Whereas the Indian Government is spending crores to keep Kasab alive, I was amazed to see the treatment meted to criminals by our neighbours at the other side of the Himalayas. China undoubtedly has the most feared judicial system in the world with the convicted getting a death sentence even for cases like tax fraud, corruption, theft and small-scale drug offenses. And ours continues to be a case of appeasing diplomacy and freewheeling for the guilty. Take Kasab's case for example, I don't understand what other vital information our government needs to extract from him. And per the last report, the bodies of the rest of the 26/11 terrorists have been lying in a morgue with the government again shelling out a couple of crores for preservation, leave aside the stench the hospital folks have to bear.
We need to learn from our immediate neighbours. China is ruled by a patriotic government. A government that is respected and feared in equal measures. Time and again, we have been proven to be a soft state. Now, let me not raise a debate here but isn't this statement a known fact:-
We DONT claim what is rightfully ours but our strong neighbours have time and again claimed what they believe is rightfully theirs.
Yes, people have exploited India's goodness and warmth to the fullest and they still get away with it whereas our neighbours know how to punish the offenders. From their own Drug and Food director to a British national arrested on charges of drug smuggling, they haven't spared anyone convicted of breaking the law. The vehement criticism from UK for executing their citizen had a strong answer from the Chinese embassy which stated that judicial sovereignty of China shouldn't be questioned. Innocent or not, the execution sent a strong message to the world. There is no one above law in China.
On a random scan of the list of mass murderers and their fate, the Chinese have always ensured execution for the wrong-doers whereas some countries have even spared these criminals on grounds of insanity.
Now, let us get back to our country and the review the number of executions that have been carried out. The last person hanged was Dhanonjay Chatterjee for raping a minor and that was way back in 2004. Official reports confirm that only 55 individuals have been executed since Independence. The unofficial numbers go to a maximum of 4300. In comparison, reports point out that our neighbours China have hanged at least 5000 in the year 2007 alone.
By figures, the acquittal rate in India is amazing: 1,163,450(51.9%). Assuming that 51.9% of the accused are innocent, shouldn't there be one individual from the convicted who could qualify for capital punishment?
By this pie-chart, I believe Dhanonjoy should be behind bars and not hanged.
We certainly breathe well in India because we can pee at will on our sidewalks, break traffic rules whenever there is an opportunity, evade taxes wherever possible. This is because we do not fear our government and our law and this has always been exploited by the perpetrators. I believe this is not going to change because we have learnt to live a corrupt lifestyle. If change might come, then it might take more than a century for us to change our country's image.
Okay(am I sounding very pessimistic?)- Our government should give it a try..
Hang Kasab at the earliest!!
