A Year Later......He Lives Another Day !

A regular midweek afternoon turns a 180 for me when I heard the news of a gang war in Mumbai last year. Even the most popular english news channel in India paid little importance to the gun shots, till after an hour the sounds became louder. It was not gang war but an uncalled for attack from infiltrators from across the border on the nations entertainment and financial capital- what is now remembered as 26/11 (analogous to the famous 9/11 attack on the twin towers in NY). 60 odd hours of gun battle,at six different locations- in one of Mumbai's affluent regions captured the worlds attention that entire Thanksgiving long weekend. That date has now etched a mark in the history books for many years to come. It’s been exactly a year since the deadly and simpleton terrorists, on the instruction of their cowardly leaders, sitting across the border, scared this great city. Many have written and debated about this horrifying incident over the past year. Bureaucrats have met, Presidents and Prime Ministers have discussed, even cricketers have interacted to reduce the tension, resolve the issue and bring the culprits to justice. But here we are, one year later sending dossiers and dossiers, answering one question after another thrown at us by our neighbors in the hope of winning their support to end this ordeal. Unfortunately the wound still remains fresh!!! I am not here to talk about those things once again and reiterate what’s going around in the media.

Out of the 10 simpletons who opened fired in Mumbai, nine met their fatal end for their so called proclaimed 40 virgins, unfortunately one 22-year old young man was seduced into the hands of the Mumbai Police and not the 40 virgins he had dreamt of ! Mohammad Ajam Kasab, the lone gun man captured, now fights for his life which was priced for a meager sum of few 100,000 rupees by his leaders, as a reward for this sinister act. Look where he is now, in a secure and highly guarded penitentiary, for a year. A YEAR? Is he still alive? Something doesn’t sound right!

I am not a lawyer or a politician and have no judgment on the processes of law; I am well aware that my brother who is on his way to be a very competitive and successful lawyer will refute my every view and logic- the difference you get by looking at it legally and emotionally. I'm sure by now most of us have seen the HBO documentary which aired legally at least in US last week. It was the entire narrative and transcript of the conversation between the terrorist and their henchmen (those who haven’t ,here is a glimpse of it http://indiaatwar.com/?p=4638). I base my judgment and anger on what I have seen and heard, very well aware of the rules of the land.

It’s been one complete year and this murderer still lives to breathe the free air of the land he colored in red. Going back in time, remember 2001, when America was introduced to the worst form of terror- it took them two month to give a reply back to the perpetrators’ literally wiping a nation from the world map. Even America didn’t possess enough proof as much as India did to take a stern action to express its anger. The link which shows this documentary has not yet been aired in India primarily due to the legal proceedings in Kasab’s case. A few years back , a similar situation occured with regards to the magnum opus- BLACK FRIDAY- based on the Mumbai blast, the case was dragged for more than a decade to come to some conclusion. An analogous fear lingers in the minds of the people thinking about 26/11. My question is why, why such a delay in bringing the accused and guilty to justice? In Kasab's case there is proof from surveillance cameras, interrogation reports and eye witnesses which buttress this case and clearly spell one judgment –GUILTY AS CHARGED. But in spite of all this, after 365 days , Ajmal Kasab lives another day. Unless India does not shed away its soft stands on terrorism, many such Kasabs will grow in our neighbor’s poor cities and villages, eventually haunting us to death.

In my view, and my view only, I would support the establishment of a special court at par with the privileges of the Supreme Court to tackle with only terrorism related cases. Such a court will hopefully expedite the cases at a faster rate than presiding at state level or apex courts. A verdict from such a court should lawfully prevents it from a mercy plea which will not stall the execution of terrorists like Afzal Guru who used this judiciary loop hole in the system to halt the execution of his sentence. Another issue which slowed the proceedings of Kasabs case was the appointment of a lawyer. Why do we need a defense lawyer? Who is he going to defend? A terrorist and murderer who the world has seen committing a heinous crime like 26/11? We put the lawyer life and career on the line, who is either obligated or forced to defend a case which he knows from day one is a lost cause. Remember the attack on the female lawyer by political party workers in Mumbai for agreeing to defend Kasab- not because she wanted to, but because that was the only way the case would begin. Some may even try to twist the case for sensationalism- remember the defense lawyers statement on Kasab being a minor! Well that one point almost got him off the hook. We should appoint such defendants (ironically choice of word) lawyers only to narrate the charge-sheet, explain the proceeding of the case and finally the last judgment of his life! One might refute at this junction clinging to the point – ‘innocent until proven guilty’. Don’t we already know what and who Kasab and Afzal Guru are? Haven’t they already confessed and proved themselves to the world with their actions?

The government of India can continue its diplomatic effort with its neighbors and international society to win support, but terrorism in a problem in our neighborhood which is spreading into our house if not dealt with aggression. India cannot fight the terror in the world alone, but it can show its determination and robustness by asserting its stand firmly on how it intends to deal with this problem and the creators of this problem.