Is death penalty the solution?

I've been reading quite a lot of newspaper articles and blogs regarding the death penalty given to Kasab. The verdict initiated a lot of heated up discussions about capital punishment, people arguing both for and against it.

According to the government, Kasab will be hanged by the end of this year, provided, he doesn't challenge the verdict in the higher courts. But what if he does? He will spend years in the jail, and atlast, will be hanged if the verdict doesn't change.

What purpose do we serve by hanging Kasab? Will that send a message to the terrorist leaders, that we, Indians will react very strongly to such acts? I don't think so. Kasab, along with all his companions, was very much prepared to die, when he came to our country. When we hang Kasab, the terrorist masterminds will laugh at us, because, they all are still safe, to plan more attacks like this.

Kasab, doesn't represent the terrorists. He just represents the brainwashed and spoiled youth. He is a 22 year old, just like any of us. He was misdirected, and was used as a tool to implement the nefarious plans of someone else.

I salute all those who lost lives in the battle, but still, I strongly disagree with Karkare's wife's demand to make the execution public. Again, what's the use? When an arrow hits you, how do you take your revenge? By breaking the arrow, or by hitting the one who shot it at you?

Instead of hanging Kasab, we need to solve the huge conundrum of which, Kasab is a very small part of. We need to strengthen our police and intelligence forces in order to make sure that such incidents don't repeat. I still remember the television picture of policemen shooting at the terrorists at CST railway station, with their rifles, reloading after each shot. The terrorists, sprayed bullets back with AK 47 s.

And quite unfortunately, the pathetic situation hasn't changed much, even after the attack. The allocation of funds has taken place, but the huge corruption takes away a large chunk of the money. Now, even if the weapons are bought, policemen are not properly trained.

As far as we can't improve on all these, all we can do is to hang Kasab. Hang him, and hail the success of our fight against terror. Keep hailing, until the next attack happens!

A hijack plan!! wow!

What a news in the morning!! Bomb found in Bangalore Trivandrum flight. Great! Police say that it could have been a Kandahar model hijack plan. Too good!

They do have a series of security checks, but how did someone manage to get it into the flight? As always, almost all the security measures we have in our country always serve the purpose of troubling the public and fail when it really matters.

Bomb was purportedly made in Kerala. And the officials think that it could have been transported into the flight along with the checked in baggage when the flight was at Trivandrum. If someone could do such a thing, why do we have a check in?

Officials still have explanations. They say at Tvm airport, there is a little distance between where the baggage is scanned and the check in. So, it is possible for someone to slip in something in between that. That distance existed before also, right? Couldn't that been solved before? Do we need to wait till someone jeopardizes the lives of so many passengers?

Now, after the scanning of the baggage is done, don't they seal it? (I don't exactly know. I haven't been on a flight before.) Or do they seal it in such a way that still someone can slip something in?

Whatever, these things are beyond our control. But it looks like Mallus are catching up. A hijack plan, though they missed out this time.

I remember a newspaper report about the security of the railway stations in Mumbai which I read a few months back. A reporter passed through the metal detector in front of CST with a bag full of weapons and the the damn thing didn't respond at all. When the reporter talked to the policeman, he pleaded to him, not to mention his name in the article.

Public can watch, and wait for some action.

Pakistan needs to act

Terrorists unleashed yet another attack on Pakistan, spreading chaos all around. All the recent attacks that occurred in Pakistan were highly organised and exceedingly well executed, leaving the common people traumatized. The Pakistan Government will have to act rigorously, that too, as quickly as possible. Questions concerning the legitimacy of Pakistan has already been raised several times, in the International arena. Strict and clever action will only be the proper reply.

Once, the Pakistan Government got enticed by the destruction of India and tried to use terrorism as catalyst for it. Now, their country is facing a snub due to that foolish decision.

The other countries, especially India, need to be concerned about the happenings in Pakistan. Plenty of proof has been obtained for the nexus between Taliban and the anti- India extremist groups. We can't even deny the possibility of the nuclear weapon reaching the hands of these these groups, if their rein continues. In case that happens, the consequent catastrophe will be too severe us to stop. So, our Government will have to see the current events in Pakistan as a premonition and exert pressure on their counterparts to do the required.