For many years now, The Hindu has opposed the death penalty on principle — often in the face of intense public disapproval. We oppose it for ordinary killers and mass murderers, communal pogromists as well as terrorists like Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab. Ever since that traumatic night we now denote by the veiled abbreviation 26/11, Kasab has justifiably been the face of evil for millions of Indians. He took part in a monstrous plot against the people of India and Mumbai, killed innocent people with abandon, and showed no remorse for his actions. It is no surprise, therefore, that his execution Wednesday morning has been greeted with approval across the country. No loss of human life, however despicable the individual might have been, ought to be a reason for celebration. Instead, this should be a time of national reflection: reflection about crime, about punishment and about that cherished bedrock of our republic, justice. For several reasons, the hanging of Kasab is at most a crude approximation of this quality, more closely resembling an act of vengeance. Kasab was neither the architect of 26/11 nor its strategic mastermind; the men who indoctrinated and controlled him remain safe in Pakistan, where most will likely never see the inside of a courtroom. The haste to hang Kasab makes even less sense when others guilty of hideous terrorist crimes have secured deferment of their sentences because political lobbies acted on their behalf — among them, the assassins of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Chief Minister Beant Singh of Punjab. It is also a sobering fact that criminals responsible for claiming more Indian lives than Kasab did — among them, the perpetrators of countless communal riots — live as free men. Not one of these things excuse or mitigate Kasab’s crime. But they do make it imperative to ask: is the hangman’s justice the only kind we can conceive of?
The arguments against the death penalty are well known. There are pragmatic ones — in this case, that Kasab could have provided valuable testimony in future trials of yet-to-be-arrested 26/11 perpetrators. There are moral and technical ones; even in the United States, with its highly-functional criminal justice system, new forensic techniques have shown dozens of innocent men were executed, though this argument does not apply to Kasab whose guilt is proven well beyond even unreasonable doubt. The most compelling argument, however, is this: the application of the death penalty is, as the Supreme Court itself acknowledged earlier this week, increasingly arbitrary. Capital punishment has become, as the medieval philosopher Maimonides many centuries ago warned it would, a matter of “the judge’s caprice”. It is also simply not true that capital punishment is integral to fighting terrorists. The absence of the death penalty in, say, France and the United Kingdom has not made these two nations softer in their ability to combat terror than the U.S. The grief of 26/11 was personal for many in this newspaper; like others, members of staff grieve for lost friends. Yet, the horror of 26/11 ought not stop us from dispassionately debating the need for the death penalty.
Keywords: Death penalty, Ajmal Kasab, 26/11 Mumbai terror attack
Bang on! Somehow I cant but get the feeling that Kasab's death was
orchestrated by the 'powers-that-be' to get some much needed relief
from the on-going trials and tribulations on corruption and such like!
Another point and perhaps more important is that Kasab's death
unnecessarily helps create mindless aggression with jehadi groups
across the border. And unfortunately, unlike America, Israel or even
the UK, our law enforcement agencies are much less prepared and
capable of keeping terror acts on Indian soil at bay!! So if Kasab's
hanging helps incite retribution and terror by terrorist groups in
India or on Indians outside India, who do we have to blame??
Spot on!
Often we lose our humane approach to social issues. The demise of one young terrorist addresses nothing- to be direct. The set of miscreants who attacked Taj Mahal Hotel on 26/11 knew well enough that surviving the mission would be a thing impossible. They were prepared to embrace death post completion of their heinous task. Killing a dead man is no symbol of heroism. Neither does it depict the urgency of the GoI to purge terrorism. We do not have the luxury to rejoice at the death of an insignificant should in the battle against terrorism. The long road to freedom from such malfeasant preoccupations is hard to achieve. We have to work collectively towards achieving it.
While Kasab's hanging presents very compelling reasons to question the morality of justice, it can also be argued that keeping him alive would have meant suspension of an essential lesson, political as it is, which needed to be broadcast that accounting for the long-range security and morale of a people, killers caught alive indulging in acts of war, will hang.
Of course, hanging a killer will not bring back life to the killed, but the lesson, grotesque as it might be to the moralist, had to be issued. Lofty principles are fine things to aspire to, but not at the cost of the morale of a nation in a time when a sly war is being perpetually waged against it. As much as the man who hanged, the masterminds that orchestrated the crime, must equally pay. To show mercy or clemency in the guise of morality in cases of such enormity is to cruelly ignore the sanctity of life - both of the living and of those innocent whose lives were cut short.
The editorial was on expected lines.I just do not know on what basis
you are recommending for the abolition of 'death sentence'
completely.At a time when human relationship/values are at its lowest
ebb,when people have lost respect for each other,when children are
eagerly waiting for the death of their dependent parents for the sake
of property or otherwise,when parents are killing children either out
of debauchery or 'honour killing' why this Kolaveri soft feelings?Open
a newspaper and one comes across rape,incest,murders,heist etc.not
only among the poor ,even among the well-to-do families.People have
become too avaricious and self-centred.
No I am not pessimistic in life.I am quite optimistic...but expecting
'such' people's attitude to 'change' if pardoned , is height of
expectation.If Kasab was pardoned I am sure he would not have
changed.
Kudos, The Hindu!
It's sad to see so many hypocrites in the comments above: "In general, I agree that we have to abolish capital punishment. But in the case of Kasab, he deserved it." "I agree with the intent of getting rid of Capital punishment - but couldn't apply that to Kasab..." "I agree with you with regards to abolishing the death penalty. However, the law as it now stands allows the death penalty in rare cases as in the Kasab case..."
If you agree that the criminals can be murdered by the law, then at least have the guts to say so! The law does not have any space for "Except for Kasab." If Kasab can be hanged today, then tomorrow someone you know can be wrongly accused (our criminal justice system is NOT "highly-functional," as everyone knows) and murdered by the law with the support of upstanding citizens like you.
I do not support murder. Others can kill, they will receive their just desserts. But this is a democracy, and I don't want blood on my hands. No death penalty!
Ms. Sultana, I disagree with your view that Kasab did not receive a fair trail. Indeed, he received a much fairer trial than what many detainees face in Guantanamo. That having been said, I think it reveals poor taste to "celebrate" his death in public as some people have done. Equally mediaeval are the demands to hang him in public or subject him to various tortures.
My objection to capital punishment is based on the arbitrariness, its potential for misuse and the lack of proven deterrence effect that it has in averting it. It is no secret India and Pakistan spy on each other and now, whenever an Indian spy or
other operative gets caught in Pakistan, Pakistanis are bound to demand the death penalty for him. Unleashing thereby yet another vicious eye for an eye cycle.
I commend the Hindu for re-iterating its unflinching stance on this issue,
particularly at a time it may be unpopular to say so.
Whatever be the circumstances, the death penalty of Ajmal Kasab was good
decision. He had killed many innocent peoples and still people want to
not give him death penalty. What will this lead to, some more crores of
expenditure.
The crime committed by him is of rarest nature and therefore capital
punishment is justified. While if there is any doubt, then there is
already a provision of lifetime imprisonment.
Kasab is not a three year old kid to follow his bosses in Pak . Kasab's notion isn't a caprice . The ancient manu dharma gave capital punishment . A case that should end in a day is unnecessarily propogated to 4 years because of english judicial system & blah blah blah arguments among vakeels in english ending in cordial laughter & tea break adjournment.
Ppl should oppose the delay of execution that caused kasab tragic flip flops in his mind about living & death , but not the hanging.
One should, by and large, strongly agree with the sentiments expressed therein. The most distressing part is the portion which states that Kasab’s execution “has been greeted with approval across the country”. This should not have happened in Bharath where Buddha was born and Ashoka ruled. When the constituent assembly adopted the national flag of India, in 1947, it placed the Ashoka Chakra in the centre to represent ‘the wheel of the law of dharma’. The Chakra is so called because it appears in different pillars of Ashoka’s edicts. This should remind us of the days of the emperor. After Kalinga war, he became a staunch follower of Buddha, the Lord of ahimsa.
‘The edicts were intended to encourage people to be more generous, kind and moral and spoke of what might be called ‘state morality’ on what he based his administration upon and what he hoped would lead to a more just, more spiritually inclined society. This was imbued with the Buddhist values of compassion, moderation, tolerance and respect for all life. The judicial system was reformed in order to make it more fair, less harsh and less open to abuse. Ashoka always promoted restraint in the killing and harming of living beings’.
The present-day government feels that it has the mandate of the people to do anything. It is nice that some NGOs have reacted against the bad side of the killing. Also, Unnikrishnan, father of NSG commando Major Sandeep who was killed in Mumbai, has expressed the spirituality of telling that the execution is not a matter to ‘rejoice over’. It is for our political parties and the government to keep capital punishment out of ‘legal necessity’.
That death penalty should be abolished arises from the ahimsa concept of the Jains. Undeniably it is an ideal one must try to reach, it is not practical. The death penalty can be abolished only when wars cease to exist. Though wars are between nations, it is the individual soldiers who suffer the most. If it is OK to kill the soldier of an enemy country in a war, it is correct to kill an anti-social person who spreads mayhem or causes incalculable harm to people. As long as there are people who don't mind killing others for a cause, the state must be prepared to kill who are against it.
That France, Germany or Britain have banned capital punishment does not make them great nations. They have killed millions of people all over the world, destroyed many civilizations/civil societies, and they continue to do so even to this day (remember Tony Blair affirming "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq?) We must not follow others blindly. We must do what our conscience believes is right.
Reading your readers’ comments on the hanging of Kasab, one wonders
what these people have learnt from the great Indian philosophers and
religious leaders like Gautama Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi. Here is a
case of naked vengeance, an eye for an eye. Is this the face of the
new Indian, the Indian of the 21st Century? Shame on you to gloat
over this barbaric act!
Civilization requires forgiveness and rehabilitation of criminals and
terrorists alike. The civilized task for the government would have been to understand why Kasab acted as he did and to show mercy and convince him that his actions were wrong, that there are better ways to deal with conflict than terror, and to rehabilitate him. Failure to do so and to kill Kasab in cold blood shows a monumental failure on the part of the moral standing of the country and the justice system of the State.
Judicial killing of Kasab is no deterrent to other potential terrorists. Rather, it would be an encouragement to engage in other terrorists acts. Unfortunately, India has turned a terrorist into a martyr.
I am aware that The Hindu has been consistently asking for abolition of death penalty but as always, its arguments are based on sentiment instead of sound reality. From a moral standpoint we can always choose to be non-violent, pacifist but that does not ensure that everyone around us will follow the same path. There will always be people who will do the opposite. What about them? Should they not be punished? I am not at all suggesting that death penalty should be only punishment but I am not buying that argument either that just because there are a bunch of people, accused of crimes of the same grave magnitude, who are roaming scot-free, we should extend the same 'courtesy' to everyone else, even to those whose guilt is proved beyond any doubt. If a criminal is able to escape the noose, that does not make a case for abolition of that provision altogether but a reflection on how we can make our judiciary more efficient to ensure minimal slip-ups.
If the laws of the country dictate that Kasab has to be executed, so be it; but what is deplorable is the celebration of the event throughout the country. Death penalty for a murderer is not a quid pro quo. it is meant to be only a reminder to prospective murderers about what awaits them after their dastardly acts,
In general, I agree that we have to abolish capital punishment. But in the case of Kasab, he deserved it. Surely, we should go after the real culprits behind the planning and execution of Bombay massacre. Kasab mercilessly killed several men and women, and he should be given the highest punishment - awarding this sentence does not mean that terrorism would wipe away. In the case of Kasab, we don't need to mix up several issues at the same time. The points raised by you are relevant for separate debate but not as a justification to counter death sentence to this man, Kasab. His is a unique case and should be dealt very severely - that's what India has done. No need to celebrate his death or even feel sorry for him. It is not revenge. He deserved what he got.
thank you for this sensible op-ed. i'm from pakistan and appalled that everyone is
celebrating his execution. he never got a fair trial and what good has his execution done to bringing peace between india and pakistan?
It is not a justice! it is an act of vengeance. Death Penalty is considered as a barbaric act and is abolished in 110 countries in the world. According to International Law, the death penalty is inhuman and a criminal act. The international communality need not surprise over the mentality of the Indians who are celebrating the hanging; because they are basically born and brought up in a castiest, inequal and intolerant society. The Civilized Society will never accept the brutal punishment of the Death Penalty & other forms of Capital Punishment.
Extraordinary acts of terror attracts extraordinary punishment. Kasab's act is an act of war against the nation, and we do not want Hindu taking moral high ground opposing capital punishment especially when the costs of holding these high risk targets invites further terror. The masterminds that planned the attacks were the ones we set free in Kandhahar.
I don't think the punishment given to him can be considered as revenge.
Revenge would be to wage a war against those who did this, like the US
did a few years ago. This is just about "what to do with this guy?".
Obviously, we can not leave him alone, as he is still a threat to the
society. And we can not keep him guarded, as the tax payer's money has
more important things to do. The only option left is this. I agree that
we should not be celebrating this.
The debate about capital punishment warrants serious discussion
especially in cases where innocents have been wrongly punished
and where evidence cannot be convincing. In case of Kasab, who
has been captured killing Indians on cameras, what else do you
do? Do you keep him in Indian Prison where keeping him alive
drains considerable monetary resources? Who will be held
responsible tomorrow if somebody hijacks another plane and holds
several Indian lives at stake for releasing Kasab? These
questions need solutions and till we ensure that life of a even a
single Indians is not going to be in peril because of keeping a
certain criminal alive I do not think there is any other option
we have. Also planning the act is only half the job done
implementing is equally important if not more. I am also confused
about other militants who were shot dead during the operation.
Just because Kasab is alive we are debating about justice but
what about those who were shot dead? Should they have been shot?
In case of Kasab, there's the question of expenditure, both in terms
of money and manpower. It sounds crass to bring such materialistic
concerns in what is essentially a moral argument, but one cannot
ignore them. Yes, the death penalty makes no sense when looked at from
a certain point of view. For instance, if he had died of Dengue fever,
could we have said that justice has been done? The argument seems
Kafkaesquely absurd.
That aside, it's commendable that the core principles of justice and
democracy are still well and alive in this country. As opposed to, say
US, where the president decides on a kill-list every tuesday. The
suspect and those unfortunate enough to be around him - parents, wife,
children - are killed by drones without any judicial process.
Sometimes, they cannot be certain from satellite pictures and it's a
marriage or funeral. The official word in such cases is collateral
damage.
I am glad that our 'war on terror' stands on firm moral and judicial
grounds.
I agree with the intent of getting rid of Capital punishment - but couldn't apply that to Kasab - it was not an isolated incident - it was not like he wasn't aware of what he was doing, when he was doing. His country disowned him and didn't even want to receive the paper work confirming our decision. I'm not happy about someone's death, but in this case, it was a closure for many affected families. As you have
rightly pointed out, we ought to learn from 26/11 - how vulnerable we are and as citizens do our part in keeping the country safe.
The international community have a wide consensus over reformative justice rather than
retributive justice. The purpose is to re-integrate the offender to the society. But these arguments does not hold good in case of Kasab. He deserved to be executed whether it acts as a deterrent or not.
I completely support the abolition of the death penalty. The argument of deterrence is invalid as shown by the experience of those counties that have abolished it. The only remaining argument is to seek revenge, euphimistically called "closure" in recent times. While the feeling of revengefulness is understandable at the individual level, it is not a noble emotion that can be given social sanction. Even for an individual, getting over the feeling of revengefulness contributes to spritual upliftment.
(1) Masterminds of 26/11 in Indian Soil is not totally ruled out
with the Pradhan Committee Report on 26/11 not disclosed despite
matter reaching the Supreme Court of India.
(2) Even ATR on the Pradhan Committee Report on 26/11 not published reflect the dishonesty of the UPA Govt Functionaries.
(3) Capital punishment is not justified and the entire World, including India, need to abolish. If A murdered B, C cannot be empowered for "Planned Cold-Blood Murder of A through Capital Punishment. If the human being cannot give life, he/she has no Right to take away Life.
i am against death penalty but ajmal kasab perfectly fits the 'rarest of
rare cases'. look at the cost of keeping him alive? what if some one
hijacks a plane tomorrow and demands for kasabs release? having said
that i agree with all that is written against death penalty.. but kasab
fits perfectly into the rarest of rare cases
The masterminds in Pakistan must be relieved now with the execution of Kasab -- they actually never wanted any of the 10 terrorists to be caught alive, they were instructed to fight till they die. Pakistan has consistently been maintaining that there is not "enough evidence" though the Indian Govt has provided all the evidence -- now with Kasab's hanging, the masterminds will never be prosecuted as the main witness Kasab is no more.
If Kasab was killed during the fighting, it would have been a different thing -- but to kill him in cold blood after 4 years for political reasons is unacceptable. Kasab was brainwashed in the name of God -- it is the extremist ideologies and their proponents who are primarily responsible, and unfortunately they are all still out in open in both India and Pakistan. Lastly we do not really know if Kasab did not have any remorse -- sources said he asked for forgiveness from God and that also he wanted his mother to be informed.
I tend to agree with the broad philosophical justification for abolition of capital punishment and we should debate the issue without any pre-conceived notions. But we must remember that a country like US did not even follow the due process of law for punishing Osama Bin Laden who was responsible for an act of war against US. We should have made a surgical strike against the source of the carnage across the border. We become prone to such attacks because of our hesitation in such situations and are taken as a soft state. France and UK, you quote, have a more advanced and independent system of detection and elimination of terror strikes. Looking to our political bickerings we may take dicades to reach that level. Till then, I, believe, we will have to use fear of the consequences as the only deterrant against terror.
Every country has its own judicial system and their own way to punish the guilt. Like in India, we have our own judicial process to punish them. In US they have their own, but when it came to a threat to security of their country, we have seen the harsh measures they can take, as evident from example of Saddam Hussain and Osama bin laden. So we can’t compare the system the countries have in place to punish the guilt. What we can compare is the efficiency and effectiveness of the measures. It can be compared by how far the punishments are able to reduce the number of crimes that are being committed in the country. And in India, it is a time taking system as is obvious from the fact that it took 4 years to execute Ajmal Kasab when his "rarest of the rare" crime was so obvious and the case of Afjal Guru is still pending on the table of the President. But what bothers me the most is that the case of Afjal Guru mustn't lead to another Kandhar hijack.
Thumbs up and I completely agree..
Well written.
I am not a big fan of Ayn Rand but in this case her quote of "Mercy to the wicked is injustice to the innocent" appears quite appropriate.
On a more practical side, there is significant cost 24-60 cr for last 4 years. This taxpayers money could be spent building schools, hospitals, roads, bridges much needed by the people of India.
Why waste it keeping someone like Kasab alive?
Though capital punishment is generally repugnant to any civilized society, Kesab's case was different. There was no way a hardened terrorist like him could turn a new leaf. Setting him free was out of question. Keeping him in custody was exorbitantly costly. His egregious guilt was proven beyond doubt. The government had no alternative to sending him to the gallows. Of course, as you say, this is not a moment for celebration.
Thanks for the balanced editorial. Finally we have a voice of reason. Almost all television channels and the media outlets have been very quick to "congratulate" the government and there has also been a mad rush to already lable this "closure" or whatever it means. You are absolutely right - as a Republic we shouldn't have different standards for crimes based on political compulsions.
You are right - the hanging of Kasab isn't any reason to gloat / celebrate.
Trust the HINDU to get this right! I have been reading your paper since I was able to string sentences together - and am happy to still be a loyalist. You always make us readers very proud!
I hope people see the wisdom in the argument of the editorial. I hope people understand that in order to be human beings, we need get rid of death penalty. Solitary confinement can replace death penalty.
We should not view the death penalty only form the view point of the
hanged and his family. His ordeal is over in one way. This is done since
we cannot invent a higher or more stringent and deterrent punishment for
the guilty. It is for the society and others who commit such or more
heinous crimes. It is also like sacrificing one individual for the
betterment of the society.
Hindu has lives upto ot its reputation with a befitting sensible editorial which rightly disapproves the sentence of death penalty which only depicts a barbaric form of punishment which only uncivilised socities would follow.We ought not to allow future generations lokk back and say that our ancestors used to elimniate individuals to stop prevent crime which is the crudest form of punishmment that could be meted out.
The news of hanging up of the lone gunman arrested in the carnage of
26/11 raises the question in my conscious as a citizen of a country
which achieved freedom with non violent methods. I am not in favour of
lenient treatment of the perpetrators of such heinous crimes which not
only take lives of the innocent people but also bring shame to the
humanity. But taking away the life of a person in the name of
punishment is uncalled for. Stringent punishment should be awarded to
such voyeurs of terrorism by giving them life to realize their
crimes.Its time that all nations in the world abolish corporal
punishment and show the path of peace and harmony without indulging
into bloody vengeance themselves.
Well said, The Hindu! Like-minded people applaud your stand on the
death penalty as the only way of a civilized state. Perhaps India is
not civilized enough because it continues to maintain judicial
execution.
While the argument about the capricious nature of applying the death
penalty is true, and indeed it bolsters arguments against the death
penalty, I think that there are more absolute grounds for abolishing
the death penalty. It is that, abolition is a moral imperative. And
moral imperatives do not deal with specifics, nor do they debate about
the "rarest of the rare cases". There are no frequent, infrequent,
rare, or rarest of rare cases. This is not a finely graded scale. It
is binary, either "Yes", keep the death penalty or "No", get rid of
it.
Let us do away with this appalling and barbaric system of punishment,
irrespective of the cause, the nature, or the enormity of the crime.
Our judicial system is capable of better behavior than a mass
murderer.
Not sure if you are making a rhetoric argument against Capital Punishment or specifically against the killing of Kasab. I'll assume it is the former and the "killing of Kasab" is merely a manifestation of the former. With regards to "new forensic techniques showing dozens of innocent men executed", seems to me that you are making the case for Capital punishment! These very same "new forensic techniques" can establish beyond doubt the guilt of the perpetrator. On the Kasab case, I don't think they would have gotten any more testimony from him than they already have. You are missing the point - this is not about "fighting terrorism". It is about "making the world a safer place". As long as Kasab is "behind bars", there will be people seeking to free him and attempting to kidnap / maim / kill more innocent people. Enough! Enough, I say.
While the intensity and a strong statement on the subject by dubbing it an act of revenge is welcome, we cannot get away or ignore the fact that the newspaper conveniently chose to keep mum on the subject, after the supreme court verdict was pronounced on the subject.It maintained a stoic silence instead of reiterating its principled stand on the subject,however provocative that might have been in the minds of a nation seeking justice aka revenge. Had it published its strong resentment against hanging kasab, during this intervening period, the newspaper would have enhanced its reputation and standing. From the date of Apex court verdict till yesterday, not a word was written in the paper but now writing a strongly worded Editorial, when everything is over.
For those readers, who have been continuously tracking your stand, it is a big let down and the paper stands a notch less in its standing.
The only way to redeem yourself is to move a RTI seeking President's reasoning on this subject
Very well said, dear Editor! I hope many read this and raise a voice against the death penalty. The subjectivity and the "animal spirits" associated with the death penalty are truly scary.
Rightly said. Though the fact that Kasab deserved to die for his crimes remains non-debateable. However, the death of a fellow human being, be it a terrorist, a murderer, a dictator should be no reason to celebrate. Revenge has been served pretty cold here, yet we treat this as a national celebration. If so much celebration was required, why was he kept alive for 4years [@ 29cr????] What insightful information did we gain? Where are we going as a race? Does anyone have their moral compass set right???
There are many logical fallacies in this argument. Foremost is the classical ploy of morphing a law and order issue into a human interest story. By trying to engender sympathy for a terrorist, the editor is (unwittingly) mollifying his crime. The statement "death penalty is ... increasingly arbitrary" smacks of hypocrisy since this has been the second hanging in 17 years.
To rebut, the government has and should have the moral right to take a life if need be. This is important so that the ordinary citizen will feel that his unnecessary death at the hands of terrorists will not go unpunished / unanswered by his representative - the legitimate government. By depriving the government of this right / power, one would push the common citizen to retaliate in kind.
Would the editor rather have common citizens kill each other because they think the government will not do the right thing?
You are entitled to your opinion. I firmly and emphatically disagree with you. Your logic is flawed. This death penalty was awarded as it was a 'rarest of rare' case. If Kasab had been allowed to live it would have emboldened more terrorists to take similar action with the express belief that - worst case scenario - they would be imprisoned for life; they will believe that they can kill with impunity and when cornered put their hands up and surrender rather than getting killed. With all due respect don't use your newspaper to write opinions without providing options and opportunities for people to counter them publicly.
I agree, this is not the time for celebration, but for mourning the death of a misguided youth. This is also not the time for discussing whether his execution is justified, but for praying for the peace of those killed unnaturally (by the killers or hangmen). Let there be no unnatural death, my God.
The editorial comments on hanging Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab in the
Yarawada jail in Pune at 7 - 30 a.m. on 21 st November do not reflect
the public sentiments. Opinions should reflect the feelings of the
public. Govt has done a good job in this case. There is no praise for
the Govt action in the editorial.Keeping Kasab has become very costly.
Already Rs. 25 Crores had been spent on him. Imagine how many toilets
in the rural areas can be constructed with this money. What do we gain
in keeping Kasab alive ? This is not the time to talk about doing away
of the Capital Punishment in India. One wishes you could have selected
better times to advocate your case.
I just read a moving comment by a person who lost his dear one on 26/11. He said that he cannot rejoice over Kasab's death. That will come only when the several camps that train innocent youngsters to kill will come to an end.
So true. I wish to also say that summarily putting to death another human being is an act that belongs to the past. To be able to go to the root of the problem is the key. A lot young people feel that it had taken too long. Anna Hazare has himself called for a public hanging... This is the spirit of vengeance and it never does work. Never.
I agree with you with regards to abolishing the death penalty. However, the law as it now stands allows the death penalty in rare cases as in the Kasab case. There is no doubt whatsoever about his involement in the dasterdly terrorist attack on Mumbai. He was trained for it along with others by his handlers in Pakistan with the only objective of ruthlessly killing as many innocent persons as possible. The Supreme Court rightly ruled that he should awarded the death penalty. The law took its course. While Kasab was hanged, another terrorist who was also sentenced to death by the Supreme Court many years before the Mumbai attacks is still living on account of vote bank politics. This is a traversity of justice and needs to be condemned in the storngest possible terms. After the Supreme Court has given its verdict, politicians should not be able to negate the judgement. It is unforfunate that you have not mentioned this case in your editorial.
Yes indeed! There is no need to celebrate the loss of a life. Terrorists are not born; they are created by soul-crushing poverty, the injustices that they witness, and the world's inability to provide a liveable life for a majority of the people. May good sense prevail. As much as Kasab's acts are inexcusable, so is the hangman's noose, which probably conceals more than it reveals. It is easy to hang one person rather than ask: Why is it that young people put their lives on the line? Under what conditions does death, or killing others, become preferable over life itself?
This is another nail in the coffin of Gandhi. For all our claims of being the land of Buddha and Gandhi--the land of ahmisa--it is a shame that we practice capital punishment. What one cannot give, one cannot take.
I applaud The Hindu for being true to its beliefs. In these days when media organizations reinforce, rather than challenge, popular passions, your resolve is very much appreciated. I hope this continues.
Thank you, The Hindu, for espousing a thoughtful perspective and
educating the public. I believe that a possible cause for both the
crime and the punishment is that people do not KNOW each other
personally. If Kasab had known others to be his brothers and sisters or
the people of India knew him to be their brother, the crime or the
punishment might have been averted.
Also, this episode begs us to analyse from where we learn these
behaviors. Could it be the movies, history, our friends, our parents?
Though "Kasab was neither the architect of 26/11 nor its strategic mastermind", as mentioned, "he took part in a monstrous plot against the people of India and Mumbai, killed innocent people with abandon, and showed no remorse for his actions" and as per our law, he was given the death penalty. The nation's reaction should not be seen as a celebration, but as a reaction to the realization of the fact that justice(as per the present law) has finally been done. If there had been no death penalty in our country, people would not have been in the anticipation of his hanging, but since he was sentenced to death, the natural feeling of justice by punishment to the guilty seeks the penalty to administered. True that other criminals are roaming free but it should be no reason for the few convicted not to be punished. Also, I do not think there was any "haste to hang Kasab". Is 5 years too quick? He would have been a liability both to the nation's security and the public exchequer.
A bold and welcome opinion when almost everyone in the country
celebrates the hanging.
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