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?

Responsible media - a new oxymoron

ATNC, an ordeal of 40 hours is over. ATNC, the man who holed himself up in his home for over two days was a University topper in Maths. Also ATNC, he was mentally disturbed. Further, ATNC, he had 30 bullets and a gun with him.

Oh sorry, ATNC means According To News Channels.

Without getting into all the details, I will come straight to the point. Just in case you have managed to stay away from the Hindi entertainment on TV aka news channels, you can see it here.

It seems that the police thought of a smart strategy of sending this fellow's friend with a cup of tea to meet him. Now, what's so smart about that? Aha! The cup of tea was laced with a sedative. Unfortunately for the cops, the man was in no mood for a cuppa and opened fire at his friend too. Thankfully, the good samaritan escaped unhurt.

You still haven't figured out what's weird in all this? Well, the channels were screaming this story all over the news even when this drama was going on. Now it is not clear whether this fellow had access to a TV inside his home, but what if he had? Can we be sure that he wasn't listening to this piece of news about HIMSELF all the while? Its now a well-known fact that the handlers of 26/11 were conveying the movements of security forces outside to the terrorists. The media has also received enough flak for this.

This Lucknow incident may be small in comparison, but it just proves that neither our police nor our media are learning anything from the past.

Or were the cops smart enough to also cut the cable connection from outside? I just hope so. I can't be completely sure because... well, you read it for yourself. I am quoting straight from a news report of this incident. I can't decide whether this is funny or sad. You try.

Quote

The man fired five rounds. And started shouting that he would kill everyone outside.

At 10.30 am .... a drill machine was used to make a hole in the terrace to put in a light bulb so that he could be monitored. He broke the bulb.
At 11:30 am on Friday, police spoke to a team of doctors, including the Chief Medical Officer of Lucknow and decided to make him unconscious and then capture him.
At 1 pm, two more fire engines were called in to use water pressure to overpower him. He stood next to the door to avoid the water pressure.
At 2 pm, the police tried making him unconscious by using gas.
On Thursday morning too, the police had tried hard to coerce him into coming out. They sent a friend of the man's with a cup of tea laced with tranquilizers to his room. When the friend approached the locked door, the shooter opened fire. His friend escaped unhurt.
Later, the police tried to drill a small hole in one of the walls of the man's room. They hoped to throw a teargas shell into the room. Instead, the man shot bullets through the hole at the police. An officer was shot in the hand.

Unquote

Variety, thy name is life!

As I look back at the last weekend, the only phrase that comes to my mind is - blinding contrast. I am searching other examples of an extreme of experiences in a single day.

The morning began with me going to the municipal garbage dump, armed with my camera. Why would I want to do this, rather than spending a Sunday morning relaxing over a coffee and solving the crossword? Because Bhaikaka is making a film, and Swati and myself are doing our little bit to help him. More about this film when it is complete.
I knew what a municipal garbage dump looks like but still its magnitude hit me. More than its sheer size and its squalor, the sight of people clamouring around the bulldozer, picking things off the garbage brought home an unpleasant truth.

These people have their individual roles defined as to what each one would pick. So one picked only footwear, while another only picked thick plastic bags. One picked only metallic objects, while yet another scoured the garbage for glass. If these pictures compel someone to start segregating dry and wet garbage (biodegradable and non-biodegradable) in their homes before throwing it out, I will be pleased. Saying that "how does only me doing it help? Nobody else in my building does it" is an excuse. Start at your end, and persist.
As the afternoon turned to evening, I looked forward to the dance concert in the night. On the way, I stopped at my customary paanwallah and got to hear about ic terror attack. So far, German Bakery always meant apple pies, butter cookies and large mugs of coffee over a languid evening. It would not mean only these things ever again. What does a terrorist seek? What change does he/she mean to achieve? Other than permanently scarring the lives of innocent families, it achieves nothing. All that we can do to stem this disease is to be more vigilant and alert. Once again, saying that - "how can just me being vigilant achieve anything, the Govt. is incompetent anyway" is again an excuse. I will start at my end, and persist.
The concert by noted Kathak exponent and Guru Maneesha Sathe and her senior disciples was unforgettable, as always. I have no words to describe it really. I am just hoping that the pictures will convey at least one percent of the impact that the performance had on me.

At the end, I wondered - would there ever be another instance where such variety of life experiences will meet me in a single day? Persisting with life is what I can continue doing.