By Mazhar Farooqui
The hanging of Yakub Memon will not shake Indian Muslims’s faith in the country’s judiciary and democratic values. That bit was already taken care of when Afzal Guru was sent to the gallows to satisfy the “collective conscience” of the society.
When the killers of Ishrat Jehan, Ahsan Jafri, Kausar Bi, Sadiq Sheikh, Sohrabuddin and countless others were not just let off the hook but also awarded with plum promotions.
When Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, DG Vanzara, PP Pandey etc. were given “clean chits” despite damning evidence.
When the blood thirsty PAC cops who murdered 43 Muslim youths in Hashimpura were acquitted by the court.
When Shiv Sena thugs who were named and shamed in the Srikrishna report for raping and killing hundreds of Muslims during the 1993 Mumbai riots were never brought to book and their leader was instead given a state funeral when he died a natural death.
When Kalyan Singh, who reneged on a Supreme Court affidavit pledging to protect the Babri Masjid, was detained in a posh guest house for just few hours as punishment for an act that led to the biggest riots in India since partition.
When convicted killers like Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajragni, who lorded over the massacre of Muslim women and children, were given a seemingly endless parole.
When the government launched a relentless witch hunt against people like Sanjiv Bhatt and Teesta Setalvad, who dared to stand for Muslims.
When brave Mumbai lawyer Shahid Azmi, who defended young Muslims framed on bogus terror charges, was gunned down and his killers were honourably discharged.
When the government at the Centre restrained the investigating agency to act against Hindu extremists facing trial in the Samjhauta Express and Mecca Masjid blast cases.
When fake encounters were trumpeted as genuine.
When a Times of India report found that a three-fourths of those given the death penalty belonged to backward classes, religious minorities and economically weaker sections.
So the bottom line is: Yaqub Memon’s hanging won’t alienate Muslims more than what some of these past events already have.
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Mazhar Farooqui is a Dubai-based Indian journalist. This was first posted on his facebook wall.