[Reader-list] Real Face of Terrorist Yasin Malik

[Tapas Ray]

Aditya has asked why Yasin Malik, who faces murder charges, should be 
accommodated in the Kashmir peace process. Sonia has already answered 
that question. I agree with the government's rationale for treating him 
in a friendly way and including him in the peace process. I too think 
there is nothing to be lost from his participation, and possibly 
something to be gained, precisely because he is a former terrorist who 
has renounced terrorism. I say this without necessarily holding the 
Maliks and Malkins of the world in high regard.

However, Aditya's question can be answered from another perspective. 
Apologies if I am repeating something that has been posted already. The 
Aditya flood has washed away all possibility of reading all the posts.

I am sure he knows that criminality and even parliamentary politics go 
hand-in-hand in India. Here is a breakdown of the criminal antecedents 
of present members of parliament (lower house):

<http://www.karmayog.org/democracy/upload/16568/Press%20Release%201,%202%20July%202008.doc>

"There are 120 MPs with criminal cases against them out of 543, or 
22.1%. Among the major parties, the BJP has 29 MPs with a criminal 
record, the Indian National Congress (INC) 24, the SP 11, RJD 8, CPM 7, 
BSP 7, NCP 5 and CPI 2.

The number of cases of serious crimes is 333, with several MPs having 
multiple cases. If we look at violent crimes like murder, attempt to 
murder, robbery, dacoity, kidnapping, theft and extortion, rape, other 
violent crimes like assault using dangerous weapons or causing grievous 
hurt, the Samajwadi Party (SP) leads with 80 cases, followed by BSP 43, 
BJP 17, INC 16, RJD 9, CPM 5, CPI 1, NCP 2. Other crimes like cheating, 
fraud, forgery, giving false oaths to public officials and so on have 
BSP 23, RJD 22, INC 21, BJP 11, SP 11 and CPM 6."

The site has a nice table with these numbers. Here are the numbers for 
the category "Murder, attempt to murder, culpable murder, causing 
suicide, etc.":   BJP = 7   Congress = 4    CPM = 2    CPI = 1   BSP = 
17 (runner-up, among the major parties)   NCP  = 0 (barred from 
competition until scores at least one hit)  SP = 27 (champion)   RJD = 2 
     Others = 24. Total = 84.

Bihar's LJNSP (popularly known as LJP) had one MP with 17 cases related 
to murder. Though this is impressive, I do not know if it is an 
individual record in the current Lok Sabha.

Here is a quotation from India Today, August 06, 2001 issue. It is about 
the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

"Long before Phoolan Devi entered Parliament, the BJP had fielded 
another reformed dacoit in the 1991 elections to the state Assembly. 
Tehsildar Singh was pitched against outgoing chief minister Mulayam 
Singh Yadav in Jaswantnagar in Etawah district. Tehsildar had been 
convicted in five murder cases and scores of dacoities. His death 
sentence had been commuted by the President in 1969 after a mass 
surrender by dacoits before Acharya Vinoba Bhave. Released from jail in 
1972, he helped Jaya Prakash Narayan secure the surrender of 500 dreaded 
dacoits, including Madho Singh, Mohar Singh and Nathu Singh, each of 
whom carried a reward of Rs 1.5 lakh on his head.

Other parties too have fielded former dacoits. The Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) put up a surrendered dacoit Ramsevak Patel, who had laid down
arms before the Madhya Pradesh police in 1988, from Bara in Allahabad
district in 1989. In 1996, the BSP fielded Hari Prasad alias Ghamri
Kharwar from Robertsganj adjoining Mirzapur. The Samajwadi Party (SP)
nominated dreaded mafia don Arun Shankar Shukla, alias Anna, as its
candidate from Lucknow. Though Tehsildar, Anna and Patel failed to get
the people's mandate, Patel managed to enter the Assembly in 1991.

Many "practising" criminals have also managed to stand in elections.
While the SP fielded the likes of Madan Bhaiya and Durga Prasad
Yadav and Uma Kant Yadav in the 1996 assembly polls, the BSP
supported Shiv Raj Singh and Nafees Ansari. Mukhtar Ansari, an MLA
who figures in several cases, was a member of the party till he was
expelled recently. The rogue's gallery of the BJP included Ram Sevak
Singh and T.P. Shukla. There were independents too, with the
gangster Babloo Srivastava contesting the assembly elections from
within the confines of the Lucknow Jail."

If the BJP and other parties can send such people to state Assemblies 
and the Parliament, where is the scope for outrage over Yasin Malik's 
appearance at India Gate?

Admittedly, Yasin Malik's personal score is better, i.e., worse, than 
Tehsildar Singh of BJP. According to Sonia, charges against him relate 
to the kidnapping of Dr Rubaiya Sayeed and the shooting of 6 IAF men. 
(Rubaiya's family - or some members of it - seem to have forgiven Yasin. 
I have seen Mehbooba Mufti (Rubaiya's sister) and Yaseen Malik attend a 
meeting on the peace process, confer cordially between themselves, and 
speak very similar languages. Of course, being a politician, Mehbooba's 
behaviour could have come from political necessity rather than her 
personal feelings. I do not know what stand Mufti Md Sayeed and his 
family have taken in relation to the kidnapping charges against Malik.)

In terms of sheer numbers, the difference between Yasin and Tehsildar is 
only one. Is it fair to disqualify Yasin from participating in the peace 
process for such a small difference? The judge - here, Aditya - should 
apply his discretionary powers in Yasin's favor. He should get at least 
some credit for killing only soldiers, not civilians. But even his score 
of six is not certain at this point, because apparently he has not been 
tried yet - probably to keep him out of jail, so that he can take part 
in the peace process. It could well deteriorate, i.e., improve, in the 
verdict.

One may argue that he inspired many young Kashmiris to pick up the gun, 
kill people (mostly security personnel, not civilians, Pandit or 
otherwise) and often get killed themselves. But haven't some people - 
who enjoy much tender love and care in the Sangh Parivar (family) - 
inspired the young and not-so-young in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa, 
Uttar Pradesh, etc., to take up arms and kill, rape, disembowel, and 
burn civilians, including pregnant women, children and old people?