Collective Conscience of the Nation?
Collective conscience of the nation–my foot! Look at the picture above of Shiv Sena goons. Nationalism as a murderous mob mentality is more like it.
Afzal Guru has been accused of helping terrorists in the attack on the Indian Parliament. In delivering the death sentence, the Supreme Court in Delhi opined that this act was intended “to satisfy the collective conscience of the nation.” I’m in agreement with Prashant Bhushan who, pleading for commuting of the death sentence, has written that “the government can certainly take the view that [death by hanging] is not appropriate or that this would alienate and inflame the collective conscience of the people of Kashmir.” And here’s why:
I however feel that the death sentence should be commuted in such cases because the crimes of Afzal or even the terrorists who attacked Parliament are not committed for personal gain but because they nurse a strong sense of grievance against the perceived injustice done to them by the Indian State. Their crime was seen by them as a cause for which they were prepared to die. Such people can not be deterred by hanging them. This is in fact likely to create more such militants. One can deal with such people only by trying to address their sense of grievance.
Also read Badri Raina.
