What if Dzhokhar was nabbed in India? "Thanks", he would say

Bangalore, April 20: Not even a week had passed that the two suspects in the deadly

bombings of April 15 were caught by the US police. The US President Barack Obama's speech at a healing programme in Boston in the wake of the horror that struck the historic marathon and killed three people besides injuring several others was not just a rhetoric, as it was subsequently proved by the police. And as tweeter went, Dzokhar Tsarnaev might be hanged even before Shahid Kapur learnt to pronounce his name properly.

Now, this is how a government functions. It is not always that the Americans do things smartly for they killed several innocent people while attacking Afghanistan or Iraq, but there is no denying that they are right there when the national security is at stake.

Just imagine if Dzhokhar was caught in India.

First and foremost, there would have been an initial tug-of-war between the state where he was caught and the Centre over his custody. More worse if the state and the Centre are not ruled by the same political party.

The accused would start thinking about his next birthday cake by the time a final decision is taken on his custody and the subsequent debate on who is more concerned for the country's security. Some would hold the minority section responsible for the bombings while some would say a neighbouring country was accountable.

Instead of healing the agony of those directly or indirectly affected by the acts of terror, the political class would start donning the election mantle and try to outshout the opposition to get more votes. Instead of putting up a solidarity against terrorism, the politicians would cripple the Parliament trying to prove who had handled an act of terror better two decades ago when the reality is that none of them had done better to handle the issue.

Soon afterwards, Mr Anchor of some news channel would intervene and act as a referee between the warring political parties to settle the matter. He or she would seek an answer for the nation on the exact date after which India would experience no terror attack and all would be happy. He or she would lambast some veterans from across the border for sending people to disrupt our happy dreams and the show would go on and on.

In the meantime, Dzhokhar would gain more fat in the jail, thanks to sumptuous lunch and dinner. Or he might also choose to hang himself. Nobody would mind but only the tax-payers would curse their fate.

Then one day it would be heard that the apex judicial body of the country convicted Dzhokhar and ruled in favour of his hanging. This of course is not a day's affair. Dzokhar would have celebrated another three birthday parties in the jail till the time the matter reached the Supreme Court. The press would be happy and so would be the common man. But again the story would go on.

The status quoist mind of an average Indian would be happy till the day when suddenly the political leaders would discover that their time in the Parliament is nearing an end as the elections approach. Those in the Opposition would start shouting for Dzhokhar's head and the ruling party, although show some confused action in the beginning, would suddenly decide to hang the convicted.

Like a fat chicken butchered to make some extra bucks, the state would terminate the convict's life, not because it cared for the well-being of its subjects, but to ensure that this 'legal murder' would give it another day to live. The liberals would shout while the human rights organisations would bring out morchas. In the meantime, India would lose some more lives in another blast.

And then, we would see a repeat telecast of the bombings carried out by Dzhokhar in one of our multi-crore movies made in our glamorous film industry. Could Shahid Kapur play the role of Dzhokhar himself? Who knows.

Everything is possible in India.

OneIndia News