Human Rights Violations in Kashmir!!

India, the cradle of civilization.. India, the largest democracy in the world.. India, the epitome of tolerance and religious freedom. Do we ever look beyond the glossy 'India Shining' advertisements and feel beyond the 'feel-good' factor?

Do we stop and take notice of the problems facing our OWN brothers in other parts of the country?? Do we notice the pain our OWN security agencies put our OWN people through?? There's a lot happening in Kashmir that we are not aware of..

Right now whats happening is NOT abt Kashmir being a part of India or Pakistan or being Independent.. It is NOT about bashing security forces like the human rights people do.. Its NOT about what separatists or organizations from ACROSS the border do to instigate and infuriate the forces.. Its NOT about how the Kashmiri pandits were treated a decade ago.. All these issues are complex and need deeper insights and the political will to resolve them..

What it IS about though is the plight of INNOCENT kids.. 12 teenagers have died in the past month falling to police bullets/ tear gas shells and the like.. Its about what THEY have started thinking of Indians as and what THEY will grow up to be.. Its about how future generations will perceive US if we let this continue..

When Jessica Lal was murdered and her killer set free, there was a huge public outburst.. when Ruchika Girhotra's molester was let loose same thing happened.. but when 15 INNOCENT people are killed by the bullets of those who are supposed to maintain peace everybody is busy taking sides.. Security forces AND Kashmiri people are BOTH citizens of India.. the attacks on security forces are to be condemned but they did not lead to the death of TEENAGERS and KIDS!!

We totally justify the use of force.. but only against TERRORISTS and not against the Innocent civilians who are exercising their constitutional right in protesting against the killing of another innocent protester.. whether they want to stay with India or not, they are our own people and deserve to be dealt with dignity!

There's a time to stand up and support each other for a higher cause.. There's a time to stand up against the atrocities committed on innocents, There's a time to protect the Human rights of your own people in your own country.. And the time is NOW! We have to wake up to our realities and deal with them if we truly want to transform our Country into a true Nation..

If we still don't stand up for our own people's rights, one day WE will be at the receiving end and we'll have no one but OURSELVES to blame for it.. We OWE this to Humanity and our OWN idea of Our nation..

Like the famous Swades dialogue, 'Koi desh mahan nahi hota, usse mahan BANANA padta hai!" We need to recognize what's happening in our own backyard and try to help those who are suffering.. Hoping that we can at least start a dialogue and start building bridges.. Please take some time to sign the petition and forward it to your contacts.. http://www.petitiononline.com/AnIndian/petition.html

JAI HIND!

Give PEACE a CHANCE!!

Judgement Day arrives for Kasab!!

The fateful day did finally arrive for Mumbai!

Ajmal Amir Kasab got the death sentence by the Special courts judge Mr. M. L. Tahilyani on 6th May 2010, more than a year after the carnage he and his associates brought to the island city of Mumbai and horrified an entire nation with their depravity and absolute lack of any humanity.

"You have been sentenced to death on five counts. You will be hanged by the neck till you are dead." These were the words uttered by the esteemed judge who made a special note of the cruelty and sadism with which the baby-faced terrorist behaved while showering bullets mindlessly on everyone in his line of sight. Eye witnesses testified to him laughing in glee while killing so many innocents in cold blood!! In a message to terrorist organizations the honorable judge made it absolutely clear that “every man who wages war against India forfeits his life to the Indian state”. 

How much brain-washing must have gone into the process of turning an adolescent boy into a hardened criminal is anybody's guess and with all the proof that the prosecution has gathered and presented in the court to establish the crime and nationality of this beast, fingers are again lifting towards Pakistan. With the NY Times Square bomb scare again leading the authorities to arrest a Pakistan trained Pakistani national, the country has again emerged as the last haven of Islamic radicals who have twisted the basic tenets of Islam for their own benefit to fulfill their own twisted agenda.

Be that as it may, the judgment at least provides a semblance of closure to hundreds of people who lost their loved ones to this senseless carnage. The judge referred to recordings of telephonic conversations between the gunmen holed up at various locations and their handlers sitting in Pakistan. “There was no remorse at the killing of so many people. The gunmen had come prepared to die,” he said. And hence, the judge gave his FIRST death sentence in his 23 years legal career.

26/11/08 was the ill-fated day when Pakistani terrorists arrived on Mumbai shores and shook the nation up from its slumber. For three days we were all trapped inside our homes, afraid to get out of our homes and glued to our television sets to find out if there was an end in sight for the mindless violence that was happening in our own backyard. Today, we can all breathe a sigh of relief for justice has finally caught up with Kasab!

Although criticized by many as a wastage of national resources (more than 35 crores have been spent on this trial and keeping Kasab secure), the 18 month long trial was a tribute to the fairness of Indian judiciary in dealing with any perpetrator of crime on its soil. Tahaliyani made a special mention of the work done by the media in taking the news to the world. “This was not a closed court, like the one in Pakistan, where you don’t even know what’s happening,’’ he said.

One wish that everyone has on his lips now, is to swiftly execute this demon before another plane can be hijacked to rescue him from our captivity (aka the Gandhar hijack)! As the saying goes, 'Justice delayed is justice denied'; same holds true for the execution of the court's writ. 

Mumbaikars and indeed the entire nation will be waiting for the day when finally the ghost of 26/11 can be put to rest. Amen.