Why India Should Not Hang Ajmal Kasab

Golden Boy, excellent article!! But brace yourself for the brickbats to come!

Whatever others may say, I sincerely applaud you for an excellent article. Striaght from the heart and genuine, very well written and well reasoned. I loved reading it.

I too want to attend a Vipassana course in the near future.

Cheers,
Ayan

Impact of Golden boy's strategy.......another Indian plane gets hijacked somwhere, hijackers demand realease of Kasab, Kasab is released, Kasab returns to Pakistan, Kasab is a Hero in pakistan, Pakistan celebrate.....Golden boy and a billion people screwed by Pakistan (yet again!)

Leave Kasab on Marine drive after he has been sentenced to death by the court, death by hanging is too quick.....

"To send out a strong message to the citizens of Pakistan that we are not a cruel country, but a Compassionate and Civilized nation."

What happens if the definition of being a civilized nation is different in the minds of our adversaries?

At the risk of setting up a Straw man, let me create a thought experiment - I am captured by a tribe while touring one of the islands of Andaman. According to this tribe, any outsider is deemed fit to be killed and eaten. This is the norm of their civilization.

I get an opportunity to escape the night before my execution. However, I need to kill one guy standing on guard. Should I do it?

If I do it, I might be considered a criminal from the standards of the world in which Golden Boy's brain resides. If I do not do it and show compassion, I might die. Will my guard recognize my compassion? Will he take it as a sign of cowardice or power of his Gods over me?

Something to think about, isn't it?

Evidence suggests that showing compassion towards your tormentors does not always stop violence. Effective punitive incentive is another equally effective mean to stop violence. These are not the only two scenarios. There are other options on the plate too.

Have you ever come across something called Game Theory? It has its flaws but is pretty effective in coming up with tactics to resolve many of these situations.

Regards,

Golden Boy, are you a Bengali by any chance?

I'm constantly amazed by the ability of us Indians to always play the magnanimous big brother who always needs to make concessions because someone else is upset with us.

Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism and any terrorist they send across needs to be dealt with firmly. Letting Kasab have a life sentence or even enabling parole is an insult to the people he killed.

The Supreme Court has made it clear that the death penalty is to be used only in the rarest of rare circumstances. This is one of those rare circumstances.

Golden boy... I am sorry but I think you are confusing the compassion we should show, one human being to another in interpersonal relationships with how nation-states must operate in this world.

Now, I am not saying that countries do not have a responsibility to be compassionate in some senses, but realistically, the government does not function like an individual and has a rather weighty responsibility to its citizens, one of the largest being to protect their safety.

It has been shown quite clearly that a compassionate response to a terrorist acts is not a deterrent.

I think that given your past experience, you are overgeneralizing what responses should be to horrible acts. I understand that you have a painful past, and that part of your healing process necessitates that you find peace, and that in order to do that, you need to practise forgiveness. But this will simply not work in the case of Kasab. Forgiving him and hoping that he sees the light will not cure what ails Pakistan.

Sure, the victims families might find personal peace in their own acts of forgiveness. That is up to them to find their own paths to healing. But India opening its gracious arms and coddling a wayward Pakistan to her breast is not going to cause the terrorists in that country to reconsider their evil ways. All that will do is make them oggle the massive size of India's boobs, laugh like hell and plan another mass murder. Be sure of it.

There is something in between a typical US-style response and doing nothing. That is what India must find and execute.

Goldenbai,

Leave the trolling to us commentators.

GB, by letting Kasab have a fair trail and not shoot him for the animal that he is we have shown that we are a civilized country. The laws of the land will prevail and he will get his just dues.

Also I am very proud of our citizens since at that sensitive point we all grieved together and did not have any communal riots which I am sure the terrorists were hoping for.

When Rahul Gandhi made his hate speech we all frowned upon him and BJP found itself in a hot spot and were quick to distance themselves from him.

Look beyond Kasab GB. We do not wish our neighbors any ill will but we do want our neighbors to move forward as well. To be a prosperous secular nation. And that battle only the citizens of Pakistan can fight. We on our end continue to call for peace and dialog and hold our government accountable for lax security.

You have the right to your opinions and also the right to voice your views on Kasab and no one has the right to lynch you for it! That kind of right is granted to you by our democratic country because we have stringent laws in place.

The issue here is not forgiveness but following the laws of our democratic country which gives you and me right co-exist peacefully.

Deepti, tell me you meant Varun Gandhi in the above comment !!

ooops!! thought Varun wrote Rahul!

what is it with all them bolds gb?

btw i fixed the wrong link:)

now re: compassion

warning: graphic and hypothetical

how would a person "A" show compassion to a convicted person who raped and later grossly murdered and cut up his or her (A's) 3 year old daughter/niece/sister?

Ledzius:

"Golden Boy, are you a Bengali by any chance?"

what the FISH???

Ledzius, are you non-bengali or anti-bengali by any chance?

To which, Ledzius responds: "Trust me, I have many Bengali friends, so there's no way I can be against bengalis..."....a bit like, "I'm not racist, but..."

Compassion is a far greater concept than just fantasizing about what we will do in X, Y or Z situation. Its pointless. A can get triggered if 100 bucks is stolen from him, while B can handle a rape and abuse, and let it go. Women world over have suffered at the hands of their families, yet have continued to live with and love the Kasabs inside our very homes.

Compassion requires a great amount of practice and a very deep understanding of one's own self before one can become compassionate. It requires us to see and understand the Kasab-like monsters within our own selves BEFORE we choose to cut-up and hang other externally manifested monsters.

The point of compassion is not 'non-action' or being paralyzed into not acting. It is about HOW the action is perpetrated and underlying emotion of the action.

Mocking compassion by taking fantasy potshots anyway has distracted the whole discussion from the main point.

Kasab is already a martyr who came to this country on a suicide mission. He just got lucky when cops caught him alive. If we keep him in prison, he will still continue to be the hero. Will he not?

Be keeping him in prison, his people will kill more people and hijack planes in exchange for his return.

And do you think those Pakistani terrorists really care if we hang him or not? Did Kasab pay heed to India’s friendly gestures? The answer is NO. So why do you think other Kasabs in the making will care 2 hoots about our compassion? They hate us because we are successful, they hate us because our population is predominantly non-muslim country, we make them feel inferior coz our constitute is superior than theirs since we practice secularism and are the worlds largest one at that. They hate because there are tons of people like you who make them feel that they are terrorists and we will still forgive them. They want a fight.

These terrorists hate us for the very fact that we always have this attitude of we-are-the-peace-loving-people crap and our snooty righteousness attitude.

By hanging Kasab we will send out a message that we have zero tolerance to terrorism and don’t care.

And Aaman, please do your fellow citizens a favor. Some responsibility.
GB writes.. “To send out a strong message to the citizens of Pakistan that we are not a cruel country,”
Are we cruel?

Do you know why some countries like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, UAE, UK, and even USA( to name a few) have least amount of terrorism inflicted on them…because they have zero-tolerance to terrorism and no compassion for terrorists.

A terrorist will fear getting caught in a Saudi Arabia because he knows death sentence will be cruel in addition to the treatment prior to the sentence.
But it is a terrorist’s delight to be caught alive in India…he gets scrumptious meals(that he never got in Pakistan), TV and luxuries along with umpteen sympathies of people like you.

At this moment, several Pakistani terrorists in the making or anywhere in the world reading your article will be calling Indians the biggest cowards on the face of the earth. They don’t see your compassion.

Its interesting this. The viewpoint we have about ourselves as a country. About being above-it-all, peace-loving, etc. Really speaking, how many of us factually know what India has not done or done - within the country and outside the country? There is hardly any data available. Not because it is not there. But because it is skillfully suppressed. If we come to know some of the facts will we still hold such a I-am-better-than-you attitude?

Terrorism is rarely about personal hate, jealousy, and revenge. It is almost always about power and politics. It is a strategy, a tool.
It is not to say there is no personal anger within the person who goes to the 'field' and chooses to shoot at unsuspecting people. But the personal hate and anger is miniscule compared to the larger issue.

Terrorism and a terror-event requires huge amounts of resources, support, sympathizers and requires cold-thinking, rational strategists who can plan and execute the event skillfully. It is many times State-sponsored, induced by often by economic and political agenda. Be it by the USA in South America or Israel or the Jihadis.

GB, what you are saying at a deeper level makes so much sense that not many people will get it. The world operates at a hugely superficial level. People dont understand that this attitude is why things never change. Hope you can withstand the negativity and the general refusal to engage in a meaningful dialogue with you or to understand what you are saying. Hope you writing!

All I can hear in your tone of comments is anger and hatred, Deepti, and all you people (except Ayan and Fleetfoot).

My sincere request to you all is that you come to terms with this rage within your heart, first thing. I have myself been a victim of Trauma which we all Mumbaikars experienced during the 3days Mumbai Terror Attack.

What happens in Trauma is that the sudden incident like The Mumbai Terror Attacks, where we feel threatened, unlocks all our suppressed anxieties and personal anger from personal life.

I suggest Deepti, and all of you seething in anger out there, that you take time to think long-term and from the core of your heart.

I request you all to come to terms with your own anger within first and you will be able to rise above this purely 'reactionary' and personalized anger and think from a larger perspective.

Have patience. A great and responsible Country like ours cannot just act out of Reactions! We need to judiciously decide and think logically, without letting our sentiments over-ride Sense and Logic

Golden Boy

GB- "Have patience. A great and responsible Country like ours cannot just act out of Reactions!"

Dude, the decision to hang Kasab will be taken by the judicial system, not a people's opinion poll.

Why do you and the other Kasab sympathisers here fail to understand this simple point?

The Indian judicial system reserves the death penalty for people who commit heinous crimes, like that child murderer in Noida, and Kasab.

GB-"We need to judiciously decide and think logically, without letting our sentiments over-ride Sense and Logic"

What the judiciary will decide will be according to sense and logic. Only people like you seem to let their sentiments override them.

GB,

Good response to all your comments...i.e. ingeniously indicating that all of us have anger management issues. Dude…you need to open your eyes.
The fact of the matter is you have surrendered pusillanimously.

Let us all call back our Jawans from the borders and hold a white flag.
Let us all invite terrorists to walk over to India and to their hearts content open fire at all of us,
let us give them a channel to spew their venom out,
maybe then maybe they’ll rest in peace and see our compassion.
Gandhi said put your next cheek forward…so hey…lets open up our borders and call them over to open fire…sounds good to ya???

It’s a disgrace that our brave altruistic Jawans are protecting the borders for people like you and many like you.

"Why India should not hang Kasab"?

Because India is a nation, not a person with intentionality, volition etc.

A very powerfully argued, thoughtful - and thought-provoking - piece indeed, thanks Golden Boy.

I'm only troubled by the prospect of locking away Kasab for life. The prison is meant to be a place in which to reform criminals, not to stash away forever (out of sight of society's eyes) those hardened ones who pose a permanent threat to society.

The arguments for and against the death penalty are many and endless; both sides are equally convincing depending on the case at hand. Often the hangman's point of view is forgotten...and the very society that approves the hanging of a person condemns (as outcaste/degenerate) the hangman who is only doing society's will.

Is Kasab today safe to release into our streets? I think not. Is he ever likely to 'reform'? I think not; his mind has been scarred too deep by his mentors. Should we then lock him away for the rest of his life...in a filthy cell where his body, his mind and what is left of his humanity are broken so that he dies a thousand deaths in the next 30-40 years? I think that is equally if not more inhuman. How we treat Kasab is not merely a matter of sending 'signals' to the international community; it is a test of our own society's ethics, our systems of justice, our will and ability - and resolve - to protect our people from those who slay without pity or remorse. As he did on 26/11.


So what should we do? The question is really of his sentence; the trial in India is and will be fair. And there seems little doubt about his guilt.

Perhaps the answer (to what Kasab's sentence should be) lies in the argument that we 'must not make Kasab a martyr by hanging him.' By itself this argument just doesn't wash! The only ones who would regard Kasab as a 'martyr' are those who approve of what he did on 26/11. In the eyes of those who educated him in Pakistan's schools of hatred, who trained him and his colleagues to undertake the slaughter of innocents on 26/11, Kasab is already a hero, a martyr-to-be. Indeed, these terrible teachers must long for Kasab's early execution; for he was supposed to have died on 26/11, and his very existence is a threat to them - and a shame to the Pakistan establishment.

So let Kasab be sentenced to extradition - to Pakistan. To his own nation, that now officially disowns - and continues to disown- him. Let our soldiers escort him, safely, to Wagah. If (as is likely) the Pakistan authorities refuse to let him enter, let our soldiers push him across the Indo-Pak border into no-man's land. Kasab may then choose his own fate. To sneak back into PaKistan (as he sneaked out of Pakistan) and face either adulation or execution at the hands of his own mentors. Or to try and return to India, whereupon without mercy our soldiers may shoot him, as they would any other terrorist-mass murderer-intruder.

Well said, Ghatotkacha.

Why should Kasab not be hanged ? The reasons argued by GB are not too convincing.

Does India require such an action to position herself as a lofty community in international eyes?

And are we scared of brainwashed 21 year olds?

And by not hanging him does it show our courage or compassion?

And does not hanging a Kasab make India a compassionate country? Are we a compassionate country?

But whether GB's arguments are convincing or not, the question still remains. And the issue is more of meteing out capital punishment.

capital punishment stinks sky-high and beyond

Ghatotkacha

Extradite Kasab to Pakistan??? Why?

If nobody has the balls to hang Kasab, please put out a public notice, I will do that job.

I agree with the spirit of this article completely, but not by the suggested action.

We are a civilized country, we have (to a great extent) the rule of law. The rule of law is pretty lenient - it assigns the death penalty only in the "rarest of rare" cases. But, it does keep that option open - for a reason. Our law-makers never had the spirit of hatred while retaining death penalty as an option.

The reason, in my opinion, is in line with what Krishna told Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra - kill but not hate - kill because it is the right thing to do - kill because you are born to protect the law (Rta or Dharma or constitution whatever we called it in different ages) - but choose that option only when all others have failed - when the Duryodhana refused you even the 5 villages which were required for doing your swadharma.

Ahimsa does not mean "non-violence" it means "not hurting". Kill if needed, but without hurting. If you kill with hatred - you tend to hurt. If you kill with Ahimsa - you take great caution in not paining the victim.

That is the spirit with which we should award death penalty to Kasab, allowing him to meet his family, allowing him his last wish, and praying to god that his soul rests in peace. We should not let our emotion and our urge to prove that we are civilized, come in the way of the right thing to do.

Nikhilesh, good points. You're welcome to write for Desicritics - please mail me at desicritics at gmail and I'll set you up.

hmmm.. quoting from a holy book to justify an execution, wonder where I have heard that one before. Don't let the Taliban get a hold of this idea!

Nikhilesh:

"Ahimsa does not mean "non-violence" it means "not hurting". Kill if needed, but without hurting. If you kill with hatred - you tend to hurt. If you kill with Ahimsa - you take great caution in not paining the victim."

huh? killing "without hurting"? Via a morphine laced lassi, such that the target of this killing "without hurting" goes to sleep in bliss? or perhaps killing through "friendly fire" that some luckless american soldiers encountered in iraq and afghanistan?

@Aaman sure. I'll mail you in sometime.

@ajay I'm not justifying. Justification is a deduction process: holy book says p, p implies q so q is justified. I didn't do that. I'm quoting the holy book to advocate reaching a state of mind, in which the mind acts without prejudices - without being too emotional or emotionless. A state of mind with clear consciousness of what is the right thing to do. No amount of "rational justification" can help one reach such a state of clarity ... at least that is what I've learnt in tough times in my life, you are free to disagree :) ... and if such clarity says "release kasab", then release kasab ... I, personally, when look at the situation very calmly, conclude that he should die, I say so without any hatred towards him

When Gandhi started his satyagrah, he knew consciously - that people would die. He did not become weak at this suffering. He persisted with his clarity of the right thing to do. The result is immaterial. What matters is his own ability to face himself. And I doubt anyone else in recent history faced oneself with the strength that Gandhi did.

@commonsense Yes. If you insist :) ... as far as I'm concerned, the method is not important, the spirit of why you do something is. People who want to hang Kasab in public and other such methods, have hatred as the spirit of killing. I don't want him to die because I hate him. I don't. I want him to die, because, I think, it is the right thing to do for Indian judiciary

nikhilesh:

"Ahimsa does not mean "non-violence" it means "not hurting". Kill if needed, but without hurting."

as in: smiling benignly, says the executioner to the group of condemned humans: "Folks, please don't take it personally. I don't hate you. In fact nobody hates you. Unfortunately you will be executed now, but trust me, it will not hurt at all since nobody hates you. My holy book reveals the secret of how to kill without hurting. A win-win situation if ever there was one."

@commonsense: Yes. Mostly correct, except that the holy book does not reveal the secret of how to kill without hurting. :) Sadly, one has to face situations in one's life alone, with no prescription (religious or otherwise) helping much on the exact "how" of facing. Finding that exact thing to do, and the exaction spirit, is, I agree, not easy. And that, is perhaps why we having the discussion.

It's easy to forgive when you are not the one being wronged.

I think the only people who have a moral claim to ask for forgiveness of Kasab are those who have lost a loved one in that massacre.

nikhilesh,

interesting. thanks for the even-keeled, good humored response.

Hi Nikhilesh and everybody,
It is strange that you quote from the Holy texts! And you speak of Ahimsa, in support of "Killing"!

My Yoga Teacher, who has studied Gandhian Philosophy, once told me that she does not believe in Jesus' theory of extending the other cheek when slapped. She explained that the minute you lost your awareness, you were punished by somebody attacking you!

Ahimsa is an off-shoot of a deeper Indian Philosophy arising from the theory that one should always be Aware.

If a man is aware enough, he would stop the person from slapping him in the first place, so that no Himsa (against himself too) will take place.

As for other people, and also you, who commented on what should one do in case somebody attacks you (somebody even quoted the Dalai Lama!), yes! if confronted with a 'Live or Die' situation, Hindu Dharma says - Attack.

However the moment the attacker is captured, (as in Kasab's case), a mere foot-soldier; we need to know that the scenario is different and here the principle to apply is not self-preservation (because now it is the Government and Judiciary who needs to take care that we are not attacked again, caught sleeping!).

Here the scenario now is, 'Do we want to mass-murder a criminal?' Or speaking in the context of real Ahimsa the option is - Should we not put him away to repent behind bars and come to realize what he has really done?

The strong never attacks the weak (which Kasab is right now, caught and behind bars) in the context of Ahimsa.

If we still rant about his crime and want him dead, we are afraid and paranoid people who are scared that the Indian Government can't handle it's responsibility of seeing to it that he doesn't get out of prison for life, or we honestly are reacting out of our anger and trauma.

Perhaps this comment would do some real justice to our 'holy Texts' and the concept of Ahimsa which has been dragged into this controversy and used without regard to its essence, to ask for something (Himsa) that Ahimsa is totally against.

Stop Fabricating and misqouting guyz! Please understand that the spirit of Ahimsa comes out of getting out of the Victim position. It is about feeling empowered, which we truly are, and nothing to do with being a Coward.

Remember that forgiving and Ahimsa is an act of heroism; unlike attacking and killing which is an act of cowardice that terrorised and insecure people follow

If we kill Kasab, we will not be doing justice to either the Indian Philosophy of Ahimsa, or our own Sacred Texts!

Amen to that!

Dear Golden Boy,
You are absolutely right that the concept of 'Ahimsa' has no place in the present dialogue; in saying that "forgiving and Ahimsa is an act of heroism; unlike attacking and killing which is an act of cowardice that terrorised and insecure people follow." Going by the Book(s), any one who so much as swats a mosquito or plucks a flower has violated Ahimsa... :-). Indeed, Ahimsa is an ideal to which humanity must strive; forgivance itself is just one of many paths to that great ideal.

It inexorably leads one to ask: Is/was Kasab a 'terrorized and insecure' person? One who in 'cowardly' fashion attacked and killed innocent men, women and children? Indeed, has this Kasab now been cured of these ailments?

Even a mosquito bites because it is the DHARMA of a mosquito to bite. Can we say that it was Kasab's Dharma to slaughter fellow humans?

I do believe the case you are making is for awarding of life imprisonment for Kasab, rather than the death penalty, because the latter is 'violent' while life imprisonment is not. But isn't life imprisonment unspeakably cruel, much more horrific for the sentenced than execution? To be condemned to live without purpose, without hope, without the normal companionship of fellow human beings for years and decades together? Is this Ahimsa? Are we, Society, merely soothing our collective conscience by locking away a self-confessed mass murderer forever on the out-of-sight-out-of-mind principle, with the argument that 'this is the gentler path'; that with this 'he will have time to repent his sins'?

It's vital to debate these issues because your arguments apply not only to the Kasab case but to any crime for which the law provides for death penalty.

GB- "Remember that forgiving and Ahimsa is an act of heroism; unlike attacking and killing which is an act of cowardice that terrorised and insecure people follow"

You apply twisted logic to deride the Indian judicial system calling its actions cowardice and insecure.

On the contrary, the Indian penal system is one of the most lenient in the world. In Singapore, discharge of a firearm during a robbery automatically invites the death penalty even if no one is injured. Certainly no one calls Singaporeans cowards. In fact, the world is in awe at their rather strict enforcement of law and order. Crime there is extremely low.

Who said punishment doesn't have a deterrent effect?

What you think is heroism will be looked down by others as a sign of weakness and leniency. This will surely encourage more terrorists to attack India.

Sorry, but many of us don't subscribe to your views on Ahimsa and terrorism, least of all the terrorists.

Dear ghatotkacha and everyone including Deepti, smallsquirrel, aaman, maaya, lezdius, lexiss, common sense, chandra and others!

First thing: I am against Death Penalty for anybody, not just for Kasab.

For people who ask me whether I would like to be in a room with Kasab with a revolver in his hand; I say, I will most probably be killed by that kid! I know that!!

And that is exactly why I want him to grow up! To give him a second chance, to know that the world of Violence and brainwashing that he grew up in, is not necessarily the world as it is!

I was even asked in one of these comments here, if somebody raped a minor, would I not ask for a Death sentence?
No I won't!

Because, as Ayan pointed out, if we demand for an eye for an eye- soon the whole world will be blind!

I liked Ayan's comment wherein he said that we are at a critical juncture as a Nation here, on the issue of whether to hang Kasab or not!(somebody else even commented as to why should we debate this at all?!!!) We have to decide between whether we want to be sensible and act like a grown-up Nation, or rant endlessly like a Victim about a bully-neighbour and keep prosecuting the foot-soldiers of Terrorism while we let their Akaas/ masters in Pakistan and elsewhere go scot-free? Or the third option: do we want to create a nuclear havoc?

How do we nip Terrorism in the bud? For what is Terrorism for you and me, is a Cause for them, as Maaya pointed out in her article, Terrorism is here to stay!

In advocating against the Death penalty, I am not asking anyone to forgive his horrible crime. I am just saying that we stop 'reacting' like the Russians, Americans, Israelites, or the Arabs; and behave like Indians! Let us give this misguided criminal a chance to finally learn to think and realize for himself, to reform.

Most of you who have commented here, haven't even taken time out to read the arguments presented in my article, yet have blasted out in your anger in form of words which brings out no sense or logic but just plain anger and a feeling of desperately wanting revenge!

Would I live with Kasab if he is hypothetically left free, somebody asked, and the answer is no. Because there are Institutions for Rehabilitation where he could find time and resources to reform.

What would my mom choose if he were to kill me, between a life-sentence and the Death Penalty for him - I asked her yesterday, and her answer was: Life-sentence!

Life sentence means life behind bars guyz! Like Nalini in the case of Rajiv Gandhi assasination!

What more can I say?

Dear Golden Boy,
I thank and respect you for the honesty of your response. Alas, I must say the parallel you have drawn with 'Nalini in the case of Rajiv Gandhi assassination' is terribly misplaced here.

Surely it takes a lot of courage to claim that Nalini enjoys her 'life behind bars?' Do any of us, will any of us, ever know or care what it must be like for her to wake up each day knowing that it will be the same eventless day as yesterday with no hope of any other prospect or world, no family to be with, no other existence than in her cell...forever the same, alone, even as she ages and weakens, till death? If we have no right to condemn a person to death, what makes us believe this punishment is more humane?

It is worth recounting some historical fact here. Nalini did not kill Rajiv; she was a 'co-conspirator'. Rajiv was killed by a suicide bomber named Thenmozhi Rajaratnam (nickname Thanu). Thanu herself was driven to committing that terrible deed by memory of the atrocities committed on her immediate family members by Sri Lankan soldiers (her sister was raped and killed by them) - atrocities that in Thanu's mind were permitted by the IPKF (India Peacekeeping Force)
who remained mute spectators while the Sri Lankan army ran amok among the civilian populace in the Tamil-dominated northern areas of that country.

Perhaps the IPKF had no choice; they were sent there in strict non-combatant mode by Rajiv Gandhi (then India's PM). It was Rajiv's greatest blunder; one he deeply regretted. But it was easy for the brain-washers of LTTE to stoke the fires of 'revenge' in Thanu's mind; and that revenge was directed at Rajiv...

We may debate 'who started the fire' till the stars die out without finding an answer; endless is the saga of 'revenge'. But 'life imprisonment' is too pat an answer, too easy an option for death penalty. It is no less vengeful than summary execution.

Death will come to me, to you, to all of us in good time. We are all under death sentence from the day we are born. The question is: do we have the right to be one another's executioners?

@Golden Boy Yes, I agree with your understanding of Ahimsa, but with a little more nuance added to it. Ahimsa, is in line with a state of being strong, not the victim mentality. Ahimsa, as you say, has nothing to do with being coward. Agreed, I have one small disagreement, it is also not an "act of heroism".

As long as, you, the individual, wants to forgive him - not for the want of being heroistic, I've nothing against you. I suggest making a decision, without the hate of the man, and without the lure of proving heroic. In a state which Gandhi called Sanyam.

Every person, by nature, will act differently in his state of Sanyam. I, personally, without prejudice, fear or lure - think that the Indian Judiciary should award capital punishment. You on the other hand, in your state of Sanyam, don't. In true Indian spirit I respect your choice. :) I again would be happy if you say so without the heroism part :) ... "if you forgive because that is the right thing to do, not because you want to prove something to the world". And it would be nice, if you respect my choice made in my state of Sanyam. :) I hope I made myself clear.

@Golden Boy I read your response to "ghatotkacha and everyone including Deepti, smallsquirrel, aaman, maaya, lezdius, lexiss, common sense, chandra and others!"

Sorry for the unsought advice. But the response has a little extreme stance on Ahimsa. History has taught us, any thought when taken to extreme, usually leads our mind out of Sanyam. Buddha's idea of Madhyam Marg probably in this spirit. One of things which surprised me, when I read Buddha's line "Between good and bad, I take the middle path" - I took a long time to appreciate it. I still don't completely understand it. But I'm cautious before adopting an extreme supporting view on any principle, however good. Again sorry for the unsought advice :)

Nikhilesh:

"One of things which surprised me, when I read Buddha's line "Between good and bad, I take the middle path" - I took a long time to appreciate it. I still don't completely understand it. But I'm cautious before adopting an extreme supporting view on any principle, however good."

Perhaps true, but then, between the extremes of executing Kasab or letting him live out his life in prison, what is the middle-path? After all he cannot be half-hanged or almost executed...

Golden Boy,

Substitute Kasab with Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo and Mao.

Would you forgive them as well?

^^ Forgive = No death Penalty.

#38:

you are skating on desert sand sans ice and skates when you say:

First thing: I am against Death Penalty for anybody, not just for Kasab.

you have written these articles with Kasab as the main focus...

now it appears as if you are forced to mention capital punishment as an after thought!

had you written about capital punishment as the main thrust, the direction of interacts and comments would have been different.

what more can i say?

digression:

i am for capital punishment in a limited number of cases such a crimes against humanity, rape and murder of minors...

Well, I totally agree with the article wars in afganistan, trade embargo, sanctions, lack of vision, external jelousy etc etc has really screwed up the ability for common sence in pakistan. However, i will disagree one one fact, ajmal kasab is a lunatic murderer and he needs to be punished. he should be hanged. Living in a muslim country, ive understood the necessity of islamic law in realtion to deviant murderous acts. Ive known that hundreds of really lunatic and chaotic murderers to be were hanged and killed under shariah courts in the past leading to times of calm. But then again, here the environemnt is tampered with even leaving minorities in fear. India has laws that obide it to act, they must hang him. And there are millions of pakistanis who say the same. Hang kasab so that sarabjeet, the indian terrorist, can also face the just fate.

Worth to spread and indeed great article, i heard from some indian sources here that the terrorists father or related members had been telling him (ajmal) that is mothers sides families were killed along the [EDITED] -indian border, in a village by indian troops in 1965. So, he went to a jihadi group and wanted to perform some kind of revenge jihad, the group provided easy access to weapons and more moral support. And after doing some research, i and many [EDITED] and indian friends found reasonable evidence of this. the indian army killed some 300 innocent villagers when we attacked pakistan in 65. ofcourse, they had some daggers, and traditional farming tools, they were no match for surprise attack, like what the 12 terrorists did in Mumbai. but ajmal and many more want and want revenge … the [EDITED] tell me if the government will not highlight, then india will suffer more like in Mumbai. what is too happen we need to really secure our borders. A retired army living in canada, says it took 3 minutes to over run that village killing innocent farmers. this is the news on ground bases

Hello Mr.Tarman Singh and Pakistan Hindu,
First Tarman Singhji: I don't know which Ivory Tower you sit on, whether London or U.S or Canada, but please don't use this forum or this thread to justify the acts of Terrorists! No acts of Terror can be justified. My article never justified the Mumbai Terror Attacks, so please refrain from digging into 1965 or Kasab's history or whatever!

I, for one, did say that Kasab should be forgiven because he is 21 and has to be given an opportunity to understand that blood for blood or eye for an eye is not the way ahead for humanity.

Also, as for 'pakistani Hindu's comment's above, I would like to tell him that he looks through the coloured glasses of his Nation's culture perhaps, as he in his comment so very fondly remembers days under Shariah laws in Pakistan. Don't forget that those were the days when Pakistan was dragged into the Cave-era of Hardcore Islamic Fundamentalism. So please stop glamorising it! Pakistan's History is sufficient to prove how a nation and its people can be misled in its hate and insecurity, and the results are here for everyone to see: Present day Pakistan is a haven for Terrorists!

My article, Do not Hang Kasab, is an Indian's Perspective on why he should not be hanged.
My true intention to write such an article goes beyond the small purpose of trying to fetch a life-sentence instead of a death penalty for the 21 year old murderer.

My intention is purely to find a way out of this mess we find ourselves in today. Terrorist attacks and counter-attacks by National forces be it Israel,Pakistan, US, India or Europe: The Eye-for-an-Eye principle on which the world is operating today.

I don't know what happened in 1965. I just know the problems of today, and I am concerned about tomorrow. If we all get busy digging skeletons, there would be a lot to be answered on both sides, mind you!

So let us from both the countries- India or Pakistan- stop trying to score brownie points here, and offer solutions.

well, i am in great favor of peace and not eye for an eye, but it is true that indians now will pay with money to keep this terrorist alive, what is this? Can yo accept this? U must understand that in india and pakistan there are huge populations that know we are at war since over a century. India is also taking similiar acts of revenge to, its just part of reality. can u not understand.these populations are also the highly political, friendly in nature, and EDUCATED. The pakis i know say if india has money to keep terrorist alive then india should also pay to keep sarabjeet alive.. u know those pakis are dirt poor and let me tell you yesterdays action will lead to the day afters reaction.. anywhere in the world. theres no need to argue with fellow Indian

well, i am in great favor of peace and not eye for an eye, but it is true that indians now will pay with money to keep this terrorist alive, what is this? Can yo accept this? U must understand that in india and pakistan there are huge populations that know we are at war since over a century. India is also taking similiar acts of revenge to, its just part of reality. can u not understand.these populations are also the highly political, friendly in nature, and EDUCATED. The [EDITED] i know say if india has money to keep terrorist alive then india should also pay to keep sarabjeet alive.. u know those pakis are dirt poor and let me tell you yesterdays action will lead to the day afters reaction.. anywhere in the world. theres no need to argue with fellow Indian ITS TARAMANSINGH not TARMANSINGH by the way, u must be from lower part maby gugrat state

please dont bring your so called hindu philosiphies to this website, u know how innocent peoples hindus have killed over the centuries. of hindu, muslim, christian and sikh. today money talking no religions
jee

Taramansingh, kindly do not use the term 'paki' since it is considered derogatory and much wrong has been done by both sides. Finger pointing when looked from historical perspective is endless and those who want to cause bloodshed and mayhem will find endless excuses to kill.

I would know since my family suffered much due to the Partition. And its Gujrat.

For justice, let this be an example -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090818/ap_on_re_us/us_ohio_execution

The dude is getting the lethal injection for killing just one person. And her son is the one who pressed for it.

It is easy to preach forgiveness when you are not the affected party. Let us take a poll of the relatives of the victims of the Mumbai murders and see what they have to say.

I agree. Kasab should be imprisoned for a long time and unravelled so he can start to learn about what he has done. This, terrifies most terrorists more than any other punishment. Death for them is utopia achieved. Instead, we should try to teach them they do not get what they want. That life is worth something and their lives will be spent reflecting rather than gaining instant 'paradise'. In many cases, murderers and followers of fake ideologies have come to regret their crimes with time and space away for the influence of radicals. This is what India should do.

Well said EM! Let us hope that sense will prevail and Kasab gets a life-sentence instead of a death sentence!