On why Bhullar's death sentence must be commuted

I despise terrorism in any form and for any cause. It was a rainy Friday morning and I was travelling with my father who had to attend a meeting at GNDU, Amritsar and then we had to pay a visit to our relatives in Gurdaspur. We stopped at Bus Stand, Khanna to pick up newspapers. There was this story of some lecturer Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar, who was once a dreaded terrorist and was on a death row for several years now. Reading some more about his background astonished me. Also, as expected, days later there was a lot of hullabaloo by leaders of all levels and all parties in Punjab to commute his death sentence.

Why would a well-off, educated, just married young man suddenly go underground , only to appear as the one who would set off a bomb to kill a political leader and then flea to Germany? He was born to educated parents employed with Govt of Punjab, he himself was a an engineering graduate and a serving lecturer - a rare distinction in those days! Here we are talking of the post 1984 years. 1984 was a bad year - one of the holiest shrines was attacked, statewide curfew was imposed, followed by a horrendous genocide and finally resulting in the slaying of a Prime Minister. In Punjab the situation was grim. People were seething with anger at the humiliation meted out to their community in the state as well as in New Delhi. People were disappearing in the name of anti-terrorist missions. By late '92-93 most militant outfits (Kharku Jathebandis as they are known in Punjab) had lost their leaders to Police/CRPF bullets. Those who were fighting on ground had been infiltrated and had also lost their resourcefullness and to some extent people's support. As the movement increaasingly got out of hands of it's idealogues unarmed civillians got killed and extortions too were rampant. And by 1995 Operation Woodrose succeeding in putting down the rebellion at a huge cost of civillian life, primarily due to heavy handedness of the security foces.

One couldn't survive as a neutral - each party suspected that you belonged to the other. So if one looks at the psyche of an educated young man one would find that he needed justice! But how? No court would obviously listen to him. He decides to teach the leadership a lesson (and that too in new Delhi-as it turned out). So what was the option available with him? Join the organised armed thugs, even though he doesn't stoop as low as they did. Reconstructing the happenings, something like this would've happened - He goes underground ( possibly joins KLF ) and while he's planning a revenge brutal policemen come hounding. In the meantime the plan in underway. His Father is detained - illegally - is tortured , loses his mental balance and is eventually killed at the behest of the senior police officers. During this time he accomplishes his aim of setting off a car bomb to kill a prominent leader. His paternal uncle is next - tortured and killed. all this while his mother and wife are being harassed.

Bhullar was eventually detained in Germany, was extradited to India - tried, found guilty and handed over the death sentence. He has been in jail for the past ten years - knowing most of the time that his time to go to the gallows isn't far away! Now that is sheer torture. Besides now that the Indira Gandhi led Central Govt sponsored religious strife in the state has come to an end it is time to make amends. The party currently in power at New Delhi was the one that created all the trouble in the first place and when it all spurned out of control it started storming shrines and killing & terrorizing the people. Later as an act of rage the then Prime Minister was assassinated. And the genocide that took place following it was allowed to take place knowing fully well that it was an act of revenge against the killing of ruling party's leader.

As a policy, the Govt has started rehabilitating the Kashmiri terrorists - who are mere mercenaries killing people for money - falling in Kasab's category. As for Afzal Guru he planned attacks on the Parliament as a symbol of Kashmiri revolt against New Delhi and in connivance with his bosses across the border. The case with Bhullar is a bit different. He was a gentleman who couldn't take injustice. He didn't know how to express his anger and fell prey to an organization's recruiters. Since gross injustice has been meted out by the Govt in those times, it is the Govt.'s responsibility to restore the faith of people in the Justice system, as Bhullar's mother Upkar Kaur puts it : 

"My husband was brutally killed by the Punjab police. My brother-in-law was detained and then killed. I have been harassed and tortured. My son, Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar is on the death-row. How do you want me to live my life? Should I cry my way to death or should I wait for the Indian system endlessly to become more humane and just?"

Don't let Bhullar be the reason that the youth of Punjab and the people in general feel that there is a conspiracy by the Govt against minorities. Moreover looking at his background he should be given a chance - sent to Rehab as of now and if the Govt deems it fit use him as a ideologue against separatist forces that raise their head time and again! Let the injustice be undone and let there be a new beginning. But if none of this is possible, his death sentence can at least be commuted. We all know the Govt.'s Pharisaical stand on terrorism, don't we! Its high time the Govt make a distinction of the circumstances under which an "aam admi" turned into a terrorist.

Sources:

Leaders from all political factions have come out to support Bhullar - http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110530/punjab.htm#5

Villagers plead President of India to commute Bhullar's death sentence - http://www.sikhsangat.org/2011/05/rethink-mercy-petition-plead-villagers/

Bhullar's wife's plea - http://www.sikhsangat.org/2011/05/no-evidence-against-bhullar-let-him-walk-free/

State Government sponsored drug addiction in Punjab

This morning, I was amazed to read in The Tribune that some village panchayats have "banned" liquor vends being opened in their respective villages. ( http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110524/punjab.htm#1 )

Surprised as I was, because we Punjabis by nature are so fond of booze! It wouldn't be wrong to say that no celebration of ours is complete without the sixth river ( read alcohol ) flowing freely :)

So why this sudden and widespread outrage at liquor vends being set up?

Let us first look at some ground realities. According to recent UNESCO statistics, Amritsar-The Holy City- alone consumes alcohol worth Rs.1 crore everyday. 80% of Punjab's youth does drugs of which 38% are alcoholics. 67% of Punjab's rural households have atleast one drug addict. ( Source - http://www.dise.in/Downloads/Use%20of%20Dise%20Data/Dr%20Birendra%20Kaur..pdf ).

Also, we know that Punjab's economy is predominantly an agrarian one and 70% of its workforce is engaged in agriculture. Agriculture is an occupation that requires hard work only through the seasons of sowing and reaping. The workforce probably does not engage itself during the remaining larger part of the year and hence might have an inclination towards drugs. The Punjab economy is growing at a slow pace of 4% / annum (approx) and hence there are a lot of unemployed youth - 10.5% in rural areas & 15.2% in urban areas - which is one of the in the country! ( Source - http://punjabnews.org/chandigarh-news-jobless-rate-in-punjab-10-5%C2%B00-survey.html/ )

So going by these statistics this whole problem seems to be of a socio-economic nature. So where does the State Government fit in? How dare I say that this mess is Government sponsored? As far as I remember it was during the previous Capt. Amrinder Singh led Congress regime that liberalisation of liquor vend licences was done. Suddenly "Theka Sharab Desi Ate Angrezi" sprang up everywhere - Housing localities,Markets,near Schools, Hospitals, places of worships, highways etc. Over a period of time these liquor vends kept on multiplying. These liquor vends diversified themselves into Air Conditioned Taverns and became a haven for drug addicts by serving not just booze but also all kinds of narcotics. Sensing that this business has a potential to generate a lot of money - black and white - the politicos stepped in. Some cases also reached the Punjab & Haryana High Court alleging top politicos favouring their honchos while giving out licenses of liquor vends. With time the regime changed to P.S.Badal led Shiromani Akali Dal - BJP combine. I may here point out that both parties have certain religious affiliations and the religions in whose name they ask for votes forbid its followers to consume alcoholic products.

Although I do not have the statistics with me but by merely looking around myself I can vouch that the number of liquor vends is ever increasing.

It is also worth noting that Punjab is a cash strapped state. Its spendings far exceed its revenues which have created a humongous fiscal deficit - an issue which was at the center of a political storm kicked up by the then Finance min Manpreet Singh Badal. In such a scenario liquor vend licences are a Golden Egg Laying Hen for the state government. Punjab Govt is looking forward to earn a whopping Rs 3190 Cr from the alcohol trade this fiscal year. On the other hand Punjab Health Minister Prof Lakshmi Kanta Chawla has promised to open de addiction centers in all the district civil hospitals. However good the Govt.'s intentions be, this sure sounds like a cruel joke.

For those who argue that it is vital to promote this trade because of the revenue it generates , I would like to ask them - which is more important - revenue or the human capital being ruined by alcoholic products ?

As for non-alcoholic drugs, a bumper opium crop in Afghanistan, a porous border with Pakistan contribute to the ever increasing menace. Not surprisingly Punjab Police often seizes the largest quantity of drugs than any state's police force. Although the Government claims it is cracking down on drugs, there are serious allegations by the insiders that the top political boss's favored touts are running a drug mafia in the state.

In all this it is the unsuspecting youth that takes a pint for getting high and ends up as an addict.

Also it is for the youth and the general public ( Men in this case ) to understand that by doing drugs they don't just ruin a person, the man being the bread-winner they ruin a family. The situation is alarming. All I can say now is what elders usually say in a bad situation - Rabb Rakha !

Post "Karachi Terror Attack" political scenarios

As I sit down to write my first ever blog entry on the terror attacks in Karachi ( Sindh Province, Pakistan ), siege is on at the Naval Base as a dozen of people including some terrorists have been killed. Although Pak Taliban claims that this attack is its revenge against Osama's killing, it doesn't seem to be so from the sheer complexity & the preparedness needed for such an assault. Besides Taliban could've easily attacked more vulnerable bases in Abottabad, Rawalpindi etc.

Whatever be the aim/modus operandi of the Terror outfit, I would like to muse over the implications/consequences of the attack. Happenings in Pakistan affect only 4 nations - It's big daddy, The US of A, its meek eastern neighbor India, its crippled/war ravaged western neighbor Afghanistan and last but not the least - Pakistan itself.

Whether this is a staged attack or not is still unclear but if it is one it is bound to backfire! The question that US should and will now ask itself is - whether Pakistan's nuclear arsenal ( a gift of friendship from US ) is still safe in the hands of Pakistani establishment or not. And it is so clear that a nation that cannot guard its military posts from homegrown terror outfits is quite incapable of defending its nuclear arsenal and civilian installations alike. It also puts a question mark on the intelligence gathering agency - ISI's credentials. Any terror attack on the soil must be thwarted instead of being fought off , is my belief. However I would like to note here that it has long been known that the snake ( Taliban ) which the ISI nurtured is all set to bite ISI's bossom! Its also a good time for the Pak leadership to take the military to task. Its cash strapped economy has been doling out funds to the armed forces in the name of national security. Where the hell is national security? Up in fumes? - is what the democratically elected Govt at Islamabad should ask its Generals.

This raid does not hold much consequence for Afghanistan. Although its shows that Pak Taliban is focusing its energies on Pakistan should bring a respite for Hamid Karzai led government at Kabul.

India on the other hand still needs to be cautious. On a different note this raid has snatched altogether from New Delhi the agenda it was pursuing post OBL raid - that Pakistan only gives shelter to terrorists. Pak will now leave no stone unturned to tell the world or rather reaffirm its earlier position - Pakistan is itself a victim of extremist terrorism ! ( & thereby must be conferred billions of $ as defense aid )

My condolences the the people of Pakistan and especially those who have lost their kin in this attack .