Ajmal Kasab’s executions was
obviously the right decision. Given the sentiment prevailing in the entire
country, there was no way he could have been given clemency. It’s the same
story with Afzal Guru whose plea for clemency has been awaiting a Presidential
decision for 11 years now. In spite of the doubts of whether he got a fair
trial or not (a matter surely considered by the SC before giving him the death
sentence), Guru should be hanged. But I think it’s important to draw a line between
regular cases of hate crime and acts of terrorism. Capital punishment must only
be given in cases of terrorism; not otherwise.
I had written on this subject
first on May 30, 2011in my post titled “Ban
capital punishment. Allow mercy killing instead.....”. I am re-producing portions
from it for the benefit of those who didn’t read my earlier post.
My first point is about what kind
of countries India wants to be bracketed with on the subject of capital
punishment. Just look at the countries
actively practicing capital punishment. Based on 2010 executions, the list
includes China (2000+ executions in 2010), Iran (252), North Korea (60), US
(46), Saudi Arabia (27), Libya (18), Syria (17) and Bangladesh (9). Except for
the US, which of these countries inspires us to be like them? Most of these
countries are notorious in any case. Many of them.....Iran, North Korea, Saudi
Arabia......actually allow public execution. What kind of system is this? Is
China going to be the inspiration for India in this regard? Everyone knows of
the opaque justice system in that country. How do we even know that those
killed deserved to be killed? Now look at countries that have legally abolished
capital punishment. Or have stopped capital punishment in practice even though
the actual abolition is still to happen. This list includes all the liberal
countries in the world. All of Europe (except tiny Belarus), Australia, NZ,
almost all of Latin America, South Africa.....this is the list of countries I
would like to see India in. The US is an anomaly.....but the US is an anomaly
in so many things. It’s the only liberal country that allows its citizens
extremely easy access to guns....which other civilized country allows this? In
this one instance, I would rather avoid the example of the US rather than
follow it.
My second point is that the
purpose of any punishment should be to act as a deterrent. One of the reasons why capital punishment is practiced is that it is
supposed to be a strong deterrent against crime. But statistics shows that if
this is true at all, it is only if death is CERTAIN in all cases of conviction.
In most countries (including India) that
allow capital punishment, capital punishment is rarely used and hence there is
very little co relationship with lower crime rates. Just look at the US. In
many ways, the US is the where maximum crime happens.
And lastly, I think God did not
want man to be decider of life and death. Frankly,
I think it’s a demonic act on the part of any government or country to kill
someone. Even if that person is guilty of the most gory of crimes. The key
point here is about whether a country should have the right to take someone’s
life away. Admittedly, murder, terrorism, treason and the like are very serious
offences and affect ordinary peace loving people.....but is killing them at all
within the powers a government should have? There is also the question of
morality here. Who is man to decide when a person’s life should be taken away?
Hasn’t society given that task to God? Can man decide to assume the role of God
at all? Because that’s what man does when he/she decides for or against capital
punishment.
That post was written in the
aftermath of rejection of two mercy petitions by the President. By acting now.....after so many years of
waiting.....the President has acted like God and ordered execution for two
people. Equally, by not taking a decision on several others.....she has again
acted as God. Who gave ordinary human beings the right to behave like God?
My conclusion even then was that
India should abolish capital punishment. India should abolish capital punishment. More so because we have had a long term
historical policy of forgiveness and non-violence. Capital punishment is
violent. Research shows that there is no non-violent method of inflicting death
on the accused. Mahatma Gandhi preached non-violence throughout his
life.....how can India then allow this form of violence to continue? Besides,
we must keep in mind the infirmities and frailness of our judicial
system......not everyone is convinced with the judgments pronounced by our
courts. Our forensics capability is rudimentary......the grounds on which
we convict people is hugely suspect.
Life imprisonment is a strong enough sentence to be awarded in most
crimes. In many ways, life imprisonment is a worse punishment than instant
death. Just look at how suicide bombers are growing in numbers. What motivates
them is the relatively peaceful end to their lives rather than living a life of
continuous violence and hatred. Life imprisonment is as strong a deterrence as
death itself is. Who wants to spend his life in the kind of jails we have in
India. Of course, the flip side is that keeping a prisoner jailed for his
entire life is an expensive proposition. This argument is not true in the case
of India, where in any case, there are very few executions. That cost of
holding prisoners is already being incurred.
The real truth is what I
had written back then. India is a liberal
country and it must be seen in the company of other liberal countries. We are
not like China or Iran. Human life has value in our country. We must abolish
capital punishment. Even the UN has passed a resolution in 2008 calling for a
global moratorium on executions with a view to eventual abolition. India along
with China, Indonesia and the US voted against it. We must reverse this
decision of ours.....Unfortunately, India has against voted against the UN
resolution banning the death penalty a few days back. Sad….really sad.
No comments:
Post a Comment