We have a peculiar problem with the lone terrorist who was caught alive during the November 26, 2008 Mumbai carnage. No lawyer is willing to provide legal assistance to him and the so and so has asked for help from Pakistan. Some Indian right wing organizations have threatened lawyers who are willing to provide legal aid to him with dire consequences if they did.
On a public interest litigation, the matter has gone up to our Supreme Court and one judge has called terrorists animals and that Human Rights organizations should not intercede on their behalf but Animal Rights organizations should. Please take some time and read this.
I take serious objection to this observation by the learned Judge. I made the mistake once of calling terrorists animals, and my very dear friend Prasad corrected me and I completely endorse his view that terrorists are not animals. Animals do not attack, maim or kill for reasons other than for their own food or in self/progeny protection. To call terrorists animals is to degrade animals.
It is however interesting to see how the Indian press, legal profession and activists are reacting to this drama. More than interesting is to see how Pakistan has been handling this matter, one day disowning the terrorist, another day accepting him, another day suggesting that he is actually dead and the FBI, and other investigating agencies from across the world who saw him and interrogated him actually saw an Indian imposter and so on and so forth.
In between, to add some spice to the stew, along comes Mr. David Milliband, the current Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the UK, who almost succeeded in derailing Indo-British relations with his equating the Mumabai carnage to the problem in Kashmir. The Lashkar e Toiba, immediately said that it will cease all its terror activities if Kashmir would be made independent! Read about this entire comedy here.
Then comes along the new President of the USA extending a completely different approach to the Muslim world than his predecessor, which in turn generates great heat and or appreciation from the American press.
I think that what should be treated with the utmost seriousness is becoming a joke.
I bleed.
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