We can think of several reasons why India gets attacked by terrorists routinely and regularly while America has not been attacked since September 11, 2001. But today, we focus on one reason that our readers might not be aware of. Frankly, we did not know either and were stunned into utter disbelief when we found out what we describe below in the section on India.
America is a democracy that is proud of its human values. It regards itself as a beacon to the rest of the world and rightly so. But, this does not prevent America from being tough on people who attack America or people who try to harm Americans. The American Constitution and the American Legal System allows itself to punish people who try to cause harm to Americans. It makes sure that the protections reserved for American citizens are special and are not extended causally to foreign nationals or foreign combatants.
This pragmatism of the American System allowed America to put the 9/11 terrorists in special prisons like the Guantanamo facility and beyond the purview of the American Legal System.
The American Legal System also allows itself the flexibility to try the accused in a different, non-standard manner if the specific facts of the case so warranty.
We refer to the case of the Somali pirate who was taken prisoner during the brilliant rescue of the American Captain kidnapped by Somali Pirates in the Gulf of Aden. The US Military brought this young pirate to new York City to be tried in American courts. According to a defense lawyer quoted in the New York Times, the US Government wants to “demonstrate to the world that we take these crimes seriously, and that people who are caught are going to be given a trial, and there is going to be swift justice imposed if convicted.”
We understand that the young Somali pirate is in his late teens and could therefore be a juvenile. But, the US Government intends to try the young pirate as an adult, a flexibility allowed by the American Legal System.
Apparently, the Indian Legal System does NOT have this flexibility.
Several Pakistani commandos (or militants according to the Pakistani Army) launched a devastating attack on Mumbai in November 2008. They killed several hundred innocent civilians and policemen in a brutal manner during the attack.
One of these terrorist commandos was captured by Indian Military forces during the rescue. This terrorist, identified as Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, has been in police custody awaiting his trial.
Unlike America, the Indian Legal System cannot make any distinction between Indian citizens and Foreign nationals. We have been informed that every accused, even a foreign terrorist like Kasab, has an equal right to defense in the Indian Legal System regardless of his citizenship.
Therefore, Kasab, the Pakistani terrorist who murdered several hundred Indian citizens, was provided every right and constitutional protection under Indian law. We knew this and have been resigned to it.
After all, Kasab’s actions were captured on camera (see below) and witnessed by several people and his conviction, we thought, was a foregone conclusion.
We should have known better. To our utter outrage, we read in an Indian Express article (dated April 24, 2009), that a special court in Mumbai has ordered an inquiry to check whether Kasab is a juvenile (below 18 years of age).
Now get this. According to the Indian Express article, “In case the inquiry holds that he is a juvenile, he will be referred to a juvenile court for trial under the Juvenile Justice Act which provides for maximum punishment of three years, his lawyer Abbas Kazmi said.“
We are horrified at this prospect. We simply cannot imagine that Kasab could be set free in 3 years simply because he was a juvenile when he murdered several hundred Mumbaikers.
Can you imagine the utter joy of the terrorist masters in Pakistan? They can now recruit young men 16-17 years old and train them to commit similar terrorist attacks. They can also advise these young men to surrender to the Indian Army or Police if their attack fails because their maximum punishment would be three years in prison. These terrorists could, after 3 years, safely return to Pakistan to be hailed as heroes and paid handsomely.
So far, we knew that the terrorism masters, trainers and recruiters in Pakistan could safely plan and execute terrorist attacks in India without any fear or risk because Indian Society was too weak to respond with force. Now we know that even teen-age terrorists can kill Indian civilians by the hundreds without risk of hanging or life imprisonment when captured.
What we fail to understand is the total lack of outrage in Indian Society?
If a 9/11 terrorist faced a maximum sentence of 3 years in America simply because he was a juvenile, the outrage across the country would have been white hot. Every TV Anchor would have screamed for immediate change to the US Constitution and the Congress would have convened a special session to do so.
Where are hyper-emotional Indian TV Networks who scream and yell about every day events? Why are they not demanding a change to the constitution? Why is the rest of Indian Society not livid at the stupidity of its Constitution?
One reason is that most people believe that somehow the Indian System will find a way to punish Kasab. The other reason is the stark difference in which India and America won their freedom.
America & India – The Freedom Struggle and the Framers of the Constitution
America got its freedom by fighting a war with England, it’s occupier. It was a difficult, hard war that was won with great sacrifice and courage. Because American freedom was so hard to win, America’s founding fathers took great pains to protect it. This is one reason why the American Constitution is noble without being self-destructive.
Unlike America, Indian Society got its freedom without a war. India won its freedom due to the political brilliance of one man, Mahatma Gandhi. His non-violence movement allowed Indian Society to win its freedom without spilling its blood or without suffering serious casualties. In a sense, Indian Society got its freedom on the cheap.
We believe this is the main reason why Indian Society does not understand the value of this freedom and the need to preserve it. This is why the framers of the Indian Constitution did not combine pragmatism and harshness with the great nobility of India’s and Gandhi’s ideals.
This difference is reflected in how the two Constitutions were written. America’s founding fathers were both visionaries and warriors. That is why they understood how to distinguish between nobility of purpose and naive, self-destructive ideals. America’s Founding Fathers knew how to separate noble aims from pragmatic boundaries, how to separate protection for its citizens from the need to provide for harsh punishments to those who attack America.
Unlike their American counterparts, the framers of the Indian Constitution were naive worshipers of Mahatma Gandhi. They were awed by the human greatness of Mahatma Gandhi and wanted to enshrine their false understanding of Gandhian values into the new Indian Constitution. These so-called leaders and framers of the Indian Constitution were not warriors and none of them had ever fought with arms to win their freedom or defend their country.
India’s Founding Fathers and India’s 1947 Leaders
We have said it before and we will say it again. Indian Society was very different when it was formed over 5,000 years ago. The original founding fathers of Indian Society, the Great Indian Rushis or Sages, set forth noble and spiritual thoughts of such pure and serene radiance that they serve as humankind’s greatest beacon to this day.
But, these founding fathers were warriors in addition to being sages. They understood that a noble society with great redeeming human values cannot exist in isolation or survive without a rigorous system of punishment for those who attack it. That is India’s founding fathers established the concept of a “Just War” and articulated the thesis that it is the responsibility of The Good to punish and destroy The Evil. In fact, they set forth detailed standards for doing so.
Frankly, in our opinion, a diligent student would conclude the American Constitution is closer to the tenets of India’s Founding Fathers, the Great Sages than today’s Indian Constitution.
Today’s India is totally different in its mental outlook than what India’s founding fathers taught. Today’s India prides on being weak and supine, on extending every conceivable protection to its attackers while shamelessly allowing its own citizens to be massacred in its own cities. Today’s India believes in shameless appeasement of its attackers in the desperate hope of being left alone by them. Today’s leaders of India crave to be recognized by America and Europe as good boys who behave well and show no aggression.
This is why the Indian Constitution finds itself unable to guaranty just punishment to Kasab and Indian Society finds itself unable or unwilling to change its Constitution.
This is one reason why terrorists feel eager to attack India while they run away from the American Military.
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Why India Gets Attacked By Terrorists And America Does Not?
