Kashmir Times September 29, 2006 Editorial
Retrace suicidal step Afzal Guroo's hanging will be counter-productive The black warrant issued by a Delhi court for hanging of Afzal Guroo In Tihar jail on October 20 has naturally hurt the Kashmiri psyche with spontaneous protests rocking the Valley for the last three days. The announcement has not only caused widespread anger in the troubled Valley but has also contributed in bringing the peace process in reverse gear. S.A.S Geelani, who was falsely implicated in the Parliament attack case articulated the feelings of an average Kashmiri when he accused New Delhi of "going ahead with the hanging of another innocent Kashmiri". Whether Guroo was innocent or not is not very material. What makes the decision to hang him at this juncture is indeed most unfortunate. In no case it is in tune with the ongoing peace offensive and is bound to heighten the tension instead of bringing peace and a conducive climate for pursuing the dialogue process. The announcement has only added fuel to the fire. Apart from the announcement it is the timing of the hanging of Guroo, which comes not only during the holy month of Ramzan but also on the auspicious day of the last Friday of the holy month, that has been the cause of provocation. Paradoxically, when the common people were looking for ceasefire during the month they received the shocking news of the hanging of one of their compatriots. Not only the very judgement and capital punishment awarded to the accused in the Parliament case have been questioned what makes it more unfortunate is its very timing and the manner in which it is being done. Instead of healing the wounds and providing a healing touch to the hurt Kashmiri psyche the announcement has caused further wounds with the entire Valley on the verge of a massive explosion of anger. Around four hundred years ago Shakespeare spoke through Portia, in his famous drama, The Merchant of Venice, that it is "twice blessed when mercy seasons justice". One is naturally reminded of this Shakespearean saying when the judicial verdict is pronounced in the case of Mohammed Afzal. A death sentence, as Gandhiji wrote to the Viceroy, Lord Irwin on the eve of Bhagat Singh's hanging, is not an irrevocable punishment. Without going into the fairness of the judicial pronouncement convicting the accused, one will question the decision -- if it is so decided -- to implement the judicial decision. What larger political and social good will his hanging result in? A few have been already killed and one more may be killed on the 20th. Then, what? Many, in the past, have been so killed in lawful reprisals, but have these succeeded is bringing down the number of those killed annually? Besides, how can one ignore the political backdrop against which this hanging may be carried out. Government of India is in the midst of talks with Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists for a satisfactory settlement of the dispute. It will, indeed, be a great day for both Kashmir and the rest of the region when the Kashmir dispute is settled and real peace dawns in the valley. Will this hanging accelerate or retard the on-going peace process? Both the separatist leaders and the agitations in the valley against this judicial sentence make it amply clear that the hanging will have a disastrous effect on the peace process. Then, why go ahead with it, mainly, to demonstrate Indian machismo? Over two decade ago New Delhi carried out a similar punishment in the case of Maqbul Bhat. What was the result? India behaved as if they had killed a murderer, but the Kashmiris received a martyr. By hanging Afzal India shall be only handing over to them another inspiring martyr, virtually, on a silver platter. Is it what it wants? New Delhi is imploring the Pak government to have mercy on Sarabjit Singh, in the interest of Indo-Pak peace and Musharraf has wisely reserved his power of pardon, so far. Then, why should India demonstrate its efficiency and determination by going ahead with another killing. Let New Delhi pause and think over the social and political consequences of the step that the judiciary has allowed it to take. None has forced the ultimate authority to go according to the dotted lines. This indeed, is the time when the President can and should exercise his own judgement and decide in the best interest of the country. In January 1946 the trial court at Red Fort sentenced the three I.N.A. heroes, Shanawaz, Saigal and Dhillon to death. Seeing the mood of the nation and of the Indian army Gen. Auchinlek recommended mercy for them and within a couple of days the King pardoned all the three and released them into full freedom. It is for such use that the head of almost every state is equipped with the power of pardon and we believe that this is an occasion when it should be used. The state Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has also reportedly asked the President to accept the mercy petition of Guroo's family. PDP and CPI-M too have urged for a review saying that Afzal's hanging it will only add to the people's alienation. Even the opposition National Conference has urged New Delhi to review the decision to hang Guroo. In a statement Omar Abdullah pointed out that many people have been killed or hanged "but the Kashmir issue has remained unresolved so far". He said that the situation in the Valley has determinated with every death and the steps of making peace process would turn out to be futile in such a situation. New Delhi must take note of the popular sentiments in Kashmir and listen to the voice of reason. o o o Kashmir Times September 30, 2006 FROM RAMZAN GOOD-WILL TO BELLIGERENCE by Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal For the last several weeks, there was a feeling that this Ramazan may prove to be a turning point in the Kashmir conflict. Three days after the fasting month began, there were no doubts about this prediction. The only difference is that prior to the beginning of Ramazan, it was optimism and a positive change that one was expecting. A Delhi high court, in the Delhi parliament attack case, has decided that the prime accused Afzal Guroo be hanged to death on October 20. The verdict throws up an unexpected situation that is not just shocking but outrageously dangerous, mostly for the simple reason that it transforms a purely optimistic atmosphere, that could have paved way for friendship and flexibility, into one of absolute despair, where everything is closing down to this new found rigidity. An indication is the massive protests in the Valley and renewal of violence in a month that was expected to scale down the level of violence. The spontaneous protests reflect the anger, shock and frustration. The reasons are not only the execution, which itself is unjustified, whatever the nature of accusations against Afzal. While capital punishment itself is something that cannot be justified, it is strange that a country that pleads the case of Sarbajeet Singh in Pakistan would take pleasures in sending Afzal to gallows. Whether one sees the case in the light of 'one man's terrorist being another man's freedom fighter' or outside it, there can be no means to justify the death penalty since evidence does not point to Afzal's direct involvementÿin the parliament attack case itself. But more important is the timing of announcing the date of execution. The execution verdict was already clear some months back. It is the fixation of date of sending Afzal to gallows that raises eye-brows. The announcement comes at a time when Kashmiris had been eagerly waiting for the much speculated cease-fire. After months of a disillusioning peace offensive that had begun to break the optimism of the people in a dialogue which never really took off and confidence building measures, which never saw the light of the day but for the rolling of buses between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar, an atmosphere of high hopes was once again being built up. Obviously the last few months of a peace offensive between India and Pakistan failed to bring any kind of official response on the major demands like demilitarization, withdrawal of troops, release of prisoners and repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act that legitimises violence in the state. Yet, despite all the inaction, growing disillusionment and alienation of the people, reports of a probable announcement of ceasefire during this holy month of Ramazan had once again inspired hope. Though there was no commitment from the official side, barring chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's sole hint dropped a fortnight ago, story after another, quoting official sources had begun to appear in the print media. This was first met by the kind of skepticism that should naturally come as part of a process of disillusionment to the so-called peace offensive. But gradually it began to renew hopes, a sign that was doubly positive, not because it reflected the people's faith in a peace process but also because ceasefire, of not any kind of withdrawal of troops, was a long desired component of confidence building measures. What strengthened the faith was also the flexibility of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen coinciding with these reports about Ramazan ceasefire and HM's reported decision to consider any offer of ceasefire, if made by New Delhi. It manifested that back channel diplomacy had been at work for sometime on the issue, thus inspiring hope and optimism once again, and breathing back some life into the peace offensive. However, on the third day of the holy month of fasting, the anxious wait for the moment was over with the court decision on announcing Afzal's hanging on October 20, which incidentally does not only happen to fall during this month of Ramazan but specifically on Jumait-ul-Vida (last Friday before Eid), considered one of the most auspicious days during this fasting period. The date invokes not just surprise but shock, rather horror. Neither the Indian state, nor the judiciary could have been so naÐve as not to understand the dynamics of the importance of religious sentiments, which if added to sentiments of an already hurt pride and dignity can simply spell disaster. Besides, they are a horrendous example of the double standards of play, of balancing out a ceasefire attack with a death verdict. What is the message being sent to the Kashmiris? Not simply one of belligerence and rigidity. One needs to understand this new development in the backdrop of dynamics of a wounded psyche and an atmosphere of skepticism. The peace offensive between India and Pakistan that started over two years ago renewed hopes of the people in Kashmir but ever since with not much systematic effort having been made on the ground, the stray moves coupled with beautiful sounding rhetoric has turned out to be the case of one step forward, two steps back, with any gesture or even words of benevolence being followed by unprecedented rigidity. Every time this happens, the level of skepticism increases and this particular incident has shot it up once again. This is particularly dangerous in Kashmir scenario where any bout of disillusionment and skepticism is gradually not just becoming irreversible but also matched by an equally potent process of radicalization, also in keeping with a globalised process. When India's belligerence matches the global belligerence, the shift of the once secular Sufi Kashmir to the other side is but natural. This process is dangerously, gradually becoming irreversible and the perils thereof, need to be taken into account fully for a more sincere approach to the Kashmir case. Still, everything is not lost; Guroo is likely to file for a mercy petition. While this can be accepted and his sentence commuted to something less severe, the government can also begin spelling out the ceasefire that it has so successfully hyped through the media. These steps for starters, alone can undo the harms and dangers of the suicidal blunder that New Delhi seems to have embarked on vis-a-vis Kashmir. _____ _______________________________________________ Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list Marxist-Leninist-List@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list
