Hang the sodden murderer and feed his carcass to the pigs - or set it alight with a copy of this email.
How come these carnation-behind-ear kumbaya singing spam gurus didn't weep when people were being murdered in Delhi and Mumbai? shiv On Tue October 17 2006 8:11 am, Kiran Jonnalagadda wrote: > Apropos recent events. It is no wonder that they call it "India > Occupied Kashmir". > > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Date: 16 October, 2006 10:57:06 PM GMT+05:30 > > To: sarai list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Subject: [Reader-list] Mohammad Afzal Guru's Impending Execution > > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 0.7.1 (Macintosh/20040626) > > > > Satyameva Jayate? : With Regard to the Impending Execution of Mohammad > > Afzal Guru in Tihar Jail. > > Shuddhabrata Sengupta > > > > > > A few days from now, a man called Mohammad Afzal Guru, son of > > Habibullah > > Guru, currently resident in Ward Number 6 of Jail Number 1 in Tihar > > Central Prison in Delhi will hang to satisfy the bloodlust of the > > Indian > > Republic, unless the President of India thinks otherwise, A few weeks > > ago, I recall reading the NDTV newscaster Barkha Dutt's breathless > > three > > cheers for the fact that India retains the death penalty (so that the > > indignant tears in the eyes of television presenters like herself, and > > the loved ones of murder victims, can be wiped away with each rope > > that > > tightens around the neck of condemned prisoners). [See 'A Battle for > > Life : Barkha Dutt, on NDTV Columns, September 20, 2006 > > http://www.ndtv.com/columns/showcolumns.asp?id=1061 ] > > > > At times like this, when hangmen are asked to practice their moves, > > nothing comes more in handy than the teflon coated enthusiasm for > > capital punishment of television crusaders like Barkha Dutt. Great > > democracies, like the United States of America, the Islamic > > Republics of > > Iran and Pakistan, the Peoples Republic of China, the Democratic > > Peoples > > Republic of Korea and enlightened states like the Kingdom of Saudi > > Arabia are known for their zeal in retaining the death penalty as a > > necessary part of state ritual. The Republic of India is in eminent > > company, and I am grateful to Barkha Dutt for making me remember > > that. I > > need not advance moral and ethical arguments against the death penalty > > here, because they have been so well countered by Ms. Dutt. Never mind > > the fact that states that have done away with the death penalty have > > lower rates of violent crime, never mind the fact the innocence of > > people that condemned to die has often been established after they > > have > > been executed. Ms. Dutt has demonstrated that the death penalty is the > > balm that comforts her agonized soul. And many of those who argue that > > the President should not in fact assent to the petition filed by > > Afzal's > > family are also arguing that the Afzal must hang so that the Indian > > democracy and the loved ones of those who died defending the Indian > > parliament may rest in peace. The dignity of the Indian Republic > > hinges > > on the lever that will catapult Afzal into the empty space under the > > gallows in Tihar jail. As the noose tightens, our polity will blossom > > with renewed vigour. > > > > In championing capital punishment, Barkha Dutt also joins the > > illustrious pantheon of the good and the great in India, such as Shri > > L.K. Advani, Shri Maninderjeet Singh Bitta (of the All India Anti > > Terrorist Front) and Shri Buddhadev Bhattacharya who have all, from > > time > > to time, publicly expressed their desire to see different people > > hanged > > to death in recent times. Politicians such as Ghulam Nabi Azad who > > have > > pleaded for a 'postponement' of Afzal's execution in view of > > 'prevailing > > circumstances' are as cynical as those (especially in the BJP) who > > demand that Afzal be hanged as soon as possible while simultaneously > > demanding that the unfortunate man called Sarabjit Singh who is > > held in > > death row in a Pakistani prison be released. Broadly echoing the > > Ghulam > > Nabi Azad line (with some nuanced differences) is the gerontocray > > of the > > Communist Party of India, which has not found fault with the verdict, > > only expressed an apprehension about the consequences of its > > execution. > > The central leadership of the Communist Part of India (Marxist) has > > maintained an undignified and convenient silence, even though its > > prominent legislator in Kashmir, Yusuf Tarigami has publicly > > opposed the > > death penalty for Afzal. Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference in > > Jammu and Kashmir has suddenly discovered what he calls 'innocence' in > > Mohammad Afzal Guru in an interview given to Karan Thapar, and this is > > somewhat belated, because he never said a word about the 13 December > > Case while he was a coalition partner of the then ruling NDA. > > Presumably, the National Conference's sensitivity to the issue of > > Human > > Rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir have an inverse relationship to > > the fact of its being in office in that state. The only Indian > > politician of any stature who has publicly expressed a principled > > opposition to the death penalty, and to capital punishment as such, is > > the DMK patriarch K. Karunanidhi. The Indian political class's romance > > with the death penalty is not anything new, and we must remember that > > even Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi could see nothing wrong in Bhagat > > Singh > > being hanged. Capital Punishment and the core values of Indian > > Nationalism seem to have a close relationship. Perhaps they are both > > predicated on the idea that the nation-state and the rule of law > > demands > > sacrificial victims from time to time to re-invigorate the tired > > vitality of its foundations. The Indian state hanged Kehar Singh > > when it > > could not find anyone else to hang in order to restore it's > > vitality in > > the Indira Gandhi Assasination case, and this time, Mohammad Afzal > > Guru > > must serve that necessary function. Perhaps Giorgio Agamben, whose > > rediscovery of the concept of the pariah turned sacrificial victim of > > the foundational violence of the state though the term - Home Sacer > > has > > found such contemporary resonance in the light of Abu Ghraib and > > Guantanamo Bay , needs to turn his attention to the precincts of the > > maximum security ward in Tihar Prison. Mohammad Afzal Guru is as > > likey a > > candidate today as any for the status of Homo Sacer. > > > > Today, I read Vir Sanghvi, another eminent media mandarin, wrestle > > with > > his conscience about whether or not Afzal should hang. In a large > > op-ed > > piece in the Hindustan Times e paper next to a smaller piece from > > Karan > > Thapar that hesitantly takes a different view. > > > > [See - The Complexity of Execution, Vir Sanghvi, Counterpoint, > > Hindustan > > Times, October 15, 2006 > > http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1820675,00300001.htm > > and - Should Mohammad Afzal be Hanged, Karan Thapar, Hindustan Times, > > Sunday Sentiments, October 15, 2006 > > http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1820688,00300002.htm] > > > > And like all good Indian liberals who won debating prizes in high > > school, Sanghvi too does this by dispassionately examining the pros > > ('good strong signal to 'terrorists') and cons ('this damn > > inconvenience > > of the fact that he did not really have a legal defence') of execution > > before saying - "um, yes, maybe, there will be some good that can > > come > > out of hanging him, because you know, it might, you know, stop a > > hijacking, because, you know, you can't really hijack a plane to > > ask for > > a dead man to be brought alive, can you" - impeccable reasoning, > > and so > > much more reassuring for Vir Sanghvi the next time he checks in to > > fly. > > Dead Afzal, no hijakers. Its as simple as that. In fact we should > > logically follow through with the Sanghvi logic to propose that > > all the > > prisoners in Tihar jail be summarily executed tomorrow. it would > > solve > > the burgeoning Indian aviation industry's security concerns for the > > next > > ten years. Conscientious Citizens like Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi > > should be invited to conduct executions, preferably live, on > > television > > (there is always such a shortage of hangmen, and it would make for > > such > > good reality tv, and people could phone in saying how much more > > tranquil > > they feel when they watch an execution) in order to redeem frequent > > flyer points against swift and successful hangings. The more they > > hang, > > the higher they will fly. Fasten seat belts and hang a Kashmiri. > > > > I wish I were in Delhi, where I could get more of a sense of what is > > going on, talk to people, get a grip on the fact that there are faces > > that I would see and voices that I would hear of many people I know > > who > > would not be as hysterically celebratory about hanging people in > > prisons > > as the firm of Dutt, Singhvi & Co and others like them happen to be. > > But all I can do is read what I can where I am from the internet. > > So my > > day begins (when I get online) by typing the words 'Afzal', 'Guru' and > > 'Hanging' on google, and hoping that I can soon add 'Clemency' or > > 'Commutation' to my search string to yield some hopeful result. When I > > did add the word 'clemency' or 'pardon' recently, I got a result that > > confirmed my long held views on the wisdom inherent in our republic's > > judicial apparatus. The lord justices of the Supreme Court of India > > have > > sent out a thinly veiled warning addressed to the President, > > instructing > > him to act with caution, or else provoke a judicial review of the > > executive authority of the Presidency. Their words suggest that the > > President must exercise the utmost restraint and consideration, and > > not > > be carried away by passion, in arriving at any decision regarding the > > death penalty awarded to Mohammad Afzal Guru. > > > > It seems remarkable to me to think that the state's decision to kill a > > man in cold blood should be prefaced in terms of reason, caution, > > consideration and restraint, and that the mere consideration of > > reasons > > to save that life should be qualified by terms that suggest that even > > the entertainment of such a thought could be unreasonable, excessive, > > rash and impudent. > > > > I have remarked on the sagacity of the Supreme Court of India on other > > occasions, especially when the lord justices have passed innovative > > verdicts that suggest that illegal squatters on urban land in a city > > like should think more carefully about inclement weather, but I am > > once > > again amazed at the wisdom and sopistication that some lord > > justices of > > the Supreme Court, and other distinguished legal professionals like > > Soli Sorabjee, our erstwhile attorney general, have displayed in > > suggesting that even the banal human quality of compassion, or the > > ordinary, commonplace tendency to doubt that justice has been done > > when > > an accused person has gone unheard, or apprehensions about the > > unleashing of a new spiral of violence, can on occasion be wild, > > unreasonable, excessive and ever so intemperate. It is evident from > > the > > tenor of their pronouncements that cheap sentiments like sympathy, or > > ordinary doubts about the due processes of trial, or worries about > > more > > loss of life, when seen through the exalted filter of national > > security, > > are but irritating excesses that need to be held in check. That truth > > alone must triumph that the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Home > > Affairs > > and the Intelligence Bureau deem acceptable for the health of the > > Republic. > > > > In view of this, we might as well propose an amendment to the > > constitution such that the national motto be expanded to read - > > 'Sravoccha Nyayalaya-cha-Guptachara Vibhaga-cha-Griha Mantralayasya > > Satyameva Jayate". Such a move would yield a national motto or slogan > > that would render a resonant and precise statement about the present > > status of the concept known as the truth in the Indian Republic, > > especially in the wake of the events of the 13th of December, 2001. To > > have all manner of truths, especially crassly inconvenient and common > > ones emerge triumphant, such as the fact that the Indian state is a > > brutal colonial power that holds Kashmir and parts of the North > > East by > > military force and with the aid of "shoot at whim" laws such as the > > Armed Forces Special Powers Act will simply not do. We need refined > > and > > processed truths - such as those that condemn Mohammad Afzal Guru > > to hang. > > > > Still, It is possible that APJ Abdul Kalam (the man, not necessaily > > the > > President, or the erstwhile weapons designer) may have some residual > > human qualities that may make him look askance at the fact that > > Mohammad > > Afzal Guru is sentenced to be hanged in a few days on the basis of > > statements that actually clearly implicate agencies of the Indian > > Government such as the Special Task Force that operate in the > > territory > > of Jammu and Kashmir occupied by India in the affair of the attack on > > the Indian Parliament in December 2001. That is why the Supreme Court > > must rush to protect APJ Abdul Kalam the President from being > > swayed by > > APJ Abdul Kalam the human being. No untoward considerations, such > > as the > > possibility of the outbreak of rage in the wake of a blatantly unfair > > execution, or the simple injustice of a man being killed for being > > trapped in circumstances that were totally beyond his control, must be > > allowed to stay the president's or the hangman's hand. He has > > listened > > to Afzal's son and wife. He has given them his time, and that shows > > how > > magnanimous the Indian state can be, and now, he must say no. Afzal > > must > > die. > > > > We do not need a reminder of the fact that Afzal's alleged involvement > > in the planning of this attack is the only reason why he is being > > sentenced to die. Unlike, other instances of the award of capital > > punishment, where the accused are likely to be people who have > > actually > > killed other people in particularly heinous ways, Afzal is accused > > only > > of being an an actor in a conspiracy, a cog in the wheel of terror. > > His > > was not a hand that held a gun on that day. He fired no shots, > > killed no > > one. He was caught because his phone number was in the phone directory > > in one of the mobile phones found on the person of the dead > > terrorists. > > In a letter written to his Supreme Court defence lawyer, Afzal points > > out that his mobile phone has numbers of STF personnel, and the same > > logic by which he is implicated in the conspiracy of December 13 > > should > > logically lead to an investigation of the STF personnel's role in > > the event. > > > > If that is so, then it would be natural for us to expect that all > > leads as to who else may be implicated in this conspiracy would > > have to > > be exhausted before any one of the conspirators or actors (in this > > case > > Afzal) is given the ultimate punishment. We know that Afzal did not > > have > > adequate legal representation in the course of his trial, but we also > > know that he made statements that the court took note of, in the sense > > that they are on the court record, which include statements that > > implicate officers of the Special Task Force in Jammu and Kashmir. > > These > > are public documents, and they have been meticulously collated in > > NIrmalangshu Mukherjee's courageous and disturbing book on the > > December > > 13 case - (December 13: Terror over Democracy. Published by > > Bibliophile > > South Asia, New Delhi. 2005). This book is available at any good > > bookship in Delhi, and I am amazed that the media has not in fact made > > more of this story than it has. > > > > [For more details of why Mohammad Afzal should not die, see > > Nirmalangshu > > Mukherjee's excellent summary of the main arguments outlined in his > > book > > in - 'Should Mohammad Afzal die?', The Economic and Political > > Weekly, > > September 17, 2005 this article is available online at - > > http://www.indianet.nl/indpk162.html#20050917b] > > > > > > Perhaps, once again, phone calls from the Intelligence Bureau and the > > Home Ministry to editorial offices of newspapers and television > > channels > > have done their job. That is the charitable explanation, that the > > majority of the media has acted out of fear. The uncharitable > > explanation is that the media is silent about Afzal's relationship > > with > > the STF for the same reason as to why it was so vocal in loudmouthing > > SAR Geelani's presumed culpability in the same case. The mainstream > > media, to a very large extent is not an organ that takes orders > > from the > > intelligence apparatus. It is in fact a part of the intelligence > > apparatus. The 13 December Case will go down in the history of Modern > > India as an instance that revealed the extent of embedding of the > > intelligence apparatus of the Indian state within the so called 'free' > > media in India. > > > > In this delicate game of silence and overstatement, the courts have > > based their indictment of Afzal partly on the statments made by him > > and > > partly on confessions extracted under brutal physical and mental > > torture > > in police custody, and the majority of the reporting in the media has > > conveniently overlooked that fact that the names that have been > > named by > > Afzal in these very statements point in the direction of the Indian > > Government's security, intelligence and counter-insurgency > > apparatus in > > Jammu and Kashmir. The 'needle of suspicion' to use another favourite > > Supreme Court phrase, is pointing all over the place, but no one seems > > to be looking. There is a pattern here that we need to recognize - > > when > > things are obvious, look away, and when truths need to be > > manufactured, > > use every tool in the book to manufacture them. > > > > We need only to remember that barring Shams Tahir Khan of Aaj Tak, no > > other journalist present during Afzal's infamous press conference > > stage > > managed by Rajbir Singh the sometime decorated special cell police > > officer, encounter expert and part time extortionist, had the gumption > > to report that Afzal had in fact stated that SAR Geelani was in no way > > involved with the events of December 13. All other journalists and the > > news channels that they represented, who had been present at that > > 'encounter' with the truth according to the Delhi Police's Special > > Cell, > > had fallen in line with Rajbir Singh's 'request' to edit out that part > > of Afzal's testimony. The only English language national level > > newspapers or publications that more or less consistently > > maintained an > > independent tone were the Hindu and to some extent, Frontline. The > > only > > news website that toed a slightly different line was rediff.com, > > and the > > only detailed un-biased reports that were published, could actually be > > found in regional newspapers and publications, mainly in Kashmir, and > > one, oddly in Kerala. > > > > What this suggests is that the intensity in the court's and the broad > > sweep of the national mainstream media's desire to execute Afzal > > and to > > focus on him alone, to the exception of those individuals named by him > > actually constitutes a move to consign aspects of the truth of what > > lay > > behind the events of December 13, and the possible part played in them > > by the 'deep state' in India, into a kind of oblivion - a black > > hole of > > judicially mandated and media packaged silence from which nothing > > can be > > recovered for posterity. With Afzal's death, the possibility of > > concrete > > evidence for alternative explanations behind the events of that day > > will die. We will never know, who or what entity actually masterminded > > the shootout in the Parliament that almost provoked a nuclear war and > > ensured the legislation of the infamous and now repealed Prevention of > > Terrorism Act by the then BJP led NDA ruling alliance. If the sentence > > is carried out, we will never know how much the shadowy senior > > echelons > > of the intelligence community in India, or the then home minister and > > deputy prime minister L.K. Advani, or the then defence minister George > > Fernandes, or the then prime minister A.B. Vajpayee knew about the > > fact > > that a medical and surgical equipment salesman and surrendered JKLF > > militant called Mohammad Afzal Guru was being 'cultivated' trhough > > torture, threats and extorition by STF personnel and serving military > > and para-military officers. We will never know as to whether or not > > this 'cultivation' led up to the processes that included his being > > instructed to take a man called Mohammad to Delhi, who eventually > > turned > > up as the body of a slain terrorist outside the Indian Parliament in > > Delh on the 13th of Decemberi. If Afzal dies, the deep state in India > > will just get a few fathoms deeper, and many uncomfortable secrets > > will > > die in its depths. > > > > As I write this, I am sitting in far away London, looking at > > pictures of > > Andamanese skulls, composite photographs of prisoners in British > > prisons > > and fingerprint impressions of convicts taken in un-named colonial > > prisons in nineteenth century India. Sometimes I do this in two rooms > > scattered in the campus of the University College of London that > > houses > > the remains of what was once founded as the National Eugenics > > Laboratory > > by Francis Galton. Galton championed the idea that all social problems > > could be solved by lessons learnt through indexing, recording and > > measuring bodies and minds. The truths he sought to legislate, about > > innate criminality and intrinsic genius, about racial characteristics > > and inherited traits were to be made concrete by measuring heads and > > deducing patterns from accumulated fingerprint impressions. In a > > series > > of haunting photographs, Galton produces what he calls > > 'photo-composites' - anthropometric images obtained by layering > > portraits on to each other such that the features blend in to create a > > composite face. A face that takes something from all the faces that go > > into it. So you have the average criminal, the average lunatic, the > > average East End Jew, the average of eight Andamanese crania. When I > > think of the events that unfolded on December 13, 2001, I cannot but > > help think of Galton's photo-composites, and his attempts at deducing > > the extent of criminality in a given population by producing an > > average > > image based on the statistical relationships of the distance of their > > noses from their chins. Remember how Mr. Advani, the then home > > minister > > said on December 13, 2001, that the slain 'terrorists' - 'looked like > > Pakistanis'. Perhaps he had an image of the 'average' Pakistani stored > > in the database in his cranium, with which he could compare the > > features > > of the dead men and come to this remarkable conclusion. Afzal's > > indictment too, is an instance of the photo-compositing method of > > jurisprudence. He is a Kashmiri Muslim man of a certain age, he > > once was > > a JKLF activist, he moved often between Srinagar and Delhi for reasons > > to do with his business. It goes like this - you take any Kashmiri > > Muslim man of a certain age, and they should look and sound adequately > > Kashmiri, you identify the fact that they may sympathise or may once > > have sympathised with the movement to rid Kashmir from brutal military > > occupation (which is not hard to do, because most human beings would > > want an end to the particular oppressions that beset them) , you > > zero in > > on the fact that he moved between Delhi and Srinagar with some > > frequency > > and you mix these facts together to produce the face of a terrorist. > > There are thousands of such faces, and what matters is not individual > > culpability in a given act, or even whether a person was coerced or > > bludgeoned or cajoled into participating in a chain of events, but > > that > > he should 'look' the part. His face should be an echo of the > > 'composite' > > of the visage of the terrorist that we have learnt to see in our > > heads. > > > > So much so that when the judges see Afzal, they also see Maqbool Butt, > > the Kashmiri man whose hanging on February 11, 1984, precipitated by a > > crime (the assasination of the Indian diplomat Ravindra Mhatre in > > Birmingham) that he did not commit, was one of the sparks that stoked > > the ongoing Kashmir uprising. Maqbool Batt, who spent long years in > > Indian and Pakistani prisons, was like Afzal. dogged by the persistent > > shadow of his entanglement in Indian (and Pakistani) intelligence > > maneouvres. He had been sentenced to death many years previously > > for the > > alleged murder of an Indian military officer during the prehistory of > > the insurgency in Kashmir in the 1960s, when Butt had first started a > > rag tag band of partisans called the National Liberation Front. > > Subsequently, he may well have come under the shadow once again of > > Indian intelligence outfits, who used him, it is alleged, to > > mastermind > > the hijack of the Indian Airlines plane Ganga in 1971 - ( a remarkably > > non violent hijack in which no passengers or crew were harmed, but an > > ageing plane that had been out of commission and was surprisingly > > brought back into use days before the hijack was conveniently blown up > > while stationary in a Pakistani air field). > > > > The shadowy truths of the RAW's involvement (through the Border > > Security > > Force) in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Fokker Friendship plane > > Ganga, in 1971 (one of the precipitating factors of the 1971 war) with > > which Batt had something to do, is one of those episodes in the > > history > > of modern India which has never quite seen the light of day. And Batt > > too, like Afzal, may have eventually been a pawn in a game far more > > complex then he could have comprehended at the time. It is possible > > that > > Butt too, like Afzal was acting at least part of the time under orders > > that emanated from quarters deep within the Indian deep state. > > Eventually, Butt, the secular idealist, the sometime double agent, the > > victim of Indian as well as Pakistani justice, returned to India, was > > arrested and put away to be forgotten in Tihar prison, and in the wake > > of Mhatre's kidnap and murder, made to walk to the gallows. While > > alive, > > he had been an obscure, little known agitator, in death he became > > 'Shaheed-e-Kashmir'. He proved to be far more dangerous in his > > death to > > the Indian state then he was when he had been alive, so much so > > that the > > Indian army routinely swoops down on his village on the 11th of > > February > > each year to prevent his family from holding a private memorial > > function > > in his honour. His brother too was killed in an encounter, his family > > prevented from coming to Delhi on the day of his execution, and all > > pictures or portaits of him have been taken away from the private > > homes > > of his immediate family. The cynical shortsightedness and the awkward > > combination of memory and forgetfulness that characterizes Indian > > state > > policy in Kashmir may once again produce > > > > Francis Galton's racially motivated pseudo-science died a quiet death, > > and persists mainly as an object lesson in the dangers of the > > attempt to > > harvest truths about the human condition on the basis of numbers > > alone. > > But it is making a quiet back door entry through the new sciences of > > biometrics that are at the core of the information technology of > > the war > > against terrorism - which itself is the key operation of the > > settung up > > of a new kind of state machinery predicated on the hyper-intensive > > surveillance of those it rules. This includes the impossible holy > > grail > > of machine assisted facial recognition as a preventive forensic > > measure > > designed to identify and neutralize potential terrorists. This would > > mean giving a scientific edge to say the act of hanging Mohammad Afzal > > Guru were it to take place, before, not after the 13th of December. > > > > In some crude ways this pre-cognitive neutralization of the > > terrorist to > > be is already a refined science in Indian statecraft. It includes the > > provisions of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act which enable armed > > forces personnel to shoot to kill on the basis of suspicion. it is the > > theory of the practice known as the 'encounter'. Last week, even as > > the > > attempts to protest against the impending execution of Mohammad Afzal > > Guru were gaining momentum, two other events occured in Delhi which > > merit our attention. The first was a demonstration against the arrest > > and forced feeding of Irom Sharmila, a young Manipuri woman who has > > been > > on a continuous hunger strike against the AFSPA, and the suspected > > encounter death of Irshad Ahmed Lone, a young Kashmiri man in Delhi. > > While the first may have got some attention, the second is once again > > wrapped in silence. Protests rocked the Channapora neighbourhood of > > Srinagar at the manner in which his naked body showed visible marks of > > torture. But the Delhi Police, and its Special Cell, thought it > > wise not > > to display him as yet another trophy in their war against terror. > > Perhaps, they thought, it would be too much to exhibit another > > 'encounter' in the days leading up to Afzal's execution. > > > > In the light of this silence, it may be instructive to read a report > > that appeared on the website of the Kashmir Times newspaper on October > > 11. It merits a lengthy quotation. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > ------------------------------------------ > > Kashmiri youth tortured, killed in Delhi > > Protests rock Srinagar, custodial killing alleged > > KT NEWS SERVICE : http://www.kashmirtimes.com/news4.htm > > > > SRINAGAR, OCT 11: People took to streets and held strong > > demonstrations > > at Channapora here today in protest against the murder of a local > > youth, > > Irshad Ahmad Lone, an automobile engineer, in New Delhi. Police burst > > smoke shells and resorted to lathi charge to disperse the > > demonstrators, > > who retaliated by pelting stones on cops.. > > > > The bereaved family accused Delhi police of arresting Irshad and later > > killing him in custody. According to them the youth had gone to New > > Delhi for a job in an automobile company on September 21. He was > > arrested by police there and brutally tortured. Later they were > > informed > > by a cop from the union capital on telephone that Irshad is in an > > unconscious condition in a hospital. The youth later succumbed to his > > injuries. > > > > Ali Mohammad father of Irshad said that in the morning of October 8 he > > received a telephone call at his residence from New Delhi. The caller > > identified himself as assistant sub inspector Ram Ji Lal of Inter- > > State > > Bus Terminus (ISBT) police chowki Kashmiri Gate. The cop asked him > > whether he knew Irshad. Ali Mohammad informed that he was his son. The > > sub inspector told Ali Mohammad that his son was in an unconscious > > condition at Sushrutra Trauma Centre. > > > > Irshad's brother, Tariq Ahmad, rushed to Delhi. According to him, his > > brother was in an unconscious condition with visible torture marks on > > his body. Irshad's arms, throat and head had torture marks. He later > > succumbed to his injuries. Tariq asked Ram Ji Lal as to what had > > happened to Irshad. The cop claimed that they found Irshad in a naked > > condition on a highway at ISBT Kashmiri Gate and that he was > > unconscious. Asked as to how he got the telephone number of their > > residence in Srinagar, Ram Ji Lal claimed that Irshad gave the number > > before he lost his consciousness. > > > > The bereaved family members said if police got their phone number from > > Irshad why it did not ask him as to who had tortured him. They said > > Irshad was arrested, tortured and then killed by Delhi police. Since > > this morning large number of people visited the affected family and > > were > > waiting for the body till late this evening. The body is likely to > > reach > > here during night hours... > > > > Senior separatist leaders Mohammad Yasin Malik, chairman JKLF, and > > Shabir Ahmad Shah, president of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) visited > > the bereaved family to offer their condolences. Addressing the people > > there Shah said the way Irshad was murdered it clearly indicated that > > Kashmiri youth can not go to any Indian state." Their only fault is > > that > > they are Kashmiri", he said. > > Shah alleged that on one side government of India is talking about > > peace > > and on the other side leaving no stone unturned to murder Kashmiri > > youth. The DFP president was placed under house arrest. JKLF chairman > > Mohammad Yasin Malik visited the residence of Irshad immediately after > > his return from New Delhi. Accompanied by other party leaders, he took > > part in protest demonstrations. Addressing the people, Malik strongly > > condemned the killing. He asked as to what crime Irshad had > > committed." > > Is being a Kashmiri the biggest crime", the JKLF chairman asked. He > > said > > the slain engineer had qualified the interview for a job in Delhi on > > merit. "But he was denied the job for being a Kashmiri. When he was > > about to return his home, he was killed by unidentified men", Malik > > said. " > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > ------------------------------------------ > > > > It appears from this report, and from the arrest of Irom Sharmila and > > the police action in Delhi against those demonstrating in solidarity > > with her and against the AFSPA, that being a certain kind of Kashmiri, > > or having Manipuri or identifiably 'north eastern' features is in > > fact a > > crime in the capital of the Indian Republic. The pre-cognitive > > faculties > > of the state know that 'people like that' are potential > > subversives, and > > that no effort should be spared in neutralizing them. If this does > > result in the occasional execution of a Mohammad Afzal Guru or the > > death > > on the streets of Delhi of an Irshad Ahmad Lone, then it is way to > > small > > a price to pay for the integrity and security of the Indian state. > > It is said took the massacres of Algerians in Paris in 1961 for a > > generation of French Intellectuals to begin to understand the actual > > nature of the French colonialism in Algeria. How many Kashmiris will > > need to die in Delhi's streets and in Tihar (since the number of the > > dead in Kashmir does not seem to have much of an effect) for the > > Indian > > intelligentsia to wake up to the fact that the Indian state is a > > colonial state and that it acts like any occupying power would, in > > Kashmir and significant parts of the North East? > > > > In Afzal's written statement to his lawyer Sushil Kumar, posted > > earlier > > on the Reader List (7th October, 2006) by Mahmood Farooqui, he (Afzal) > > points out how Indian security officers routinely extorted money from > > him because he was a 'surrendered militant' who had not become a > > special > > police officer (SPO). > > > > (see > > http://www.humanrightskerala.com/index.php? > > option=com_content&task=view&id=4384&Itemid=5 > > for an online version of this letter) > > > > > > In this sordid tale of greed, where different police officers demand > > varying sums of money after torturing Afzal, lies one of the > > secrets of > > Indian colonialism in Kashmir. Our militaries are in Kashmir, Indian > > soldiers and countless Kashmiris are dying in Kashmir, also because > > there is money to be made in this business. 'Terrorists' are just as > > necessary a part of this equation. Because 'terrorists' become > > 'surrendered terrorists', and 'surrendered terrorists' are excellent > > sources of cash, because if they do not pay up, they can be made to > > become 'terrorists' again. Here is the time honoured police and > > gangster > > tradition of the 'hafta' and 'vasuli' ratcheted up through the brute > > force of a military occupation. This in fact is one of the sad > > truths of > > the Indian state's presence in Kashmir, and for the sake of the > > triumph > > of this truth, Mohammad Afzal Guru is sentenced to die. > > > > I can only hope that APJ Abdul Kalam looks carefully at the motto > > inscribed on his website, his stationery, his cutlery and his towels > > before he goes to sleep each night in the next few days as he > > weighs the > > decision about whether to assent to the clemency petition filed by > > Afzal's family. Satyameva Jayate. > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________ > > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city. > > Critiques & Collaborations > > To subscribe: send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with > > subscribe in the subject header. > > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
