I remember the moment when I truly felt it, when it hit me.
Ram and Chetna are two Marwari shops in my locality. Marwaris are a distinctly hard-working, enterprising people and Ram and Chetna would open unfailingly every morning at 7. Rain or shine, every day of year (save one solitary religious holiday) you could depend on Ram and Chetna to be open. For two whole days after the blast, however, they remained shut. I didn't even notice they had blue shutters - I had never seen them closed before.
The day after the German Bakery blast, the traffic was sparse. The newspapers were depressing. There was an almost atmospheric gloom in the air. But seeing Ram and Chetna closed was what hurt me the most.
Terrorism had won.
We're at war. With an enemy that is anywhere and everywhere. It's brutally ironic that while we live in fear, under constant threat, a man like Kasab lives behind reinforced concrete, dozens of doctors attending to his health and guards, putting their lives on the line, protecting a man who has played a part in the killing of their most respected senior officers, their colleagues and their friends. As of November 26, 2009, the government is reported to have spent Rs. 31 crore on Kasab. Plans for the Mumbai monorail project had to be tweaked (adjustments to the plan cost us Rs. 44 crore more and has delayed the entire project for almost half a year now). He demands basmati rice and apparently abuses Arthur Road Central Prison staff when his culinary demands aren't met. It defeats you. A man that came to your country, violated your freedom, attacked the places you loved and stripped you of your security is not only alive and healthy but demanding basmati rice.
When Chidambaram, at a recent press conference, said that the fact that Kasab is been given a fair trial is a matter of pride for the country, I could not help but feel conquered. If it was truly a matter of pride for this country and for me then why do I feel defeated? Why do I feel wronged? Why does it feel so incredibly unjust? I've had to wrestle with this immensely to arrive to where I am but I finally (and reluctantly) agree with Chidambaram. As defeatist as this sounds, we have to concede that we really don't have a choice as a civilized, democratic nation. Putting Kasab through a kangaroo court, summarily executing him or "accidentally" goofing up his security cover are not options we have. Ministers like Chidambaram, when they are sworn in, vow to uphold the Constitution of the Republic of India and as unpopular and unfair as it seems that's exactly what he's doing. A fair trial, right to a lawyer and the right to appeal a judgment are foundations to the judicial system in a democracy.
Similarly, the UPA was heavily criticized for rolling back POTA. It was accused of being 'soft on terror'. POTA was hailed by the NDA as a concrete response to terrorism and save a few human rights violations, it would apparently empower us as a country to stave off terrorist activity.
The truth is, simply put, POTA was our Guantanamo Bay. Except, instead of being a remote naval base, it pervaded our polity. POTA did help us arrest individuals that could have "potentially" been terrorists. But in the few years of its existence, it was used extensively as a political tool, most notably by Jayalalitha who had Vaiko arrested for merely expressing his support for the LTTE. It infringed upon a wide array of human rights and for what? - at the end of its life, the people who suffered most under weren't Pakistani extremists or Kashmiri militants but Indians, most of whom were completely innocent.
Lesson learnt? In the long run, watering down our democracy affects us. Not them. I am proud of the fact that my country is giving a terrorist like Kasab a fair trail. We've lost so much to terrorism already. We can't afford to compromise on the sanctity of our democracy simply because that remains the one fortress that no terrorist has been able to attack. TOI: Cost of Keeping Kasab Alive - Rs. 31 Crore and Counting
TOI: Kasab's Security May Cost Monorail Rs. 44 Crore
Deccan Chronicle: I Pay For Kasab's Biryani
New Kerala.com : "Proud that Kasab is given a fair trial"
Deccan Herald: Now Kasab Wants International Trial
Rediff News: 26/11 Survivor Wants Kasab Executed
Rediff News: Terrorising the politicians