Ingratitude: Thy name be Politicians!

Today is a sad day in India’s post-independence history. And maybe it isn’t as much of a shock as a vindication of the oft-repeated stance that the life of any Indian, save those who are part of the political system, is not even worth the funeral shroud in the eyes of the State. And that such a stand gets vindicated in so cruel a manner is saddening, nay, distressing.

Five years ago, on the 13^th of December 2001, a group of terrorists infiltrated the Parliament House, and indiscriminately fired their weapons, with a clear intent to kill as many people as possible. Security personnel immediately shot back, and closed the gates of the compound. Members of Parliament were ushered into Central Hall, where they were protected from all this gunfire. Outside, all the five terrorists were shot dead, whereas six security personnel and a gardener were killed, as also 18 others were injured. No members of either the legislature or the executive were even hurt.

The then-incumbent NDA government immediately claimed the involvement of elements having support from Pakistan, and swiftly arrested, and convicted, within a span of one year, four Jaish-e-Mohammed members for their role in the attack. Of these four, two were subsequently acquitted by the higher judiciary for lack of credible evidence, whereas one received a death sentence. The personnel who had given their lives in the course of duty, to protect the members of the legislature and the executive, were honored with various gallantry awards. They were accorded the status of nothing less than heroes of the highest grade.

Fast forward to 2006, and the situation seems weirdly reversed. The terrorist, who had borne the brunt of countless insults and scorn, has appealed to the mercy of the President of India, after having been rebuffed by all levels of the judiciary. Politicians from his home state have urged the government to grant him clemency, else the state erupt into flames. The very politicians whose lives those security personnel died saving today are clamoring for his mercy petition to be received and possibly even approved.

And if that isn’t shameful, then I don’t know what is. To so dishonor the memories of those who have given their lives so that you may breathe the fragrance of existence is damnable, even abominable. I have consistently maintained that Mr. Afzal isn’t worthy of clemency, because this isn’t an act of passion, wherein emotions could have been seen to have warped reason. This was a cold-blooded crime, thought out in detail, decided with precision, and intended to destabilize the nation by eliminating the topmost layers of power and authority.

I am sorry to say this, but now I feel, I just feel that it would have been preferable that at least a dozen or more politicians ought to have died at the hands of those terrorists, before they were gunned down by security personnel. At least that way, no politician would have found it tenable to support a clemency petition with such impunity. Maybe then, the memories of those who have died would have meant more than it means now.

And even when I say this, I feel ashamed, because even as I am scathing in my sarcasm, I wound those who lost their beloved ones in this attack. They who had nothing to do with the scum their beloved protected, why must they be so tortured? That they today have returned all the awards the State conferred upon their loved ones is a right step, because if there is a semblance of shame in these shamefaced politicians, this repudiation of a falsely expressed sense of appreciation should be reason enough for half of them to drown themselves in some nullah in Delhi. Nay, even the waters of Hell would reject such ungrateful souls!