Time To Be Civilized And Compassionate
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
2 December
2023
Haq Hai
Har Shakhs Ka Zindagi Par
Jyon Haq
Hai Har Kisi Ka Bandagi Par
Insaaf Ke
Naam Pe Saza-E-Maut Do
Sharm Aati
Hai Insaan Ki Darindagi Par
'Nashtar
' Nishapuri
(Every
individual is entitled to life/ The way everyone is free to worship/ Capital
punishment in the name of justice/ I'm ashamed of the savagery of humans)
The demand
for abolishing the death penalty got a fresh impetus on Wednesday, November 22,
when most lawyers present at a Supreme Court hearing on reducing instances of
capital punishment wanted the provision to go. Their stand aligns with the
growing worldwide support for its abolition. Close to three-quarters of the
world has abolished it (courtesy, ET, November 26, Hang on, rethink the death
penalty
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-editorial/hang-on-rethink-the-death-penalty/articleshow/105518327.cms).
Much has
been written and debated in favour of the abolition of death rap over the
years. Now is time for India to dispense with it to be called a civilized
country. Less than a year ago, CJI questioned the validity of hanging. Now the
SC lawyers are also of the view that it must be abolished. Any mode of
execution, be it hanging, firing squad, beheading (zenith of barbarism),
electric chair, lethal injection or poisoning, will continue to be questioned
not because of more or less pain inflicted upon the convicts, but for moral
reasons that have far and wide ramifications.
Granted, a
person has committed a heinous crime and killed someone. Executing him for that
cannot be called justice. It's retribution, validated by the State and the
Judiciary. Moreover, the logic of 'the rarest of the rare' principle is so
subjective, obscure and baffling. Many a time, those who're resourceful and can
hire big lawyers, cheat the gallows and poor people are sent to the scaffold.
"Zindagi Ne Jeete Ji Ki Na Koi Raham/ Aayee Maut Toh Woh Bhi Iss Qadar
Beraham" (While living, life remained so harsh and unkind/ Alas, when
death arrived, it was also macabre).
Urdu poet
Justice Anand Narayan Mulla wrote this couplet when a very poor convict was
hanged at Naini prison near Allahabad. He was a judge of Allahabad High Court
at that time. If you observe the list of the 62 executed convicts beginning
from Nathuram Godse and N D Apte (November 15, 1949) at Ambala Central Jail to
the four convicts, of Nirbhaya rape and murder case, hanged at Tihar in Delhi
on March 20, 2020, you'll be surprised that most of the executed convicts were
really poor. Two brothers Kartar Singh and Ujagar Singh, the hired killers who
were hanged at Tihar, for killing the famous eye-surgeon Dr Jain's wife,
committed the crime for 500 rupees! Both never got a decent lawyer to fight for
them. That's the reason, capital punishment is all the more reprehensible and
lopsided. A civilized society has no place for this type of judicial murder.
Are we voyeurs, getting some kind of orgasmic kick out of an execution of an
individual? Do away with it forthwith.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/civilized-compassionate/d/131242
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