Indeed, should he?
Isn't it barbaric to take a life to punish him for his barbaric acts? Will it deter the next bunch of Muslim terrorists, who believe they will lead eternally blissful lives in heaven in the company of three score and twelve virgins for their evil acts?
Yes it is, and no it won't.
So then, why hang him?
This is a man who participated in the murder of hundreds. Do not underestimate the anger a lot of people feel at this. By not administering punishment quickly, we engender a sense of persecution, and a deep rooted anger at the "system" and the "other" (read Muslim) in large segments of the population.
We sow the seeds of future Gujarats and give birth to future Pragya Thakurs. We guarantee that Hindu terrorism on a larger scale than the pathetic Abhinav Bharat will rise on the back of public resentment at a government that lets terrorists live and citizens die.
We create a future where Hindu and Muslim terrorists compete to bomb, shoot and otherwise kill innocents. We convert ourselves into Lebanon, or worse, Pakistan.
Hang him quickly, I do not want to live in such a country.
7 comments:
Dear Hatter,
I understand your point, but beg to differ.
- No country that abolished the death sentance turned into a Lebanon.
-India signed up to the UN Declaration of Human Rights (Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person). It is my opinion that we, as civilised people are obliged to apply article 3 to this monster too. He does not believe in everyones right to life, but then he is not a secular humane democracy.
I do not believe the state has the right to take the life of anyone in its custody. The states right to use force MUST be restricted to the minimum necessary to bring anyone using violence to heel. If they are captured, they must be tried and locked away for ever. Pragya Thakurs, Kasabs and assorted lonies will take action whether you hang kasab or not.
Violence begets violence. It is perverse to imagine that knowing that violence has tken place (a man was hung) will calm anyone down. It will only get those who need to sell newspapers focussed on the next target. you do not want to live in a blood thirsty society either.
Much of the clamour to hang this man is just another manifestation of mass media with its attention deficit disorder hyperactively and shamelessly whipping up paranoia on the topic of the day. The Times of India, with its "Kasab, Life or Death" headline and various media forums with their polls are cases in point. There is a reason we have distinguished judges passing judgment, not half wits typing into their mobile phones when not obssessed some other nonsense. The media frenzy has driven public discourse to the lowest common denominator. Unfortunately, I feel your alarmist post (only this one!) will not be out of place in the Times of India.
There is palpable public anger over a perception that Govts delay the hanging of certain people of certain backgrounds. This is untrue. We hang rarely and I thinks this is to be lauded. We last hanged a person in 2004 and this was the only case since 1995. Afzal Guru is in a queue with regards to his mercy petition, and into that queue will this virgin hunter go.
The govt could do the following
-Abolish the death penalty, explaining to the nation that this is an outdated and barbaric practice. Indians, by dominant religions, temperament and outlook are nothing if not humane.
-Lock people convicted of capital crimes on 150 year sentances. This will assuage people enough. They are smart enough to understand when the maximum penalty (life) is given. It is when the maximum penalty (death in this case) is given, but not enforced that they get angry and confused.
-Make it illegal to release these people by constitutional amendments, whether the PMs plane is hijacked, or whether Lalit Modi is kidnapped. Especially the latter.
Your instinct, as seen from the opening of your post, is the correct one. However, instead of fearing the worst, we need to trust the Indian people enough to explain to them the humane imperative of abolishing the death penalty. And then making sure that those who harm them cannot do tso again. Of course, robustly dealing with threats to the nation from across the border will make them happiest, but then lets get real.
My last point is this. If the death penalty is rigorously enforced, most people who hang may turn out ot be of a certain community. Will this not create further wounds in their collective psyche?
Sorry Anonymous, I cannot buy your argument.
For starts, you've already closed the door on meaningful dialogue with people who want the death penalty. Would they engage with your thinking after all your talk about paranoia and hysteria? I doubt it. Too many of the liberal chaterrati in India lace their arguments with all sort of self-righteous crap about those who feel otherwise. Though you are probably not of that ilk, your phrasing invokes them, and is a rhetorical non-starter. Though I sympathise with your side of the argument (seriously, I wish I could be on your side), logic compels me to not side with you.
No country with a serious violence problem, let alone a terrorist problem has abolished the death penalty, and correctly so.
Violence begets violence,as you say. Violence with no punishment (life imprisonment is no punishment in India - even Nalini may just be released any time) begets more violence. Noone is going to buy a hypothetical "true" life imprisonment until we see it happening. Until then, hanging seems to be the only credible punishment - not that I think it's better, just more practical until we see true life imprisonment. Kasab cannot be the testcase for that.
By feeding the Hindu perception of softness towards Muslim terrorists (and mere statements that that's not true isn't going to help), you are just going to make Hindu terrorism mainstream instead of at the loony fringe.
Your intentions are noble, but unfortunately, of the type that paves the road to hell.
Having hanged Kasab, this is what I think we should do ...
Following your lead, amend the constitution to ban release under any circumstances on life imprisonment. Demonstrate viability of "real" life imprisonment with hard labour over a generation (yes, it will take that long) with legal criminal consequences for release.
Then abolish the death penalty.
This is an problem that will take a generation to solve, forcing a solution in a shorter period isn't going to work.
MH,
All your points taken. I fully understand the position and argument FOR the death penalty. I am sorry if that was not made clear enough.
Your point on how to abolish the death penalty (after hanging Kasab, perfectly reasonable as I recognise that the Death Penalty is in force on the date of his sentencing) is accepted wholly.
I do however, consider myself and fellow abolitionists to be morally on the correct side. History will bear this out many years from now, when future generations (not in our lifetimes, I am not delusional) look back at the the barbaric practice of hanging fellow humans. Hanging people and satisfying the bloodlust of
pop culture is the easy but incorrect way of dealing potential threats. I only ask that we Believe in the union (of India) and its robustness more than to fear anarchy if we do not execute this man.
A compelling case can be made for placating the majority opinion by denying Habaes Corpus, China style day trial / overnight executions, but that does not make it the correct thing to do. That is mob rule, or tyrany of the majority, not the most perfect example of the intentionof democracy. Therefore I am afraid, I cannot buy the argument of execution for the sake of public perception.
That said the government has a duty to its citizens of action to prevent terror and punish its peratrators. I made this point in my first comment. Let me elaborate on a few ways this can be done:
The moment the next terror strike takes place and we have proof that it was planned across the border, the PM needs to come on air and appeal for calm. Say that this will be taken up with Pakistan at the highest level, foreign secrataries will discuss, no question of military strikes etc. That very night, he must order our usually verbose service chiefs to use these supersonic cruise missiles that our tax money is spent on on at least a dozen terror. Our top ministers should call their counterparts in Pak and US and tell them that 12 missiles are on the way. If thereis retaliation, there will be war.
In short we must
-Talk soft and act tough, not the other way round.
- Make Pakistan realise that there is a price a pay for fostering terror.
-Show the Indian people that we extract a price for Indian blood.
You have hinted that I do not understand that ther eis a public perception that we are soft on Muslim terror. I credit the Indian public with being more secular minded than any other society on earth. In last years general elections, the BJP got 24.63% of the popular vote. Now I am not saying that everyone who votes BJP is a trident waving fundamentalist. However, anyone who thought Muslims were a teror inspiring community as a whole, would surely have voted BJP, for want of a more right wing option. So would it be safe to safe to say that even if half of BJP voters thought that way, only 12% of India would take offence if we did not hang terrorists?
Also a last point, which I suspect you agree with anyway
We are not inherently violent and graver provocations have not lead to a Lebanonisation (Ghosts of Talebs past) of India. Even 1992, when I feared for my country as twelve year old, was a flare up that has almost healed. Gujarat was a case of state govt Pogrom against its own citizens, whilst the Centre shamelessly watched. Political change will revent further communal violence, not hanging the odd virgin hunter.
Take Care,
A
Can I thank you for your post, gave me an avenue to discuss this topic. I am disturbed by the lack of commentary on Indian media even exploring the death penalty and its implications. I do not want anyone to oppose it, just raise the topic and create avenue for debate. But then I have long ago given up hope of expecting anything thoughtful from the Indian media.
Please see following list of countries that have abolished the death penaltiy, and which have either suffered grievous violence in the near past, or still suffer political, criminal or coup related violence.
Israel (Only two executions since the 1950s, one of them a jolly fellow called Adolf Eichman. The other posthumously pardoned)
South Africa
Philipines
Colombia
Mexico
Nepal
Algeria
Angola
Namibia
South Africa
Cambodia
Russia (moratorium since 1996)
Croatia
Serbia
The UK defeated a very real terro threat from the IRA without hanging anyone (after 1973)
Anonymous,
I can't disagree with abolition in principle, I'm only talking practicalities and time periods, and I suspect you don't disagree there, so let's leave it at that.
Kasab will hang, we should eventually abolish the death penalty after establishing a credible alternative.
The other issue - of the perception of being soft on Muslim terrorists. No offence intended there, BTW. If the effect of that was 10% more votes for BJP, I can live with that. Heck, they're actually a better party when people vote for them - they move to the center the more votes they get.
The problem is the 1 or 2% thatI fear will end up getting Pragya-Thakurized. We struggle against a 1% minority of Muslim terrorists. What are we going to do when 1% of the Hindu population turns to terror?
I'll live with hanging Kasab to guard against that.
Israel - executes terrorists informally
Colombia - shoots drug lords
Mexico - shoots drug lords
Russia - you get the drift ...
Most countries with serious violence problems use state power to execute perceived enemies of the state, whether using the garb of judicial sanction or not.
Barbaric, yes. Not justified, yes. Posterity will judge them badly, yes. That's why we need to find credible alternatives - alternatives that the majority can actually believe in. Whether I believe in them, or you do, it won't be credible until a substantial portion of the population will.
So, what abolitionists can do, in my humble opinion, is work to shore up the credibility of the alternatives. Maybe I'm missing it, but I don't see that happening in India at least.
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