R.T.Sakthidaran

Today 6^th May 2010, I read Mr. Soutik Biswas’ report in BBC on Mumbai verdict on Kasab. The following sentences or words attracted my attention:

• “brings to an end the media-driven blood-lust”
• “critics believe they have played an exploitative, inflammatory role, feeding on and fanning jingoism simply to boost ratings”
• “Most people, I speak to feel that networks have an exaggerated sense of importance”
• “It makes India look like a nation of intolerant bigots”

As one of the bigots of this country, I searched the meaning of ‘bigot’. The on-line definition is “intolerant, prejudiced person”, another meaning says, “One who is strongly partial to one’s own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ”. Bigots itself means intolerant and Mr. Biswas was not content with just to say “bigots” and emphasized it with another word “intolerant”!

Mr. Biswas must be knowing more about the “Indian Bigotry” than any one of us. But, for the rest of us here is a sample from “the Christian Science Monitor”. According to the Christian Science Monitor, “India has about 308 people on death row. Most of them are waiting on appeals to higher courts, and 49 of them are in the last stage of appeal to the President. The 49 include three Sri Lankan Tamils convicted in the 1991 assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and three others convicted in twin bomb blasts in Mumbai in 2003”. In the past decade, India has executed only one person, a rapist and murderer, in 2004. No foreign national has been executed in India since its independence in 1947”.

It is natural that Mr. Biswas is surprised with the public uproar in Kasab’s case.

For Mr Biswas the expenses being incurred on Kasab may be very nominal when you look from £ angle. But for majority of the Indians who earn less than Rs 100 a day, the following report in Times of India is painful. The report is with the heading, “Kasab costing Maharashtra Rs 2 lakh per day; 35 crore spent so far.” An extract is given below:

“The Government of Maharashtra has been spending well over Rs 2 lakh a day on Ajmal Kasab since November 26, 2008. Indo-Tibetan Border Police guards have been deployed exclusively for Kasab’s security. So far, the government has spent Rs 35 crore on Kasab for creating special infrastructure for his security. “Even the Centre insisted on setting up special infrastructure for protecting Kasab. Security measures taken by the state government were personally monitored by home minister P Chidambaram,” he said. A special high security cell was created to house Kasab in the Arthur Road jail. The special cell is so powerful that even if there is a direct attack, it will not be damaged. Other than the special cell, a special ward has been constructed at the government-run J J Hospital for Kasab’s treatment. It’s also bullet-proof. On Kasab’s current health status, the official said that he is examined by a team of doctors at least once a day. “Doctors examine him within the jail premises and treat him there itself.”

I do not know what Mr Biswas wants from the Indians. He has not made any suggestion. The dastardly killing of so many innocent people has not touched his stone heart. Even Dan Reed’s, “Terror in Mumbai” is also not going to change his opinion about Indian.

164 people were killed and several hundreds were wounded during the Mumbai attack. Indian bigots are not going to hang him tomorrow morning as Biswas himself says. We bigots have already told Kasab that he can appeal to high court, supreme court and finally President of India. Biswas is still not happy. The BBC News reports Biswas’ views prominently.

Thanks, BBC. Mr Biswas has torn BBC’s mask. Now, the Indian Bigots can understand the neutrality of BBC’s reporting.

Let us not further waste money and time. Let us send Kasab to Pakistan or UK or any other country that wants nurture him better than we do. Let us accept the fact that we are a country of beggars that cannot afford maintaining such terrorist just to prove that we are a democratic country.

I hope that would also please the humanitarian BBC and liberal Biswas.

Jai Hind

Popularity: 9% [?]