There are two ways one can take the life of other. One is the way a soldier takes the life of an enemy- very clinical. Even a suicide bomber’s way of causing loss of lives of his perceived enemies is rather clinical because he is not there to see his handiwork. The other way is more personal, the kind caused due to extreme hate, revenge or greed. This kind is personal. Here you have the murderer peering into the eyes of his victim as the victim dies.
We now know that the carnage caused at Godhra station was nothing but a massacre which was preplanned. A court has decided it based on the witnesses and proofs rather than a rent-a-judge passing judgment based on instructions from the rail minister or insistence of leftist NGO’s. The way the kar-sevaks were killed falls under the second way of killings. It was borne out of extreme hatred. Kar-sevaks were the perceived enemies. But the way they were killed is as brutal and personal as it gets. The men who burned the kar-sevaks must have seen the faces or heard the victims’ screams. These murderers were very cruel.
When I saw the faces of men who were sentenced to die, I was shocked. These were the faces of very young men who at that age should have been preoccupied with exams or jobs or family problems or even girls. They were not supposed to be consumed with such hatred especially when the provocation was not personal. What caused them to carry out such an act of extreme cruelty? Of course many people would directly blame the religion these men were adherents of. Indeed if it is the religion then the responsibility lies on the feet of the followers to question, rectify such medieval messages and move out from under the shadows of barbaric practices. I do not want to criticize because no one who should listen to me will do so. Therefore for me to criticize the religion would be an exercise in futility. The leadership like the enlightened Maulana Vastanavi along with other forward thinking people must step out and decide if they want the Indian Muslims to become responsible citizens and join the forward moving society or continue on the self-destructing ways of their Pakistani brethren.
Meanwhile, if is the responsibility of the Muslims families to make sure that their children are not getting the kind of message at home which would lead their children down this murderous path. Family is the primary unit of this microcosm we call society. The most important message the children get is from home rather than school or madarsa. Of course I am assuming that the parents want their children to grow into people of substance rather than jihadis. There was a case of a constable in Karachi who imprisoned his son with handcuffs and shackles because the son was hell bent on going to Afghanistan to become a jihadi.
What is the responsibility of us Hindus in this matter? I am sure we all have some feeling about that. Maybe we should try to undo all the historical wrongs committed by Muslims on us by the way of negotiations rather than destruction. In the interest of safety and well being of our motherland we need to think pragmatically and try to FORGIVE but DEFINITELY NOT FORGET. You see, the alternatives are much more unpleasant.
Godhra carnage: 11 get death, 20 to serve life term
Eleven convicts in the Godhra train burning case were on Tuesday handed down death sentence while 20 others were given life imprisonment by a special court in the 2002 incident that left 59 karsevaks dead and triggered riots which claimed over 1,200 lives in Gujarat. Special judge P R Patel considering the case as "rarest of rare" pronounced death penalty for 11 out of the 31 convicted in the case while 20 others were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The article can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-godhra-case-sentencing-of-31-convicts-today/20110301.htm
Exclusive! Godhra case investigator speaks
Noel Parmar, the investigating officer in the Godhra case, has no doubt that the Sabarmati fire was meticulously thought out. This case was assigned to me May 27, 2002. I was then the assistant police commissioner in Baroda. I took over the case from K C Bawa, who had conducted the primary investigation. I went to see the S-6 compartment and the exact place where it was halted before it was burnt down. The first thing I noticed was that the compartment's steps were intact. How is it possible if a crowd had burnt it from outside? The steps would be burnt first if people were torching it from outside. The complete article can be read at:http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-exclusive-godhra-case-investigator-speaks/20110228.htm
We now know that the carnage caused at Godhra station was nothing but a massacre which was preplanned. A court has decided it based on the witnesses and proofs rather than a rent-a-judge passing judgment based on instructions from the rail minister or insistence of leftist NGO’s. The way the kar-sevaks were killed falls under the second way of killings. It was borne out of extreme hatred. Kar-sevaks were the perceived enemies. But the way they were killed is as brutal and personal as it gets. The men who burned the kar-sevaks must have seen the faces or heard the victims’ screams. These murderers were very cruel.
When I saw the faces of men who were sentenced to die, I was shocked. These were the faces of very young men who at that age should have been preoccupied with exams or jobs or family problems or even girls. They were not supposed to be consumed with such hatred especially when the provocation was not personal. What caused them to carry out such an act of extreme cruelty? Of course many people would directly blame the religion these men were adherents of. Indeed if it is the religion then the responsibility lies on the feet of the followers to question, rectify such medieval messages and move out from under the shadows of barbaric practices. I do not want to criticize because no one who should listen to me will do so. Therefore for me to criticize the religion would be an exercise in futility. The leadership like the enlightened Maulana Vastanavi along with other forward thinking people must step out and decide if they want the Indian Muslims to become responsible citizens and join the forward moving society or continue on the self-destructing ways of their Pakistani brethren.
Meanwhile, if is the responsibility of the Muslims families to make sure that their children are not getting the kind of message at home which would lead their children down this murderous path. Family is the primary unit of this microcosm we call society. The most important message the children get is from home rather than school or madarsa. Of course I am assuming that the parents want their children to grow into people of substance rather than jihadis. There was a case of a constable in Karachi who imprisoned his son with handcuffs and shackles because the son was hell bent on going to Afghanistan to become a jihadi.
What is the responsibility of us Hindus in this matter? I am sure we all have some feeling about that. Maybe we should try to undo all the historical wrongs committed by Muslims on us by the way of negotiations rather than destruction. In the interest of safety and well being of our motherland we need to think pragmatically and try to FORGIVE but DEFINITELY NOT FORGET. You see, the alternatives are much more unpleasant.
Godhra carnage: 11 get death, 20 to serve life term
Eleven convicts in the Godhra train burning case were on Tuesday handed down death sentence while 20 others were given life imprisonment by a special court in the 2002 incident that left 59 karsevaks dead and triggered riots which claimed over 1,200 lives in Gujarat. Special judge P R Patel considering the case as "rarest of rare" pronounced death penalty for 11 out of the 31 convicted in the case while 20 others were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The article can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-godhra-case-sentencing-of-31-convicts-today/20110301.htm
Exclusive! Godhra case investigator speaks
Noel Parmar, the investigating officer in the Godhra case, has no doubt that the Sabarmati fire was meticulously thought out. This case was assigned to me May 27, 2002. I was then the assistant police commissioner in Baroda. I took over the case from K C Bawa, who had conducted the primary investigation. I went to see the S-6 compartment and the exact place where it was halted before it was burnt down. The first thing I noticed was that the compartment's steps were intact. How is it possible if a crowd had burnt it from outside? The steps would be burnt first if people were torching it from outside. The complete article can be read at:http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-exclusive-godhra-case-investigator-speaks/20110228.htm
Hindus were burnt in Godhra before: Verdict
Although judge P R Patel does not pin-point the motive of the attack, he notes, "Godhra is known for its past history of communal riots...For Godhra, this is not the first incident of burning alive innocent persons belonging to Hindu community. Earlier, during many riot incidents in Godhra, persons were burnt alive and shops/houses etc came to be destroyed by fire." He cites 10 incidents of communal riots in Godhra since 1965 and noted that several riots broke out during the rath yatra in 1990 and 1992.
The judge says shouting slogans like 'Pakistan Zindabad', 'Hindustan Murdabad' etc and announcements on loudspeaker from a nearby mosque clearly suggest a motive and pre-planning to attack the train. The complete article can be read at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Hindus-were-burnt-in-Godhra-before-Verdict/articleshow/7631802.cms
Godhra case conspiracy aimed at targeting karsevaks'
The aim of the criminal conspiracy in the 2002 Godhra train burning case was to target 'karsevaks' travelling in the Sabarmati Express, the special court has concluded in its judgement. "The cause of fire which took place in coach S-6 was not short circuit or accidental because of any leakage of kerosene from stove of any passenger; but definitely petrol in huge quantity came to be poured inside the coach," the court has held.
The complete article can be read at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/godhra-case-conspiracy-aimed-at-targeting-karsevaks/758278/1
What is the responsibility of us Hindus in this matter?""
ReplyDeleteCriticism of Mo is crucial (not on the blog) as he is the root cause of all the trouble. At the moment because of all the criticism they understand that there is a need for reform, but they are still far away from recognising the real problem. Let them have their god but without Mo's hateful politics. It is up to others to help them along. Better this than a world war.