The punishment of living.

The comments on my earlier post have led me to think more on this line and am presenting a rather queer thought. I am probably contradicting myself as compared to the earlier post. (Which is OK. I often contradict myself!) Further, I might be raising a storm with this thought.
The issue is about what is the purpose of law, justice and punishment. And specifically with reference to a terrorist, whether ANY punishment really achieves a purpose at all.
Just last night, our usual gang (which means Swati, Vallarie, Prasad and Mamata) met up at my place and late in the night the discussion veered towards Ashvatthama. The curious character from Mahabharat. Krishna 'cursed' him with immortality for his evil deeds (which were too many to recount here. Suffice to say that he committed heinous crimes, equivalent to a terror attack in today's times.) In Hindu mythology, there are eight characters who are considered to be 'chiranjeev', that is immortal. These include Parshuram, Vibheeshan, Hanuman and others. Out of these eight, seven were granted the boon of immortality owing to their good deeds. Only one, Ashvatthama, was CURSED with immortality. How does one explain this seeming contradiction?

Nobody wants to die. I am assuming of course, but I think its a safe assumption. Scores of people have spent their lifetimes trying to find the way to avoid, feign or hoodwink death. And an equal number of people have considered the search to be futile. As Albus Dumbledore tells Harry Potter a truth of life - "After all, to a well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." I am no expert on world's religions, but I know enough Hinduism to know that it teaches us to consider death as a comma and not a fullstop. And in being a comma, it releases one from the trials and tribulation of life and living. Suffering, I mean.
So back to Mahabharat. Even Bhishma the great warrior was granted a boon that he could choose the time of his death. So hypothetically, he could have lived forever if he wanted to. He didn't. He chose the time when he was ready for the 'next great adventure', so to say. But Ashvatthama was cursed by Krishna - he was told that he won't die and thus be able to face the judgement for his sins. He would continue to live and roam the earth forever, burning in the shame and guilt of his deeds. The most horrible curse if you see it from the Hindu point of view. Imagine being told that you will never ever get a release.
What am I saying, then? Is keeping a terrorist alive a worse punishment than hanging? The Islamic fundamentalist view also compels a terrorist to seek heaven through death, so he/she is not afraid of going and committing the act of terror. On the contrary, he is quite sure of what he is doing, to reserve a berth in heaven. So is it a better idea to deny him that berth?
I have no answers, just presenting my confusion in its most raw form.
On a tangential note, this is my 100th blog post!!! I am glad that it is a thoughtful topic. The other topic I had in mind was Mayawati's garland. Ugh. She can wait for some time.

David Headley - Justice denied, mocked at, or negotiated?

I hear on the news that David Headley has pleaded guilty on all the 12 charges against him. He did so after being assured that he would not be given the death penalty, nor would he be extradited to India. So what happens next? I suppose he will get a sentence for 186 years or some such thing. The US attorney general has said - "not only has the criminal justice system achieved a guilty plea in this case, but David Headley is now providing us valuable intelligence about terrorist activities. As this case demonstrates, we must continue to use every tool available to defeat terrorism both at home and abroad."

OK, I see the point. But I cant ignore the irony that such confessions have to be bargained and negotiated for, against a promise of deferring the death sentence. I am not debating on whether death penalty should exist or not. That's a separate debate altogether. I am distressed by the thought - doesn't this give the convict an escape route?

It is yet another debatable issue that if Headley had actually been extradited to India, would he have been convicted (and convicted quickly enough) to be punished. Going by the way Kasab's trial is progressing, Headley would have probably spent several years shuttling between court and custody. So - does this trial solve anything? As far as healing the wounds of 26/11 victims, no punishment to either Kasab or Headley will ever be enough. The scars are permanent. Which brings me to a question that has bothered me for years.

What is the purpose of a punishment? I am thinking of different options and just checking if the Headley case has achieved any.

To undo the wrongdoing that the convict had done upon the victim? - No. I doubt if that can be achieved in this case, going by the enormity of his crimes.

To reform a criminal and get him back to become a good citizen? VERY unlikely in this case. Don't forget that Headley has already spent two years in US prison in 1998 when he was arrested for drug-trafficking. So the punishment appears to have done nothing to reform him. If at all, it just made him an even more dangerous person.

To serve as a warning for others who might be plotting a similar heinous act? I would hardly imagine that to happen. If potential assasins were going to worry about being hanged, no assasination would have taken place in India after Nathuram Godse was hanged.

I am still searching for the answer. what is the purpose of a punishment?

Cricketers are not safe now. But who IS ?

The latest attack on Sri Lankan team in Lahore comes close on the heels of the terror attack on Mumbai. Theories are flying thick and fast on whether this attack was originally intended for the Indian team which was supposed to be touring Pakistan at that very moment, on whether this will permanently affect cricket matches in the subcontinent, on whether the 2011 world cup matches can be staged as planned, and so on.
I am surprised by one thing. Twelve terrorists armed to the teeth plant themselves on a busy square in broad daylight, waiting in ambush for the bus. And nobody notices them??? How did they reach there? Did they simply grow out of the ground or what? (Note that Pakistan had promised 'complete and total security' to Sri Lankan team.)
Whats more - firing continues for about 30 minutes, leading to the death of Pak police ostensibly providing security for the bus. AND NOT A SINGLE TERRORIST IS EITHER CAPTURED OR KILLED. All this, when the TV channels are showing the terrorists freely running around as if they are wandering in a park. So picture this - the security personnel are INSIDE the vehicle and are armed, I hope (so the vehicle actually provides them cover) and the terrorists are OUTSIDE in the open. And yet they manage to do what they intended to do and actually disappear from the scene.
I don't intend to say that the security personnel who died were ineffective. If they died doing their duty, it cant be for nothing. But how is it that in broad daylight, NOT A SINGLE terrorist got captured or killed? Even as I type this post, NDTV is airing CCTV coverage showing terrorists calmly walking through the streets and some happily driving away on mobikes. I find this completely mysterious. And then - even if you don't want to believe that Pakistan governance is not hand-in-glove with the terrorist elements, such events make you doubt your self.
The press is going berserk and proclaiming that 'now even cricketers are not safe'. But then in the kind of times that we live in, who IS safe?

Mumbai bleeds

Will last night's terrorist attack on Mumbai finally serve as a wake-up call for the government? How much more blood of innocent citizens needs to be shed on the streets of India? Phrases that have become standard lingo for politicians after such an incident - 'we condemn this dastardly attack', 'perpetrators of violence will not be spared', 'people should maintain communal harmony' - all these have started sounding increasingly meaningless. Hypocritical, in fact.
Terrorists can travel in trains, on roads and now even boats to land on our streets and cause irreparable damage. What is the government waiting for? For the next batch of terrorists to come in helicopters and land on the Rajpath, or on the pitch of a cricket stadium?
As for the terrorists who have been arrested, what of them? Going by the past history, I am sure they will spend the next 15 or so years in our jail while our judiciary (which is further shackled by narrow-minded politicians) decides how to deal with them. Court cases will drag on, and these criminals will travel in police security, all the while consuming taxpayers' money.
Such an attack could not have been carried out without weeks, even months, of planning. Which means that while they were planning how to disrupt India, our country was busy dealing with silly matters like the number of Biharis in Maharashtra, blaming Aussies for being poor losers, fashion shows and Mamata Banerjee's tantrums.
Hotels and buildings will be reconstructed over time; what about the dreams, aspirations and hopes of people?

Sowhat-itis. A national scourge

It can happen in any city in India these days. On the weekend, a simple middle-class family goes out for some plain fun in the shopping mall. A young executive decides to have a quick bite at the corner before heading home. A student hurries to buy some essential stuff for her college assignment before the shops close. Just as all these people are busy with their own lives, a flash of lightning and a deafening bang. The bomb kept in a nearby dustbin by a mindless, faceless and heartless terrorist explodes. Many unsuspecting innocent lives are shut off forever.... For those who survive, life is never the same again.
It was the same story this week in Delhi. But I experienced something different within myself. The spread of a national disease called sowhat-itis.
Being born and schooled in Delhi, the city is closer to my heart than any other. I have many friends from school days and those whom I have met later in life who currently stay in Delhi. And yet, for a full 24 hours and more, I didn't' bother to find out if they were all ok. Sowhat-itis is dangerous - it plays tricks on your mind. I found the perfect explanation for my behaviour. So? What can I do about this sitting in Pune? If one of them has really suffered in some way in these blasts, can I help in any way? How would calling up and finding out help me? I will be contributing to jamming the cellphone networks even further, isn't it? If any of them is really in trouble and remembers me, s/he will call me.
I slept that night, or rather, I like to believe that I slept. In the deep recesses of my psyche, I kept seeing my friends - tadi, buli, karir, padoo, sushant, ajit, alka, ashwini, rachna, karan, and so many more. Anyone of them or someone from their families could have been at Karol Bagh, CP or GK-I that evening.
Yet, I never bothered to pick up the phone and call anyone.
Finally, the next afternoon, I called up Sanjay Agarwal (better known as Padoo to many) and spoke to him. His nonchalance only aggravated my sowhat-itis. He calmly remarked, "what can people like you and I do, when we have a government that only talks but never acts? Theek hai, ab aisa hi chalega......"
I am sure that ministers are given a standard manual on the day they take oath. It consists of 'things to say on different occasions.' So our minister picks up the manual and thumbs through the by-now-well-rehearsed dialogues. There has been a train accident? I see... hmmmm, yes, its page no. 32. Are the cameras ready? OK, here goes. "I am deeply anguished by this horrible tragedy. The wounded are being treated in the nearby hospital. A sum of 1 lakh rupees will be paid to all the families of those who are dead and 50000 to the injured. An enquiry commission has been instituted which will submit its report soon. The guilty will be punished." Next day a distinguished personality dies of old age. OK, turn to page no. 56. "Mr. XYZ has left behind a void which can never be filled. The best tribute to him would be carry on his great work for the betterment of society." Then the next day, a bomb blast. Page 2. "We condemn this dastardly/cowardly act on our country. We will not buckle under any pressure and deal with the terrorist elements severely. The guilty will soon be brought to the court of law. I appeal to the citizens to keep calm and maintain communal harmony."
Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, Varanasi, Hyderabad, the list just goes on. After some time, the names stop mattering. Till the day it happens to YOU. By then, it is too late...... Sowhat-itis has claimed its next victim.