our systems and security processes which are very capable of another episode like the IC-814!

Also, we keep complaining about our police and armed forces, for not doing enough to keep the people of this nation safe from incidents like 26/11, but have we ever thought how do they feel when they risk their lives to catch dreaded criminals like - Maulana Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and then watch these men walk off with a smile on their face? -

What such sights do to their morale??

We debate because - Kasab is alive, what were his chances 1 year 5 months back, when the attack was on?

I am sure there is never enough justification for taking away another life - human or otherwise, but then why justify killing, when in self -defense? Why justify wars? Why justify counter terrorist attacks? Why call the commandoes who killed the terrorists on 26/11 Mumbai attack - Heroes?

I am aware, that the hanging of Kasab is not going to make much difference to the difficult times we live in. Maybe he is just a small fish, a misguided youth who will pay for the crimes of many others who directed him from across the borders.

But my only hope is - his end will show others like him, that what they do is not considered heroic and humane, that they are mere foot soldiers and their lives mean nothing to their leaders, maybe more to their own families. That like the people they killed for their salvation, there will be others who will kill them for theirs.....

I don't think wanting Kasab to be hanged makes me less humane - from where I see it - its just an act of self-defense on my part!! which is justified by Law - Universally......

Image courtesy - www.rediff.com

When will 'WE' learn to PROTEST!!!

I am angry, very angry today !!! Angry because today my right to freedom to make my own choices - legal choices has been threatened by a set of senseless, uneducated gundas, who think, with their muscle power they can squash me, my aspirations, my likes....

I understand the reason to an extent, today they are able to push me into this corner because - every time they raised their nasty heads and arms on different occasions in the past - I whimpered into a dingy corner, scared for my own safety and for the safety of the ones I love! That one act of submission made them think they were Gods, who could dictate their terms on me - terms which sound so illogical to my logical and sound mind.

Simple joys of life like going pubbing with my friends or proclaiming my love to someone or something as simple as watching a movie - which I thought were my personal choices - are not mine any more. From watching a match between India-Pakistan or India & Australia (considered divine for any cricket lover) or watching movies like Fire and MNIK is not within my control.

There are political goons out there on the streets of India who will now decide how, when and if I can enjoy these simple pleasures of life.

These are the same people who are out to divide this land which professes 'unity in diversity' on the basis of language, culture, religion and other things they can creatively think of.

Do they actually think I am of such low intellect that I cannot make my own choices and need their threats to decide for me???

Have you ever heard these guys protesting against things that really matter to us - the bad infrastructure, rising prices, security, farmer suicides etc.??? No, they only go after celebrity issues and those that affect the choices of the common man. It is this what irks me.... at the end of the day - either ways its us the common people who suffer.

I am angry with myself and with all others like me who chose to stay quiet as these minor incidents were not making any direct impact on our lives. Thinking -"Why call upon the wrath of such uncultured goons, who probably don't know their A from B". But I have realized, every time I choose to stay quiet, I make them more powerful! Yesterday it was about being a woman going to a pub, today its about going to a movie and tomorrow they will find something more important to me, which may not fit their ideology - as appropriate.

I don't feel these guys are any different from the terrorists who attacked mumbai on 26/11....at least it was some select locations and we had the army and the NSG commandos to rescue the victims.....I don't see any help coming while these goons hold to ransom the people of an entire state......

Here also its my personal security at stake, may not be guns and bombs but something worse.... 'fear' which is fast becoming my way of life ........

I wish, our leaders had more spine, I wish they had more constructive ways of protest, I hope they thought of us before their own personal agendas before they decided to go public.

I am sure, many people like me who just want to go about with their lives are angered by such events, but prefer to stay quiet.........the question is for how long??? Today you won't raise your voice...because its not affecting you....tomorrow, there will be no one beside you, when it will start affecting you. I have decided to voice my concerns....not sure, where it will lead, but I want all to know...it angers me to be pushed into a corner, in my own home...because some idiot thought it was funny!!!