The road to gallows
Tuesday 12 February 2013
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Terrorism has always posed a severe
threat to the sovereignty of our nation. A legion of innocent citizens has
succumbed to this unpredictable violence unleashed on them by some insane
individuals who have developed a morbid craze to revel in the agony of their
brethren. This violent rage, therefore results in disastrous consequences for
the country. Firstly, these aberrations tend to balkanise the nation along
ethnic lines and generate a feeling of hatred and resentment among the people
of one community towards the people belonging to other communities. Secondly,
an outbreak of violence provides an opportunity to the hate-mongers and the
demagogues to stir the passions of disgruntled individuals who are provoked to
take to arson and rioting, blatantly violate all rules and regulations and thus
pose a challenge to the security forces of the nation. Thirdly, it results in
widespread death and destruction and therefore jeopardizes the very political
motive for which such barbaric activities are carried out.
India being a sovereign, secular
republic has ensured the security of its citizens as its highest priority. It has
always upheld the fundamental rights of an individual and offered him/her a
chance to fair trial. In such a scenario, if the perpetrators of violence who
have admitted their involvement in their respective crimes and have been
awarded adequate punishment by the court of law, pardoning them on human
grounds does not make any sense. Who will account for the miseries of the
victims, the loss of innocent lives and the destruction of resources? Who will
justify the attack on the dignity of the nation and the vandalisation of its
culture?
The rejection of clemency
petitions and subsequent awarding of death penalty to various accused has beleaguered
the intelligentsia as well as the media who find such punishment inhuman and a
violation of human rights of the accused. On one hand, development of zero
tolerance level for terrorism is their primary agenda, while on the other hand
they term the execution of such condemned individuals at the gallows as
shameful episodes I the history of humanity and demand a moratorium on death
penalty. Death is undoubtedly not a moment for celebration. But it is
imperative for us to abide by the laws for a secure, crime-free society – even if
it involves stringent punishments like death penalty. Only then, do such
episodes serve as deterrent to the future hostile forces.
People have a right to sympathise
with the accused and practice human virtues like compassion, benevolence, mercy
et cetera. But we must realize that punishment exists only because of the
existence of crime in the society and not the other way round. The road to
gallows is taken as the last path when all efforts to warn an individual who
has embarked to the world of crime, turn futile. Let us not trivialise the decisions
of the government and the court of law and term them as acts of vengeance or
betrayal of faith, in our haste to outpour our views.
JAI HIND
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