This morning, India bid goodbye to two people belonging to the same community, but their deeds were poles apart. One is considered the pride of India and the entire nation wept as his final rites were performed. On the other hand, nationwide protests were rampant until the highest law hanged the other person for shaming the faith in humanity. If one was a visionary that aspired India’s prosperity, the other one was on an illusionary mission that wrecked the human spirit.
The first man was Bharat Ratna APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India while the other one was Yakub Memon, the convict in Mumbai bomb serial blasts, whose only hope to escape death penalty was the President of India. The major difference between both these departed souls was that the country desperately wished RIP (Return if Possible) to Kalam, while millions vouched for Yakub’s execution.
Ever since the apex court rejected Yakub’s mercy plea, several religious heads and politicians and even film stars belonging to a community claimed that Yakub is being hanged because of his religion and that he had no political support. However, these very people conveniently ignored the fact that Yakub was one of the key masterminds in the plotting of Mumbai bomb blasts in 1993, killing 257 innocent lives.
Ultimately, law prevailed and it carried out its judgment eventually, much against the wishes of several people. This is considered a landmark decision by the highest authorities as clemency or commuting of Yakub’s death penalty could have led to the losing of Indian judiciary’s credibility among millions of its people and that too after two long decades of precise inquiries and hearings.
The gritty contrast between Kalam and Yakub indicates the country’s mood and its spirit towards respecting and punishing its own children. India, being the largest secular state in the world, is home to numerous religions, languages, cultures and customs all co-existing into one. The communal harmony in such a largest country in the world is indeed a challenge and it is nothing short of a miracle that India continues to thrive. And the credit goes to the undying human spirit that sees a person as a human being with flesh and blood and does not see his religion or community. India does not see religion, but it only sees humanity.
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