The decision to hang Afzal Guru leaves many questions on the investigation unanswered. The feeling of alienation in the Valley is likely to deepen.
It is inappropriate to talk in the same breath about the hanging of Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist caught red-handed in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and that of Afzal Guru on Friday for the attack on Parliament in 2001.
Union Home Secretary R. K. Singh’s statement that Guru’s wife had been informed of his hanging by speed post was contemptible. The TV channels would have woken her up with this rude shock… that is before both cable and Internet were cut off in many parts of the Kashmir Valley. I can already hear outraged voices about terrorists having rights and not the families of the victims of that attack. Of course, the attack on Parliament was a heinous and outrageous crime, and rightfully interpreted as an attack on the soul of India. Of course, law and justice too had to take their course.
Uncomfortable questions
But the manner in which the entire police investigation was done: the number of times Guru was made to give and change his statements, including the one naming the five terrorists who were killed on the spot; how the courts had repeatedly dug holes in police investigations; the Kashmiri “surrendered militant’s” abject failure to get decent legal representation in the initial stages; and, above all, how the “mastermind” of the attack, S. A. R Geelani was acquitted by the higher court, leaves many questions unanswered.
Over the years, as there have been strident voices to “quickly hang Guru”, human rights activists such as Arundhati Roy and others have pointed out — not only after the hanging, but from 2006 onwards — the Supreme Court’s observation that the evidence against Guru was only circumstantial. Dismissing his appeal, the apex court said as in most such conspiracies, there wasn’t “direct evidence” against Guru, and then went on to pronounce a questionable and widely criticised premise that this attack “had shaken the entire nation, and the collective conscience of the society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender”.
Repercussions in Kashmir
Those of us who have travelled to Kashmir — experienced firsthand the alienation of the Kashmir people, often not without justification — are fearful of the repercussions of Guru’s hanging in the Valley. And also the manner in which it was done. Kasab was a confirmed fidayeen, who mowed down innocent people, but Guru’s case was different.
Getting involved in the Kashmiri secessionist movement, like many Kashmiri youth, he too crossed over to Pakistan in 1990, but soon returned disillusioned, surrendered, was often picked up and tortured by both the STF and BSF, and used by them. According to Guru’s wife Tabassum, once they demanded a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to release him, which she paid by selling her jewels.
More important, in an article titled “A wife pleads for justice” in The Kashmir Times in 2004, she contended he had not get a “fair trial”, was “totally undefended in the trial court”, and charged that the police had forced him to “falsely confess before the media. They humiliated him, beat him, tortured him and even urinated in his mouth. I feel deep shame to talk about these things in public but circumstances have forced me. It has taken a lot of courage for me to put all this on paper but I do so for the sake of my child (Ghalib) who is now six years old.” She talked of the “communal bias” of the trial judge and wrote: “You will think that Afzal must be involved in some militant activities that is why the security forces were torturing him to extract information. But you must understand the situation in Kashmir, every man, woman and child has some information on the movement (of militants) even if they are not involved. By making people into informers they turn brother against brother, wife against husband and children against parents.”
How many in the rest of India know this reality of Kashmir? Her final desperate plea was of “a Kashmiri woman who is losing faith in Indian democracy and its ability to be fair to Kashmiri Muslims.”
A political game?
These words are being recalled here because, now that the bloody cries for Guru’s hanging have been satiated, “our collective conscience” needs to ask some tough questions. Was justice really done? When one accused was freed and others got life imprisonment or a reduced sentence, was his hanging justified? And that too without his family being allowed to meet him or informed?
Note how the BJP and rest of the Sangh Parivar are saying triumphantly that the UPA Government was compelled to finally act because the Congress is getting increasingly panicky about the rise of Narendra Modi and the growing clamour to make him the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, sombre on Day 1, expressed anger the next day and quizzed the Centre about the haste, not informing Guru’s family and seeking answers on the “selective hanging” of only some of those facing death penalty. He said he was extremely worried about the long-term repercussions this would have in Kashmir, where an entire generation might grow up identifying with Guru and resenting the Indian Government.
Social media angry
On Twitter, the resentment of some youngsters was evident within minutes of the story breaking. Sehla Rashid’s tweets were telling enough. “His trial was unfair. So was his execution. So will be his burial. Kashmiris will protest, be shot at. God bless #Kashmir”
Her second tweet said, “Oh great nation, now that Afzal guru is hanged, please also hang Army men who have killed Kashmiris in cold blood.”
Sameer Bhat @sameerft said: “Why shut the cable in #Kashmir cowards? What happened to democracy and freedom of speech crap?
But much more scathing was this tweet from Rana Ayyub, responding to Modi’s tweet on better late than never. “Narendra Modi says der aaye durust aaye. Sir, we are waiting for the day u are indicted for the genocide in Gujarat. Will say the same.”
But at the end of the day, the buck stops with the UPA Government. If it is perceived that the decision to hang Guru was taken before the Budget and the 2014 elections only to prove that India is not a “soft state”, a section of Indians still with the UPA — despite the plethora of scams, because they are uncomfortable with the BJP and its ideology — will be alienated.
Much more important than the political positioning is what will happen in the Valley. The separatists in the Valley have already got a shot in the arm.
Thankfully, a section of the media has refused to join the “celebrations” and raised tough and scathing questions on the whole trial, role of the police and even the judgment.
If Guru got more punishment than he deserved, Ghalib, like his father, might once again cross over the border. Who can blame him… and what other choice have we given him?
Responses to rasheeda.bhagat@thehindu.co.in and blfeedback@tehhindu.co.in
Keywords: hanging Afzal Guru, attack on Parliament, alienation in the Valley, UPA, BJP, politics
Comments:
I wonder how is it that the media believes every claim of Afzal Guru's
family? What if she was lying so that her husband can be saved or so
that she can claim herself to be a victim and get money from the
government?
Police are pain in a** not only in Kashmir but all over India. They
doent understand what are Human Rights
If the supreme court's judgement cannot be respected what is the point of going to court and
how can there ever be justice to victims families. There is too much media intervention in
everything now a days. Justice has taken its course and victims families will be relieved by
the closure of the matter by the hanging of Afzal Guru. Writers like Rasheeda are here to just
comment on everything as if it is a conspiracy. Everyone must remember that the supreme
court has convicted this man for helping in attack of our parliament. If the case was so weak
the supreme court would have given life sentence instead of death. So before you write
articles like these blaming the govt. for each and everything you should remember that
everyday there are brave people like the police and army protecting us from the extremists
and terrorists. If we have a lenient attitude towards punishing criminals because it will hurt
sentiments of a few thousand people in Kashmir it will be justice denied. Anand
Dear sir, if Afzalgurh is not as guilty so as to deserve death
sentence, why the congress govt. sat on it for such a long time, when
everybody blaming it for being soft on terrorists and rightly so. Why
you have come out with this story after he is dead, what prevented you
from coming up with story earlier? May be you would not be able to
answer it. Afzalgurh had spent a longtime on the waiting list so the
time had run out for reasonable argument or logical argument on his
behalf. There are lot of people who are disillusined with the present
political environment, many of them muslims but not all will go to
Pakistan or somewhere else to become an antisocial. That is running
away from the problem, you have to face the problem and make best use
of circumstances. Afzalgurh made that one wrong step, a fatal error,
he is guilty enough, how much we may not know at all.
I will be very interesting to know what the victims of Afzal Guru's terror act think of.
Can The Hindu get some?
The real tragedy of Kashmir continues. Who wants to take ownership of Kashmir ?
The politicians of Kashmir, be it the PPP or NC are the worst opportunists of all times and they have proved this again and again in the last ten to twenty years.
This article describes the sentiment of the Kashmiris where he is seen as someone who has been wronged by the armed forces seeking revenge.
On TV Afzal Guru has confessed to being the ring leader of the operation to attack the Parliament and kill those inside.
Both these viewpoints exist. The current sentiment in Kashmir does not see him as a terrorist. The failure of the Indian government to build this sentiment along with the excesses of the Army has created the current soup.
The Kashmir issue will never be solved,unless all Kashmiris realize that Pakistan and China will use them as pawns; their native parties will use them for petty gains but only a national Indian party will give them a chance, although it comes with poor governance.
Highly fallacious arguments - theoretically, any court case can be debated, doubted till the cows come home. However, Afzal Guru availed of all constitutional rights he had, and yet the punishment was affirmed. Making noises about the same even now is pointless and does no good to anyone. People also forget that Prof Geelani and others were acquitted in the same case ! In fact, normally the Indian judicial system is accused of being too lenient and convicting very few people. As regard informing his family, for over 6 years Afzal Guru has been living on borrowed time and any further 'final farewell' is a technicality. In a nation of 1.3 billion people, hardly 2-3 people are hanged in a year - there are more heinous human rights issue violations to worry about. The timing of the hanging is another lousy argument - on any day of the year, the parliament will either be in session or be approaching one !
One simple point to be remembered while discussing Afzal Guru is that , Afazal didnot send mercy petition to president of India saying he didnot believe in India. The mercy petitiion was filed by his wife on his behalf. THIS shows his hatred towards India and motivation for crime. Talking of enemy in praising words is useless. Also Indian Constitution should be applicable to those only who believe in it. The persons who dont believe in Indian constitution need not get protection provided by the constitution.
All idiotic. if there were no clinching evidence against Guru only thin
or negligible evidence for hanging him where were the people sleeping to
help him. Now awakening to do politics. secondly, informing his family
or giving his dead-body to his family does not rises. A criminal has no
rights to live. the person is a criminal for everybody even for his
wife, for his son for entire country. End of his life brings a big full
stop.
Afzal Guru was the inhuman cruel and warmongering face of Pakistan. He
brazenly attacked Indian Parliament killing several Indian Guards
mercilessly in an act of saboteur. India has decently hanged him and
buried him. It has not lynched him or thrown his body to the dogs and
wolves. What more humanity do you want for such an heartlessly cruel
terrorist?
OH NO !!! How are we going to stop Ghalib and his ilk from crossing over to the pure and bountiful land of Pakistan where all humans irrespective of race, religion, caste, colour or creed are treated with the utmost dignity & respect ??!!
I think schools in India should take every Indian child for a study tour to Pakistan - so they understand what happens when religious fundoos are treated with kid gloves !!
Madam
The hanging of Afzal Guru was sentenced by Supreme Court.You by
writing this article are expressing that you do not have faith on the
Judges of Supreme Court( the only constitutional body in India which
has remained incorruptible as well as secular .The last Chief Justice
was a Parsee and the current CJ is a Muslim).
Under the circumstances Madam I think the only solution for people
like you is to emigrate from India to a country where you think you
can get better system of justice.
I hardly have any faith in the Indian Justice system. If you have money
or power you can get away with any crime. Otherwise you have to leave it
to fate. It doesn't look like his guilt was properly proven.
EXCELLENT article nicely covered with choicest words to praise a terrorist. Normally in the final verdict in cases like this you never get to know the whole details in public. WHEN lakhs of Kshmiri PANDITS were driven out of their motherland for centuries in the name of religion, those who refused where killed, where were these Rasheeda Bhagats? Please come out of religion for the sake of national safety.
when we don,t follow/respect the constitution how can we expect respect
from others our constitution says it is an inallegiable duty of the
state to handover the deadbody to his next kin after execution and also
facilitate the meeting before execution why not in this case?why this
injustice after justice is done.should the persns responcible be taken
to task?
Anand and Nishith, I wish what you have written is true. We have
learnt to respect institutions because of what they stand for. Must we
hold on to our ritualistic obeisance even when the humans representing
these institutions err and glaringly so? We must have faith in the
system but speak up when we are let down. Let us not wait for
injustice to be handed down to us.
What secular press is voicing is the angst of the civil society. Civil
society does not remember individual episodes (albeit painful) but
yearns that justice is done in each and every case. Justice in one
case cannot be delivered by injustice in another. That is another name
for lynch law even though dispensed using the state machinery.
When there is failure of law and order, the state comes to protect the
victim. When the state or the democratic process fails, citizens have
little hope in the absence of the secular press.
Who wrote to the wives and families of those murdered by Afzal Guru's Islamic horde? Where was Kashmir's outrage then?
Ms. Bhagat, your argument is totally inconsistent- the Supreme Court is somehow fair when it dismisses the case against those where the evidence doesn't meet its high bar but somehow unfair when the same court finds the evidence against Mr.Afzal Guru is sufficient. Would you only be happy if all these terrorists were released??
We should have televised the hanging and sold tickets in theaters. We should feed their remains to the pigs. The next time these killers attack our brave soldiers or policemen, let them see what will happen to them. Maybe that will be a deterrent!
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