Author: Varsha Bhosle
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: February 25, 2002
Daniel Pearl is dead. The day before
Bakri Eid, we were informed that Pakistani jihadis cut his throat with
a knife, then laid him on the ground and chopped off his head with a blunt
weapon. It was all videotaped, and just in case the Americans missed the
action or the import, the scene of the beheading was spliced together several
times to form a loop. After the decapitation, the kidnappers acknowledged
the gruesome murder on video, saying it was intended to avenge the killings
of Muslims in Palestine, Kashmir and "other places", while a separate window
depicted the "inhuman treatment" of Muslims in said places.
President Bush expressed special
sympathy for Pearl's unborn baby "who will now know his father only through
the memory of others... All Americans are sad and angry to learn of the
murder." Colin Powell routinely spoke up for the leader of the Terrorist
State of Pakistan: "President Musharraf took it pretty hard because he
was trying to do everything he could to keep that from happening." The
European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said: "I am shocked
and deeply saddened." UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was "deeply saddened
by the death". The International Federation of Journalists... You get the
picture.
Members of the media everywhere
are especially incensed by the murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter.
Many online newspapers and journalists' associations have arranged for
condolences for the slain reporter's family to be registered at their Web
sites. A cursory scan of these reveals the outrage that the senseless murder
has invoked in people from all over the world, including Indians. I, too,
am furious. I, too, feel for Mariane Pearl and her unborn child. I feel
terrible that Daniel Pearl should have suffered such a brutal death in
his prime. And somehow, I even feel responsible. For, he had embarked on
an investigation, which would have made our case against Pakistani terrorism
stronger.
Daniel Pearl was following leads
on Pakistani security forces' permitting hardcore Islamic groups to function
despite a ban. In his report titled "With hands tied, it's a slap on the
wrist", Pearl had quoted Jaish-e-Muhammad jihadis saying that the police
let them run their office; he had written about an operational Jaish centre
near Bhawalpur, as well as a functioning bank account despite the freeze.
Indeed, an editorial of The News said, "If ever the truth comes out, that
is, if Daniel Pearl survives the ordeal, it would not be very palatable
for Pakistan." And The Washington Times quoted an American spook saying,
"We are looking at several extremist organizations who have known ties
to ISI as possible suspects." Truth: canny Pakistan-watchers knew that
no way would Pearl live to tell his tale.
So yes, I feel particularly bad
since, in a way, Pearl died for us. But, do I feel as outraged as, say,
the National Union of Journalists (India) or the Delhi Journalists' Association
or SAJA...? I'm afraid, not. Just as our liberal analysts are quick to
dismiss the killings of our soldiers, apparently because unnatural death
is part and parcel of a soldier's job, so do I feel about the scribes espousing
investigative journalism (which is *not* an area to which Indians have
*any* connection). As I see it, Daniel Pearl knew what he was doing and
the risks he was taking. In fact, his wife's incredibly controlled and
courageous deportment throughout the ordeal, even after the announcement
of the gruesome murder, is a testimony to the character of the man and
the choices that the couple made. Yes, Daniel Pearl is dead, but he lives
on forever now.
Which can't be said about the elderly
man who had his ears, lips and nose cut off by Islamic jihadis in Sam Samit
village in Rajouri district on February 4. What does Mohammed Hussain look
like now...? Did he survive the attack? How is he living? Could he undergo
plastic surgery? I don't know. For, the media, which still reserves the
front page for items on the 3-year-old murder of Graham Staines or the
Bombay riots of 1992-93, isn't interested in the 2-week-old story. And
when the media isn't obsessed by an event, you can't possibly hear more
about it, let alone have it drummed into you. That is how our professional
liberals, led by pinkos and the Wagah candle-holders, play their "responsible
role" to control public opinion and, especially, public outrage. For, public
outrage is a dangerous thing -- it is the only factor that can churn society
and cause a revolution.
Therefore, it's perfectly understandable
if you feel no sense of outrage at the condition of an earless, lipless
and noseless Mohd Hussain. Just as you feel nothing special about:
February 16: Jihadis hacked to death
16-year-old Jameela, whom they suspected of being a police informer. Earlier
in the week, the jihadis had killed her parents. The girl's body was found
in the forests surrounding Thanna Mandi in Rajouri district; the murderers
had chopped off her head and thrown it at a distance from the torso. (The
Asian Age) February 17: Four jihadis shot dead 8 members of the families
of two Hindu brothers living in adjacent houses at Narla Bambal village
in Udhampur. The jihadis lined up the people, including 5 children -- the
youngest being less than 2 years old -- and sprayed them with bullets.
All 5 children died on the spot. (The Daily Excelsior) February 17: "Elsewhere
a soldier, a militant and a civilian were killed in separate shootouts
in the troubled region" (Reuters). Obviously, the names of the dead jawan
and civilian aren't important. February 18: An explosion rocked Gool town
in Doda district, killing BSF Constable Ram Naik and civilian Gulzar Ahmed
on spot. The explosives were planted by jihadis. (The Daily Excelsior)
February 19: Jihadis hurled a grenade at the Dak Bungalow in Kishtwar,
injuring 13, including one critically, and killing one (The Times of India).
I later learned that the civilian was Shabir Ahmed, a teenager, but couldn't
ascertain if the critically injured person survived. February 20: Jihadis
shot dead an Ikhwan activist, Abdul Majid Bhat, at Samboora village in
Pulwama district. (ToI) February 20: Jihadis killed an Ikhwan activist,
Ali Mohammad Parray, in Pattan on the Srinagar-Baramulla road. (ToI) February
20: Jihadis hurled a grenade in the Asthan Chowk market in Kishtwar, injuring
17 persons, 4 of them critically, and killing one. (The Daily Excelsior)
February 21: A jawan and a civilian were killed when a landmine planted
by jihadis went off in Udhampur district (ToI). No details. February 21:
"Elsewhere, four people, including two Pakistani militants, were killed
in separate shootouts across the region, police said" (ToI). That's it.
February 22: Jihadis took hostage a teacher, Master Nijam-ud-Din, and a
youth, Sandeep Singh, after kidnapping them from a hamlet in Trikuta hills
of Katra area in Jammu. The group of heavily armed jihadis escaped. (The
Daily Excelsior) February 22: The dead body of Mohammed Yusuf Ganai was
recovered from Gopalpora, in Mattan. The previous night, he had been kidnapped
from his house by a group of 20 jihadis and shot dead. (The Daily Excelsior)
February 23: The decapitated body of jihadi-abducted Habib Mir was recovered
from Gangbug Village in Sogam area. (The Daily Excelsior)
Such is a week in the life of an
Indian Kashmiri, thanks to the Terrorist State of Pakistan -- the "key
ally" in President Bush's war against terrorism. So excuse me if I don't
get all broken up over the beheading of the American reporter. When one
focuses on the tiny items on decapitations and mutilations and massacres
of innocent villagers day in and day out, it's difficult to feel shattered
enough to compose tributes to one individual, no matter how much column
space the sorry plight of the individual may have occupied. I'll leave
that to journalists of South Asian origin.
I have set down 13 instances of
murder and coercion spanning a week, all of which were perpetrated by Muslims,
and of which more than half were perpetrated against Muslims. So much for
the "inhuman treatment" of Kashmiri Muslims by the infidel Indian forces.
So much for the allegations of human rights abuses against the Indian Army
made by "Indians" and their masters elsewhere. Indeed, on the very day
that 16-year-old Jameela was hacked to death by Pakistan-sponsored Islamic
jihadis, the Hurriyat Conference accused the army of stepping up human
rights violations in Jammu & Kashmir and called for a protest strike
on Saturday, the day on which the 5 children were massacred by Pakistan-sponsored
Islamic jihadis! But where is the public outrage against all these murders
in J&K? Why's there so much sympathy for Daniel Pearl and none at all
for Yusuf Ganai and Ram Naik? Where is the outrage about our own countrymen
being slaughtered every day by Pakistani terrorists? I don't get it!
Why can't Bhosle let go the subject
of Pakistan, you ask? It's because Pakistan was, is, and will remain India's
enemy -- and not an honourable one at that. It is imperative that we grasp
this fact and feel as outraged as the majority of Americans do vis-à-vis
Al Qaeda. Pakistan's raison d'etre is to seize J&K and cause the collapse
of India, and there's no difference of opinion on that between the Pakistani
establishment, media and people. Towards this aim (as Arvindrao Lavakare
has meticulously established over the past month, making further dissertations
on J&K superfluous), Pakis will say and do anything -- and our peaceniks
will only encourage them. It's these twits who have to be silenced before
any strong measure can be taken against Pakistan. But, only public outrage
can do that. Your outrage, not America's.
On Tuesday, The News carried an
item that reveals more about the Pakistani mindset than the antics of their
tinpot dictator: "Indian intelligence agency, RAW, is subjecting scores
of Pakistanis, flown from Afghanistan's Bagram airbase, to sever (sic)
inhuman treatment at torture cells established in Indian cities of Agra,
New Delhi, Mumbay (sic), Jaipur and Brailly (sic). To extract confessional
statements to malign Pakistan, the RAW in collaboration with Indian army
is applying all brutal and inhuman tactics to these prisoners, but until
now it has miserably failed in its bid... Five alleged terrorists, killed
by Indian security forces during the Dec-13 attack on Indian parliament,
belonged to the batch of 110 Pakistani Taliban ferried by India after the
fall of Taliban... Indian intelligence authorities have chalked out a well-thought-out
plan under which they would release photographs of these Pakistani prisoners
to the international media for their so-called involvement in various self-created
terrorist activities and acts of violence in Indian cities and held Kashmir
to portray Pakistan as a terrorist-sponsoring state."
Such is the Paki intellect... Can
anyone in his right mind believe that Pakistan has become rational and
respectable?? But heavens forbid if I point that out! For, in the climate
of pervasive spinelessness, truth is labelled as "hate speech" and craven
whitewashing as "responsible role". That's India for you...