23.10.10

Kasab's Call

The Indian courts are spending huge amounts of money on Ajmal Kasab. That is not his problem. There appears to be no reason for his case to be delayed if all evidence was available to deem it fit for him to get the death sentence. So, why is this charade on?

Is Kasab in fact helping the Indian legal system by insisting that his case be heard in an international court? Isn’t India complaining about the constant terrorist threat? Does it not want world attention? Is it not being co-opted by the western idea of Dirty Harry?

It is interesting that Kasab’s demand for an international hearing coincides with the government counsel Ujwal Nikam’s sudden discovery that Malabar Hill was to be one of the targets. Why is such information seeping out slowly like water from dry taps? Did this not show up in any of the hearings and the thousands of pages in the dossiers? The mention of another elite locality – that too which houses the governor, the chief minister and other high-flying celebrities is well-timed. The American President is to come visiting and he will need to see how our progress is being hampered by a man in cargo pants who eats dates.

It all works out well. Kasab is the showpiece and will remain so. Denying him newspapers and books makes no sense. If he is to go to the gallows he may as well be well-read. Solitary confinement is supposedly making him lose his mental balance; this argument could well have been used earlier when he displayed far worse manic symptoms. His lawyers are instead merely going the route of his restlessness, which makes him spit into the webcam during a video conference. This incident was seen as contempt of court.

There is such black humour here. A man is to die. What is he expected to feel towards the court but contempt?

For those who believe that this case will be sorted out soon, it is time to lie back and wait for an endless saga. Kasab’s drama is not a one-act play and he is not the only actor much less the director. It is now indeed a production fit for an international market – a bilingual production, one may add.

5 comments:

  1. If he is to go to the gallows he may as well be well-read.
    That is true poetry if this life was not of a human being.
    Oh i wonder does a convict on death row has at least as much rights as any other person.A death row does not give state much power and does not take away much in the matters of life and death as no body can be sure of death even on death row.
    Glad to see you blogging again.

    kul bhushan

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just feel that since the death is the final frontier, should anything else matter? Of course, this applies only to the portion you have discussed.

    Kul Bhushan, my poetry too is about blogging, even if you might not appreciate it much!

    I am a bit out of the loop, although bits and pieces shall appear. Thanks for missing me, even if it is someone you can disagree with :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Poetry is fine but I would like to high-resolution (preferably downloadable for desktop wallpaper if the copyrights allow) versions of your sketches I see on the strip on right side.

    and please do keep blogging, it is both entertaining and enlightening.

    thanks,

    hitesh

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good to see the new posts...was waiting for it for a long time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hitesh:

    Even I don't have my sketches/photoart as wallpaper/screen saver! So, thank you...I hold the copyright and as long as it is for personal use and not reproduced and you do not work for the any government or religious organisation, you may use it. Regarding the high resolution, I wouldn't know how to figure that out, but if you know just give me a shout.

    Perhaps I can do a calligraphic version of my poetry? :)

    RBaruah:

    Glad to have people on a similar wavelength share the space with me.

    ReplyDelete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.