Marad Settlement Mocks
The Justice SystemBy The Moderator, India Thinkers Net
08 October, 2003
The retaliation crimes at the Marad beach were given a communal color by the Sangh Parivar.The Sangh Parivar tried to create a national storm akin to the one that followed the Godhra train burnings.The chain of murders and counter-murders for the last few years have been awful enough.There is no second opinion to the fact that whoever is responsible for a crime under the Indian Penal Code must be dealt accordingly,regardless of their religion or other credentials.In the latest round of retaliation,the attackers belongedto the Muslim community and the victims the Hindu.The Sangh parivar effectively used the Araya Samajam,a fishermen's caste outfit to carry out it's communal
plans. Members of the Muslim community were driven out of the area to be confined to the 'refugee camps' as in Modi's Gujarat.These included families which had absolutely nothing to do with any of those who were involved in the gruesome murders. The state government's impotency was displayed in it's full glory over the past few months when it failed to ensure the rehabilitation of the refugees.The government allowed the hoodlums of the sangh parivar and the Durga vahini to take control of the area.The so called settlement plan bartered by the chief minister between the Hindu and Muslim communal outfits have been nothing but appalling. This is
because the state has voluntarily abdicated it's powers to ensure justice through the proper channels even as it gave into the coercive tactics and unjust demands of the fundamentalist and terrorist forces.
It is the state's role to apprehend the criminals and prosecute them.However to pay out huge amounts of tax payers money to 'buy peace' is a wrong precedent. The compensations must be derived from the culprits and not from the tax payer's money.It is agreed that Rs 10 lakhs will be handed out to the dependents of the killed and there will be similar but smaller payments to others involved.There are also a host of other promises like jobs.But what is shocking is the withdrawal of all criminal cases,throughout the state,
related to the Marad incident and agitation.This means that those who challenged the law,defeated the law or made the life of the citizens insecure
will go scot free.The youth of the state can now be assured that being a goonda,preferably a communal goonda or terrorist is much more worthwhile than being a model citizen. If one gets injured or killed in a clash (which can later be given a fabricated communal color ,if need be ), there will be 'state insurance' for huge amounts plus government jobs .They also need not fear the law ,because as in Modi's Gujarat,the state will not prosecute the criminals and terror mongers. The settling of the dispute has been artificial .The lure of money has played a big role here. The aspiring communalists can now hope to create
more of such tensions and agitations which are undoubtedly lucrative.The justice system has been mocked and defeated by the ones who have taken an oath to protect it. The innocent citizens who were made refugees in
their own land must have been allowed to return without the payment of bribe or 'blood money', for it is their right to stay in their own homes. Peace has been not 'brought' but 'bought'. The police of Kerala had been reportedly showing their heroism in harassing the two-wheeler riders who were travelling without helmets.However in God's own country,criminals and terror mongers
go scot free,thanks to the government !