We must choose not to be like Kasab

The question is "Should Ajmal Kasab (or whatever his name is) be provided a copy of the charge sheet filed against him in Urdu". I ask why should this be such a big question? The newspaper today was filled with comments and reactions from people who felt that this would be a gross waste of time as the charge sheet was an 11000 page document and translating all of that will waste precious time.

I say that with today's technology translation should be a breeze and why did no one think of preparing a copy in Urdu in the first place? After all if the guy is supposed to be Pakistani who did not attend a swanky public school how was he to read something in English or Hindi or Marathi?

By making the accused aware of what he is accused of you do not take away from the weight of his crime and neither do you absolve him to any degree of the crime he has committed. And do we not have eve the smallest responsibility to be different from Kasab himself? Did he not go beyond the law or common sense and just kill people? Did he not choose to violate human dignity in the most heinous way? And will we not partake of the same disregard for all the laws of a civil society if we do not offer him the right to know what he is accused of?

Let us not make him a scapegoat for our failure to save our cities, coast and people. His hanging alone will not end terrorism and by denying him basic rights we are not making an example of our sternness but rather will give opportunity to all those who back him that this is a nation of Muslim haters.

I would however like to conclude with some other thoughts. Today's newspaper also carried statements made by the prime accused of the 9/11 tragedy and held prisoner at Guantanamo Bay. Clearly there was no remorse in what they said or felt. Instead there was a celebration of the horror they had perpetrated and a belief that it was a duty to their God. Of course that makes us angry and hateful. We want to take all that anger out on whoever we can clearly identify as belonging to this group of people who are filled with religious fanaticism. So the anger against all this "fuss" about the charge sheet, and a trial is not all that difficult to understand and share. Why should we offer a fair chance to someone who did not offer the same to the innocent people who died?

The answer must be that somewhere we have to differentiate ourselves and somewhere we must end the vicious circle of hate. If we are all not to become a nation of Kasab's we must show him that we are not like him.