December 16th.
No Indian
can ever forget this date. In 2012, it was a day when we as a society failed.
We failed to protect a sister from the demons living in our midst. This was the
date on which the infamous incident, later dubbed as The Nirbhaya Case,
occurred. It shook the conscience of the country and questioned the very
foundations on which we function. Jyothi Singh Pandey, a 23-year-old
physiotherapy intern, was assaulted, beaten and gang-raped by a group of 6 men in a moving bus. After 13
days, she succumbed to her injuries in Mount Elizabeth hospital, Singapore. She
was immortalized as 'Amanath', 'Damini' , 'Jagruthi' , 'Jyoti'.... as
'Nirbhaya' in all our hearts. The one without fear.
A little over two years have passed since Nirbhaya. However, December 16th,2014 was witness to another shocking crime against humanity. If in 2012 it was an unplanned assault against an individual, 2014 saw a planned attack by a terrorist organization against innocent children.
A group of 6-8 Militants rushed into the Army Public School in Peshawar region and held around 500 persons, mostly children, between the ages of 5-16, as hostages. The hostage situation eventually turned into an all out massacre with terrorists shooting children at point blank range. A total of 140+ deaths were reported with most of them being children. Taliban lost no time in claiming 'credit' for the attack. Their justification was that the attack was in retaliation to the army bombings in Waziristan area.
I wonder what kind of ideology and what amount of brain-washing could actually make a man point a gun at a 6-year-old child and pull the trigger. What religion demands this from its followers? Which god would bless these 'holy' warriors? Which heaven awaits them with the promised number of virgins?
While terrorist attacks against civilians in itself is a despicable act, this attack sinks humanity into even deeper despair. In addition to the un-imaginable loss caused to the hundreds of families in Peshawar region, the after-shock the attack would have on the region is even more foreboding.
The mental trauma to the 500+ children caused by the sight of the cold-blooded massacre of their friends is a debilitating concern. No amount of time or therapy will be able to wash away the crimson that has stained their young minds. The attack would also be a cause of nightmare to millions of other school-going children and their parents all over the world. Humanity seems to have peaked and has started its journey downhill.
The assault exposed how incapable the government machinery is, to protect the most precious resource of the country, its young minds. When Malala was shot in October 2012, the whole world thought it would be a one-time incident and necessary precautions would be in place to prevent such occurrences in the future. However Taliban, the bunch of modern education and child-haters they are, have proven their utter disregard for humanity again. What is even more disquieting is that the centre seemed to be clueless about the onslaught and failed to protect its youngest citizens from these barbarians.
I do not have anything more to say about Tehrik-i-Taliban. Their actions, as always, have spoken louder than my words (By the way, the word 'Taliban' in Pashto means students). No cover of religion, no excuse of retaliatory action should spare the perpetrators from the judgment and wrath of the righteous gods and other righteous men. I am aware that this sounds apocalyptic, but this ruthless act will be the beginning of their end. We will never forget Peshawar.
A little over two years have passed since Nirbhaya. However, December 16th,2014 was witness to another shocking crime against humanity. If in 2012 it was an unplanned assault against an individual, 2014 saw a planned attack by a terrorist organization against innocent children.
A group of 6-8 Militants rushed into the Army Public School in Peshawar region and held around 500 persons, mostly children, between the ages of 5-16, as hostages. The hostage situation eventually turned into an all out massacre with terrorists shooting children at point blank range. A total of 140+ deaths were reported with most of them being children. Taliban lost no time in claiming 'credit' for the attack. Their justification was that the attack was in retaliation to the army bombings in Waziristan area.
I wonder what kind of ideology and what amount of brain-washing could actually make a man point a gun at a 6-year-old child and pull the trigger. What religion demands this from its followers? Which god would bless these 'holy' warriors? Which heaven awaits them with the promised number of virgins?
While terrorist attacks against civilians in itself is a despicable act, this attack sinks humanity into even deeper despair. In addition to the un-imaginable loss caused to the hundreds of families in Peshawar region, the after-shock the attack would have on the region is even more foreboding.
The mental trauma to the 500+ children caused by the sight of the cold-blooded massacre of their friends is a debilitating concern. No amount of time or therapy will be able to wash away the crimson that has stained their young minds. The attack would also be a cause of nightmare to millions of other school-going children and their parents all over the world. Humanity seems to have peaked and has started its journey downhill.
The assault exposed how incapable the government machinery is, to protect the most precious resource of the country, its young minds. When Malala was shot in October 2012, the whole world thought it would be a one-time incident and necessary precautions would be in place to prevent such occurrences in the future. However Taliban, the bunch of modern education and child-haters they are, have proven their utter disregard for humanity again. What is even more disquieting is that the centre seemed to be clueless about the onslaught and failed to protect its youngest citizens from these barbarians.
I do not have anything more to say about Tehrik-i-Taliban. Their actions, as always, have spoken louder than my words (By the way, the word 'Taliban' in Pashto means students). No cover of religion, no excuse of retaliatory action should spare the perpetrators from the judgment and wrath of the righteous gods and other righteous men. I am aware that this sounds apocalyptic, but this ruthless act will be the beginning of their end. We will never forget Peshawar.
"The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis." - Dante
Is Taliban alone to be blamed? Aren't we all, in some respect, responsible for this? Every time we read a report about religious violence and forgot about it the next day. Every day we allowed terrorist groups to grow unchecked and permeate into the global society. Every instance when some of us thought maybe these fanatics had a point. The blood of a hundred children are, to an extent, on our hands too. A part of our humanity died with the young ones in Peshawar.
So, in retrospect, we are all criminals. We all
have a hand in what happened in Peshawar. All of society. Some amongst us helped Taliban grow. Some amongst us felt they were correct. Most of us saw what was happening but feigned ignorance. We put Malala on a pedestal and figured we made a difference. We gave her a high decoration. But we never did anything effective to ensure that no child was victimized again. We never actively worked to prevent other Malalas from being born. And we are left with a hundred little coffins to pin our medals to. We are all responsible. We are all criminals.
I end this rant with a word of apology. Not to the people who may have been offended by my words. If you feel offended, maybe you should think things through with a clear mind again. My heart goes out to every victim of terrorism and sectarian violence all across the world. And I am truly sorry that the maximum I can do is sympathize with your loss through this piece. And I apologize to all the children in Peshawar. We, as a society, failed you. We were unable to protect you. For that my head remains bowed in regret...and shame.
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