N.Ram has been fairly consistent in opposing capital punishment. But he fails to make a distinction between a civilised society and one besieged by barbarians and terrorists. (These intellectuals and jholawallas feed on this phony liberalism.) Is N.Ram out of touch with reality to say India is a civilized society. No, he is driven by an urge to display his liberalism hat. There never was and there will never be a civilized society. At best, there may be fleeting moments or grand pretensions of being civilized. Even before a society manages to become civilized, it will have the barbarians knocking on its door. I am with N.Ram that capital punishment should be abolished in a civilized society. For now lets live with the reality and shove that phony liberalism away.
N.Ram has also advocated stronger laws for combating riots and prosecuting rioters. I am keen to see him campaign with the same kind of vigour against the use of firearms in riot situations. How are rioters ransacking property worse than terrorists targeting lives that the former deserve to be shot at using deadly firearms while the later must be granted mercy? What is required is not abolition but regulation. That is why we have the "UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials" for regulating the use of firearms in riots. And we have the "rarest of rare cases" guiding the Supreme court while delivering capital punishment. To live in utopian world and call for abolishment of capital punishment is a Nehruvian folly.
The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : Doubly abhorrent
N.Ram has also advocated stronger laws for combating riots and prosecuting rioters. I am keen to see him campaign with the same kind of vigour against the use of firearms in riot situations. How are rioters ransacking property worse than terrorists targeting lives that the former deserve to be shot at using deadly firearms while the later must be granted mercy? What is required is not abolition but regulation. That is why we have the "UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials" for regulating the use of firearms in riots. And we have the "rarest of rare cases" guiding the Supreme court while delivering capital punishment. To live in utopian world and call for abolishment of capital punishment is a Nehruvian folly.
The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : Doubly abhorrent
This newspaper has consistently held that capital punishment has no place in a civilised society.
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Chief has consistently held that capital punishment has no place in a civilised society. Does his views hold good for China also? Summary executions (and alleged organ-harvesting) seem to be the norm in PRC.
I have one more question. In Islamic countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, the capital punishment is widely used. Will Ram call them barbarian societies?
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