A member of a social group holds a placard with a picture of Afzal Guru before burning it during a protest in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad December 13, 2011. PHOTO: REUTERS
Guru, a former fruit seller, was hanged at Tihar Jail on the outskirts of the capital after his final appeal for mercy was rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee.
He is only the second person to be executed in India in nearly a decade.
With authorities fearing a backlash over the execution, a curfew was imposed in parts of Indian-administered Kashmir and the centre of the main city was sealed off.
While India's main opposition party welcomed the execution, one of Guru's co-accused who was later cleared said it was a travesty of justice.
"Afzal Guru was hanged at 8:00am. All legal procedures were followed in the execution," Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters.
"The situation in Kashmir is being closely monitored," he added.
A senior police officer at the jail told AFP that Guru had been woken up three hours before his execution after being held in solitary confinement.
Guru was found guilty of conspiring with and sheltering the militants who attacked the parliament in December 2001.
He was also held guilty of being a member of the banned group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which fights against Indian rule in the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, where a separatist conflict has claimed up to 100,000 lives.
Five armed rebels stormed India's parliament in New Delhi on December 13, 2001, killing eight police officers and a gardener before they were shot dead by security forces. A journalist wounded in the attack died months later.
As the decision to hang Guru emerged, security forces imposed a curfew in rural areas parts of Indian-administered Kashmir, with the announcement made by loudhailer as police patrolled the Kashmir Valley.
Although there was no formal curfew order in Srinagar, police hastily erected barricades across main entry roads and in the city centre in a bid to prevent any possible demonstrations against the execution.
Three police helicopters could also be seen hovering overhead in Srinagar, the main city in what is India's only Muslim majority state.
A former chief minister of Kashmir once warned that executing him would lead the country to "go up in flames" because of a backlash from rebels in Indian Kashmir.
India alleged the militants behind the parliament attack were supported by Pakistani intelligence, leading the nuclear-armed rivals to deploy an estimated one million troops to their borders for eight months.
Guru's conviction, which has been delayed on several occasions, was both highly political and hotly contested. He described his imprisonment as a "gross miscarriage of justice" in his mercy appeal to the president.
A group of activists including lawyers have campaigned for him, saying his trial had major problems, including fabricated evidence presented by the police and the lack of proper legal representation.
Protesters against his "unfair" conviction have held regular demonstrations in Kashmir demanding his release, while right-wing Hindu activists have long demanded his execution to send a message to other potential attackers.
"Finally justice has been done but I want to ask the government what took them so long to reject his mercy plea and execute him," said Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, one of the leaders of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
Guru was initially convicted along with Shaukat Hussain, a former student at Delhi University and SAR Geelani, a New Delhi college teacher, who were also handed the death sentence.
Geelani was freed on appeal after two-years of imprisonment, adding to the doubts about the initial trial.
Speaking after Saturday's execution, he said Guru never received a fair trial. "How can you send someone to the gallows?," he told AFP. "The whole process was flawed."
Executions are only carried out for "the rarest of rare" cases in India and Guru's is only the second since 2004.
The sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, was executed on November 21 last year.
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Guru Hanging. Shame for India.
@gp65:
Thanks for the kind words. You have always been generous. It is gratifying that we agree on almost all points. You say "....there could not have been a better example of rarest of rare. I absolutely shudder to think what would have happened if the attack had in fact been successful........" I understand your feelings & respect your right to your opinion. And I know that you know that the judges would have focused only on what happened & not what could have. In the absence of any universal opinion the definition of rarity is again a point of view. Some think Maya Kodnani deserves to be get her neck measured too but all that is no more than opinion. However,the sentence per se is one issue. Its execution another & supposed non-execution as a result of clemency is yet another. Here the punishment was already pronounced. There could not be any appeal against it since SC, judges of which are not infallible, is the final court & that was that. Onus was on Prez. What is it that the President (actually the Home Minister) should have done, and what was in the best interest of India (not of some political party or jingoists) can be open to debate. In fact it should be debated. This is not the thread to elaborate on that & times are too close to the event to take a dispassionate view yet. Some other time. Thanks once again..
@Romm: "@gp65 Did not he kill a british police officer in Lahore? Pls do not distort historic facts. Read kuldeep Nayyar, s book Bhagat Singh. It clearly shows the fact that Ghandi too was in favo of execution of bhaghat singh and he requested english authorities to execute him after annual session of Congress in lahorr fearing public backlash. This speaks dark history of indian freedom movement. Read and then"
I did mention that he killed just one police officer - a police officer (Saunders) that he believed was guilty of killing Lala Lajpat Rai and hence I ddi not distort historical facts. HE did not kill innocent British civilians. Gandhij did not approve of Bhagat Singh's methods however he did not approve or support his hanging either as you have written. It is you thus who is distorting historical facts. Please read further to educate yourself on the facts.
In the 29 March 1931 issue of Young India, Gandhiji wrote: "Bhagat Singh and his two associates have been hanged. The Congress made many attempts to save their lives and the Government entertained many hopes of it, but all has been in a vain. Bhagat Singh did not wish to live. He refused to apologise, or even file an appeal. Bhagat Singh was not a devotee of non-violence, but he did not subscribe to the religion of violence. He took to violence due to helplessness and to defend his homeland. In his last letter, Bhagat Singh wrote, " I have been arrested while waging a war. For me there can be no gallows. Put me into the mouth of a cannon and blow me off." These heroes had conquered the fear of death. Let us bow to them a thousand times for their heroism. But we should not imitate their act. In our land of millions of destitute and crippled people, if we take to the practice of seeking justice through murder, there will be a terrifying situation. Our poor people will become victims of our atrocities. By making a dharma of violence, we shall be reaping the fruit of our own actions. Hence, though we praise the courage of these brave men, we should never countenance their activities. Our dharma is to swallow our anger, abide by the discipline of non-violence and carry out our duty."
@Rakib: I agree with almost everything you have written in your post to me i.e. 1) Like you, I believe death penalty should not exist on the statute. 2) Congress swings in its actions that it believes will appease one group and then tries to repeat with another group instead of focussing on good governance that would benefit all. The two examples you gave are the exact ones I recently quoted in my communication with a friend. 3) The subhashit you qyoted as always was perfect for the point you were making. I really admire your immense knowledge of literature be it Gujarati, Urdu or Sanskrit and appreciate your sharing it with us.
There is one thing and one thing I disagree with i.e. until such time as the punishment exists on the statute, there could not have been a better example of rarest of rare. I absolutely shudder to think what would have happened if the attack had in fact been successful.
It is a shame to read such negative jingoistic posts from Indians. If you Indians dont have the courage to censure this inhumane act, then at least have the decency to keep quiet. "How would you indians feel if you are intimated by speed post that your spouse is going to be hanged" Remember the wheel will come full circle one day.
@Nida Ali: 1) Bhagat Singh didnt killed any innocent person. He threw bomb at empty spaces knowingly. So no comparison.
2) Afzal Guru accepted all the charges in an Interview given to a news channel..He even mentioned how he got support from across the boundary. So there is no case of lack of proof.
3) You said you are more happy of getting Independence from India rather than British. Please get your facts correct. There was nothing named pakistan Before 1947 and during british rule and even before British rule. so there is no point of freedom from India. Its just a creation of two separate countries based on religion.
@gp65 Did not he kill a british police officer in Lahore? Pls do not distort historic facts. Read kuldeep Nayyar, s book Bhagat Singh. It clearly shows the fact that how ill informed u indians are. By the way Gandhi wrote a letter to Viceroy requesting delay in execution of Great Bhagat Singh so that annual session of Congress could be held peacefully and without any publib outcry. This speaks the character of Iconic secular figure of indian freedom movement.
@gp65 Did not he kill a british police officer in Lahore? Pls do not distort historic facts. Read kuldeep Nayyar, s book Bhagat Singh. It clearly shows the fact that Ghandi too was in favo of execution of bhaghat singh and he requested english authorities to execute him after annual session of Congress in lahorr fearing public backlash. This speaks dark history of indian freedom movement. Read and then talk.
@Razi: There is a search button on the top right of this page please type my name and read a few of my comments and you may like to take back your words .However i will never agree with anyone that Shaheed Bhagat Singh is anything but a freedom fighter.
Shaheed Afzal Guru was innocent. And now he is our Shaheed. We will make Afzal Guru National Awards, Afzal Guru Hospital. These Indian occupation forces killed 6,00,000 Civilians in our Country "Kashmir". Each single citizen is now Afzal Guru. Indian Occupation Army raped our sisters in Kunan Posh Pora-Kupwara, Chhana Pora-Srinagar. They kidnapped and killed civilians- the proof being the girl who escaped and reached UN Headquarters and delivered her speech as to how her father was picked up by Occupation Army and latter made to disappear. Guru's Blood has infused new soul in our freedom struggle. Salute to Afzal Guru, the Hero of our Nation.
@Razi: "@Jagjit sidhoo Most of you are Muslim haters. Just can’t admit it in so many words." Are there any non-Muslims who aren't? Wonder why?
it was an unfair trail we kashmiris condemn the barbaric act done by indain goverment.people here commenting are unawre of truth.Note my words a new guru will arise from every kashmiri household and inshallah will take the revenge of our lion the inocent afzal.india u have to pay for it.ur roads will b flooded by dirty blood of indains.u arise flames in our heart and we wont let the down till the end of endia.
@Parvez: Justice done and seen to have been done………the Indian judicial system deserves praise. whereas in Pakistan the prosecutors and judges are cowards, who could not convict even a single terrorist. Of course, all those terrorists are freedom fighters.
@Rakib: Afjal not only appealed, but begged for pardon and confessed he did it for money. He brought shame to all the Muslims of this subcontinent. Hafeez Saeed also begging Pak government for assistance.
@Sajjad Hussain:
Indian democracy stops at the gateway to Jammu & Kashmir.
You are a rare one to express a real issue. Appreciate it. It is true that democracy has had its ups & downs in the Valley but I think it is partly due to a well intended law (under Art 370 of Constitution of India). It protects kashmiriyat but damages jamhuriat! Among other provisions it forbids a non-Kashmiri from owning property in Kashmir. This lack of permanency has limited the possibility of many political parties & robust practitioners of parliamentary democracy from developing a political stake in the State. Consequently people have to choose only from the usual suspects, at times leading to nepotism, corruption,cronyism & rigging. This will be addressed hopefully, over time. Hope also lies with the young & with grass-roots democracy through Panchayats (elected body in a village or kasaba ) Its success was not tolerated by the militants who are now trying to terrorise the Sarpanchs (presidents of village body). However, Kashmiris continue to repose faith in democracy at local & state level because it does provide them a forum for airing grievances & for feeling a closeness of sorts with Sarkar.
@Jagjit sidhoo Most of you are Muslim haters. Just can't admit it in so many words.
@ Nida Ali - A freedom fighter never kills innocent people while a terrorist's job is to take innocent lives for whatever reason might be. Che Guevara, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Khudiram Bose, etc. were true freedom fighters as they never claimed innocent lives, whereas Osama Bin Laden, Al Zarkawi, behtulla Masud, etc. were terrorists because they only knew to kill innocent people. If you still can't differentiate between these two then its in vain talking to you further.
@G. Din: Most of us know our history just did not want to rub it in .
@gp65:
Fairness of the trial is not the issue since that is the first thing for the SC to oversee. And, yes, death penalty is on the statute that is why I am against it. If it were not to be so why would I voice against it. Mere existence of a penalty, among others, does not mandate its use. There are many a law & many punishments that are in disuse world over without editing the statute books. SC has clarified that death penalty should be imposed only in "rarest of the rare" cases.Judges are only human & what constitutes "rarest of the rare" is a highly subjective matter and worse, in a precedence-obsessed institution one wrong committed by a judge or bench can be quoted to justify any number of future wrongs. In my view Afzal & Kasab (or any other) should not have been hanged. State's done deed is a footnote to convicts' misdeeds now anyway.The footnote & its timing will be recorded by some future historian as political expediency out of fear of Modi factor & as gesture to appease the Hindus to counterbalance Shinde's blunders. (This is an old game of Congress: like Shah Bano case & opening locks of Babri to please both Hindu/Muslim.) Swansong of MMS thus ends on the horrendous note of scraping of fingernails on a chalkboard. The genial Sardar lost his tongue first, now it is the spine. He must quit ere he becomes too weak to defend his turban. As the old proverb goes: Ashwam naiva gajam naiva vyaghram naiva cha naiva cha. Ajaputram balim dadhyat devo durbalaghatakah.(Not horse, not elephant, not tiger, but only the lamb is sacrificed in a ritual. One must understand that not even god protects the weak).
@Lala Gee: The death sentence of Afzal Guru and subsequent hanging cast serious doubts on impartiality and integrity of Indian judiciary..etc
Be fair to yourself. You did not know of the physical location of Afzal when attack took place but you are ready to pronounce judgement on the judgement! You are damaging yourself in the process. I hope you know the various Sections under which he was charged & the maximum penalty under those.What we talk here may be all fun for an Internet banter & condemning each other is SOP in Indo-Pak netiquette but if you are serious do please study the case, peruse prosecutor's perorations & the defense counsels' arguments. Also, try & understand why High Court set free, despite strong suspicions, his co-accused & fellow Kashmiri SAR Gilani who too was earlier sentenced to death by the trial court, but upheld Afzal's conviction. Court also let free Afsan Guru & gave a light sentence to Shaukat Guru. . While letting Gilani off this is what SC of India observed, and it does merit careful reading. Quote:"We can only say that his (Gilani's) conduct, which is not only evident from this fact, but also the untruthful pleas raised by him about his contacts with Shaukat and Afzal, gave rise to serious suspicion at least about his knowledge of the incident and his tacit approval of it....At the same time, suspicion however strong, cannot take place of legal proof. Though his conduct was not above board, the court cannot condemn him in the absence of sufficient evidence pointing unmistakably to his guilt,":Unquote Some subjectivity may still creep in while determining death penalty.Therefore, at the end of research you may still turn out to be right but you will then have the satisfaction of being correct too.
@MilesToGo
'We should compare Afzal Guru with Aurengzen not with Bhagat Singh.'
Is it too much to have a sense of proportion? Why say anything at all when there is nothing to say.
@jagjit sidhoo.: "@Nida Ali:” @Ramesh Powar: prior to 1947 only the lackeys of the British were knighted " You mean like Sir Syed and Sir Mohammad Iqbal!
Indian democracy stops at the gateway to Jammu & Kashmir. Is there one Indian who can say with conviction that there ever had been a fair election in Kashmir. The drama of farce elections has been repeated since 1950's, and when this became a laughing stock for the world they stopped holding fake elections for a decade.
Search " Exclusive: Afzal Guru's interview after 2001 Parliament attack" on Youtube and Watch this interview. In the end justice has been meted out by the legal system of India. Wished we also do the same to the Taliban terrorists.
@Lala Gee: "v"
The difference being that Bhagat SIngh threw the bomb when Parliament was empty and not in session. Afzal was trying to bomb it when parliament was in session. A detail that makes all the difference in the world but one which you chose to leave out.
@Nida Ali: Bhagat SIngh only killed one man - the man who was responsible for LAla Lajpat Rai's death. His attack on legislature was when it was empty. Afzal Guru and gang were attacking the parliamnet when it was in session. Bhagat SIngh did not ask for mercy petiion, Afzal begged for it - so brave he was. No comparison between the 2 people.
@Rakib: Like you, on principle I am against death penalty. But those are Indian laws. IF death penalty should be used, I cannot think of anyone more deserving than a man who tried to attack the Parliament while it was in session.
As far as the timing being a COngress stunt for election - possibly that is the case just as not moving on this all these years was also a stunt when they thought the reverse would help them. Notwithstanding COngress motivations, the questions to be asked are: - Did he get a fair trial? - IF the punishment in line with what IPC prescribes? I think the answer to both the questions is Yes.
@Lala Gee U have simply impressed me with ur arguement but let me u assure that Indians won't accept even the universal truth if it goes against Bania mindset/Indian Textbook.
now time for sarabjeet sing has come...tit for tat.
@Rakib:
"@Lala Gee: Your research skills have improved. I checked your statement and you are right it was the same parliament building. But Bhagat Singh was never hanged for bombing of the Parliament!! And Afzal Guru was nowhere near the Parliament when it was bombed! There is always scope for further improvement in research, you see."
Thank you for clarifying. The death sentence of Afzal Guru and subsequent hanging cast serious doubts on impartiality and integrity of Indian judiciary as he did not kill anyone himself or even present near the crime scene. Even his alleged role in the attack is doubtful and debatable. His case is very similar to ZA Bhutto case, for which Pakistani judiciary is rightly criticized, and so should be the Indian judiciary and the government.
We should compare Afzal Guru with Aurengzen not with Bhagat Singh.
(Moderator: This would be my 5th try since this afternoon. Not a single word is untrue or against the ET's comments guidelines.)
@Yoghurt lover:
"One man is guilty, went through fair trial and is punished by the legal system of a country which is not known for ugly shenanigans."
LOLZ!!! Which dreamland you live in and think the whole world is blind like yourself. Just these three reports by 'Human Rights Watch' are enough to bust the Indian justice system.
1- INDIA: Communal Violence and the Denial of Justice 2- Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India 3- Everyone Lives in Fear. Patterns of Impunity in Jammu and Kashmir
If that is not enough, read this eye opening Tehelka report "Legal Subversion". In their sting operation, Tehelka reporters caught on video the confessions of the fake witness implanted by the Gujarat Police to wrongly implicate Muslims in the Godhra incident in order to justify the Gujrat massacre of over 2,000 Muslims by Hindu mobs. How fair is the Indian justice system can be clearly seen when the inquiry by the Indian Supreme Court judge find the Godhra trian fire 'An Accident' and the interviews of the key eye-witnesses admitting on video that they were bribed and coerced by the police to witness against the accused Muslims, while in fact they were not even present at the scene. Despite all this, 11 Muslims were handed death penalties. How many Hindus responsible for murdering over 2,000 Muslims in cold blood are given death penalties -- NONE.
@Its (still) Econonmy Stupid:
@Lala Gee: Your research skills have improved. I checked your statement and you are right it was the same parliament building.
But Bhagat Singh was never hanged for bombing of the Parliament!! And Afzal Guru was nowhere near the Parliament when it was bombed! There is always scope for further improvement in research, you see. (Singh & Rajguru were hanged for assassination of Saunders, a British police officer who was wrongly blamed for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai; & for killing an Indian Constable. It was a tragic case of mistaken identity since the real culprit was another officer named Scott who went scot-free.)
@Nida Ali. You are a brave girl. And for all the rest: the fight in Kashmir will go on, even if it is fought only in mind and heart!
@Razi
"It is funny how the Indians are bending over backwards to defend their “hero” while celebrating the execution of a man quite similar in his motives and approach to their “hero”. Oh, I forgot they get to decide who counts as a patriot and who doesn’t, who as a freedom fighter and who doesn’t."
Don't we all choose our heroes and villains, do you think Md. Ali Jinnah was a hero or a villain? And what about Ghulam Md Baloch, was he a hero or a villain?
It all depends on perspective...and the one that survives longer gets to write the history. If India had not got independence, Bhagat Singh would have remained a terrorist in the history books, but India got it and hence he is a hero. If Kashmir gets independence the kashmiris can recall Afzal Guru as a hero, till then for Indians he is a terrorist...
@Nida Ali @ Shameema
Look at the facts of the case first.
Try victimizing your fellow inhabitants and driving them away from their land of their birth, in the name of a religion that has little resonance with the soul of Kashmir. A state (India) with all its faults that still guarantees the right of liberty and freedom, should you choose to exercise it, rather than the military boot camp next door from where the terrorists came.
So killing for a cause in the name of a religion that seeks to exterminate those who do not subscribe to a pan-arab identity makes Afzal a nationalist ? I think not. Bhagat Singh fought against imperialists who came to rule a country that was not theirs.
Kashmir has always been a part of the Indian ethos since times immemorial, the culture and history is intertwined (one can't exist without the other). Can the advent of a religion in the region change that? More important, should it?
Pakistan is a case in point. Look before you leap.
@Nida Ali, I get your point that one country's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. But at least the British and the Indians had the decency to follow the law to its logical end. What about freedom fighters aka terrorists of Balochistan -
"In April 2009, Baloch National Movement president Ghulam Mohammed Baloch and two other nationalist leaders (Lala Munir and Sher Muhammad) were seized from a small legal office and were allegedly "handcuffed, blindfolded and hustled into a waiting pickup truck which is in still [sic] use of intelligence forces in front of their lawyer and neighboring shopkeepers." The gunmen were allegedly speaking in Persian (a national language of neighbouring Afghanistan and Iran). Five days later, on 8 April, their bodies, "riddled with bullets" were found in a commercial area."
Source - Wikipedia
@Nida Ali:" @Ramesh Powar: My freedom was from India and not British. And I have great respect for sir Baghat Singh." If you have great respect for him please spell his name correctly also refer to him as Shaheed and not as sir because prior to 1947 only the lackeys of the British were knighted which he was not by any stretch of imagination .He was Shaheed Bhagat Singh .
@Vikas: exactly. this guy is fighting for his piece of land against an occupier.
@Nida Ali: @Ramesh Powar: My freedom was from India and not British. And I have great respect for sir Baghat Singh."
Ok. So Pakistan gained freedom from India on 14th August 1947..... shows the status of History classes in the schools of the country called Pakistan. No wonder..we just expected that. Great!!
@Nida Ali: But wasn't he from Pakistan??? or No Sikh can ever be a Pakistani??? How ungrateful people can become sometimes .........
@Lala Gee: "For those who do not know, it is the same building where Bhagat Singh and Afzal Guru both threw bombs. And for those who don’t know who is Bhagat Singh, he is the India’s national hero for what he did. Now another hero is born, but of the Kashmiri nation."
For all those who do not know Bhagat Singh never killed anybody, he wanted to only make a big explosion which could be heard up to London and the echo could reverberate in the heart of all Indians.For all those who do not know the attackers of Parliament killed 10 innocents and brought two nuclear powers at the brink of war. It was clearly a plot to provoke a war out of tension between the two hypersensitive nations. Thankfully war (the actual motive of attack) was averted but unfortunately it did take the toll of peace talks!!! Stop comparing apple with oranges...
@KarachiBaby: Count MQM fighter too im same row ;-)
U will get many more
@Shameema:
If u right then should fight vs pak gov ;-)
Guru was fighting for his country too not against his country. You can not force people to accept India as their country.@Vikas:
@Jimmy Khaan:
Is it your wish or the rage infused in your blood demands far fetching fatel outcome can you explain.
@Hina @Shameema: Year 2025 Pakistani text book page 420, your grand children reading a book of history: Kashmiri people had great freedom fighter like Hafeez Saeed and Afzal Guru who bombed Parliament building in New Delhi and Taj hotel in Mumbai. When asked you support their facts and your face light up with pride yes ‘I was there when it happened and I even wrote a comment in ET too.
@Nida: Could you elaborate please how you got your freedom from India? British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Indian Empire and the end of the British Raj. It resulted in a struggle between the newly constituted states of India and Pakistan. I suppose it makes easy for you to hate India by justifying freedom from India because facts do not support your belief system.
@Lala Gee: Your research skills have improved. I checked your statement and you are right it was the same parliament building.
@Lala Gee: You have your facts wrong Bhagat Singh and his associates threw the bomb in the old Assembly Building which is now the Delhi State assembly house. Bhagat Singh knew that his act would invite the death sentence. He neither hid himself nor appealed for mercy. It was also an act that did not result in the death of any person.Nor did he act as the tool of a foreign power. You may want to consider Afzal Guru as a martyr to the "cause" of Kashmir but what is the "cause" in a free country? It is merely the fifth column of a discredited foreign country.
All those comparing Shaheed Bhagat Singhji to this lowly scum Afzal Guru are nothing but a bunch of ingrates! Sardar Sahab gave his youth for the Freedom of British India and once the British Left you ungrateful people got Pakistan out of it!
It riles me up to no end, that such pathetic similarities are being concocted! After all what do we expect out of an unruly and a horrible excuse of a nation filled with pathological and compluslive liars!
Afzals wife asked for rights to do ceremonial burial of him,, which i think has been provided...
All who are compaiting him with Bhagat Singh" he said meri dulhan to azadi hai...."
kashimiri bhagat singh was kinda selfish...:P
Also Bhagat Singh fought foriegners.....he tuened agaisnt the state within being in state...
If Pakistanis think Bhagat Singh and Guru was same.... as per them he fought Forieners( who are indians) and kashimiris are diffrent race...which is in line with the "two nation theory" of baba e azam... and prooved failed time and over. Not only that its twisted thinking.....
A recent Pew survey found that Pakistanis are the least enthusiastic about democracy among six Muslim countries polled. That is hardly surprising. After nearly five years of civilian rule, the country is in a desperate state. Terrorist bombings are horribly frequent. The latest, in Balochistan, killed 86 people (see article). The country’s politicians are venal, self-interested and chaotic. Its growth is feeble, its debt unsustainable and its tax revenues have collapsed.
A SQUAD of police and intelligence agents snatched Mazhar ul Haq late one night in November 2007 from his home on the outskirts of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. The 36-year-old owner of a printing press has been in custody ever since.
Though accused of various, usually vague, terrorism offences, he has not been tried or convicted of any crime. In May 2010 a court ordered him and ten others, all picked up around the same time, to be released from the Adiala top-security jail in Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad. Yet armed intelligence agents apparently turned up at the prison and simply spirited them away.
In private, army officers complain bitterly that the courts do not convict terrorists and are soft on extremism. Last year the High Court in Peshawar, close to the tribal areas, ordered the release of over 1,000 held in internment centres. Mr Khan believes that 2,000-3,000 internees remain.
pathetic 2 see pak people uating afzal guru with bhagat singh. due process of law followed and afzal deserves death for his crime... what if parliment attack succecided... can u imagine?
@Faraz:
"You have had too much yoghurt today. Give it a rest. Your silly assertions and clumsy prevarications make no sense. "
If you have some sense, it will make sense to you.
It is funny how the Indians are bending over backwards to defend their "hero" while celebrating the execution of a man quite similar in his motives and approach to their "hero". Oh, I forgot they get to decide who counts as a patriot and who doesn't, who as a freedom fighter and who doesn't. They will continue to do this no matter how hard one tries to show them the mirror. Modi will remain their "hero" and so would Bal Thackery. As long as their terrorists, murderers and thugs have anything but a Muslim identity, we will see hopeless and pathetic efforts to deify them.
@Rakib: You hit it on the head. However yours is the voice of sanity. In cases such as these, the thin veneer of civilisation that the British coated us with, is dispensed with. A atavistic madness takes over the courts and society in general. Shameful indeed.
@Khan: I am afraid that few shall bother to read the highly relevant article that you posted. Polítically charged issues are all about manufactured opinions and manufactured sentiment. The ones that manufacture these sentiments have mastered their art. The multitude follow them singing, dancing and In Perpetual animation much like the rats that the Pied Piper took to the river.
@Nida Ali: And what was done to the persons who were accused of attempting to assassinate Musharraf?
@Lala Gee: Neither a hero nor was he evil incarnate. Just a misguided young man who couldn't distinguish wrong from right when it mattered. People like you glorify the sad lives of Afzal and others like him and do not understand the misery that he has left behind. A wife, child and parents destroyed by years of legal tussle and the final inevitable blow. I would say that glorifying Afzal is just as sinful as gloating over his death.
The chapter of Afzal Guru is over but untill Hafiz Saeed meets the same fate, Indians will not be satisfied.
@Rana: He wasn't entirely innocent. Though in the Parliament attack case, his guilt was mostly by association. A fringe player in the plot, he was hanged to satisfy the bloodlust that our media created. He was a good student as a young man. He even completed his first year of MBBS. Pakistan sponsored and inspired religious extremist organizations led him down a path from where few if any manage to return. The government of India needs to destroy Tableeghi organisations in Sopore. Their indoctrination has devastated many families. Guru's family just happens to be the best known among these.
@Yoghurt lover: You have had too much yoghurt today. Give it a rest. Your silly assertions and clumsy prevarications make no sense.
In case of doubts, please read the following article
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/three-phone-calls-on-his-cell-phone-nailed-afzal-guru/20130209.htm
@Diggvijay Singh: to Rana "Kashmir will be solved peacefully giving due respect to the wishes of Kashmiri Muslims. " No, it will not be. Because Kashmiri Muslims are not the only stakeholders. And, a Muslim is not a Muslim if he compromises. No one else is going to defer to a Muslim. Look around.
Baghat Singh a great freedom Fighter, respected on both sides of border attacked punjab Assembly and killed Gora police employee to fight against exploitation done by British security forces, so did Guru to avenge the killings, rapes and forced disappearances of Kashmiris by Indian state. I salute Both.
Bhaghat Singh of Kashmir was hanged!!!
@jagjit sidhoo.: For u he is a terrorist. For Kashmiris, he is a freedom fighter
@Vikas: So is this guy fighting to free Kashmir from Indian occupation
@Vikas: And many in India, like modi.
You will see how a National Hero like Guru becomes international Hero. Just wait. And make neccessary preparations to burry your Commanding Officers which you will recieve from Kupwara and other Jungles of our Nation. We do not burry these COs, instead we return you the dead bodies for cremation.
Abdul Rahman Khan : I dont know what sarabjit singh did. I believe you for that. But my question is whether the guy in prison in Pakistan is sarabhjit singh or someone else as it is being claimed ?
@Krishde Pakistan is always ruled by Non-Mullahs & Non-Punjabis
The Kashmiri separatists know that as long as they keep the Kashmir issue alive they will get donations[chanda], honestly they are enjoying nice cushy lives with all VIP facilities. They dont want an independent Kashmir. What will they eat then? Grass. Look at the Kashmiris now in the cities. They wear modern clothes and live in style. You think they will wear that typical dress and having someone knock at their door at 4 in the morning to awaken them and then no alcohol. OMG!
Afzal Guru , the Bhagat Singh of Kashmir!
@Nida Ali: the same advice applies to you!
@Vikas: it's two of them. David Headley- oh I forgot he is the local Dawood Gilani!
@Nida Ali,Bhagat Singh fought for India and Pakistan both and not for India only. Atleast show some respect to those freedom fighter bacause of which we are independent.
Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha
Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha
Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha
Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha
Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha
Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha
Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha
No use arguing very little is going to change.I ask all of you to shut up,silence and peace. Aman ki Asha.
@vasan: Including Sarabjit singh who was convicted and sentenced to death for acts of terrorism in pakistan killing a total of 42 persons.
So Govt of Pak has no excuse left for hanging sarabjit singh anymore. Hang the guy now.
I really pity pakistanis. They cant distinguish between the freedom fighter Bhagat singh and terrorist afzal guru. No wonder they are not able to convict even one own terrorist setting them free for "lack of evidence(euphemism for gun pointing at the police and judiciary)". A high price of 30000 civvies and 3000 soldiers has been paid in vain.
@Nida Ali: U justify the same with baloch rebels ;-)
When will our Pakistani government will start hanging thousands of "murderous snakes" who are in custody? Sooner the better, to cleanse our society all these murderers should face justice.
Justice done and seen to have been done.........the Indian judicial system deserves praise.
@Nida Ali: One does not have to think to differentiate between black and white .
@Rakib: A small correction.... Bhagat Singh is called Shaheed-a-azam.... none like him. A good write up by you.
@KarachiBaby:
Stop Calling terrorist as freedom Fighter. After what ur country did in Bangladesh their freedom was justified...
@Ramesh Powar: My freedom was from India and not British. And I have great respect for sir Baghat Singh.
@Nida Ali: Bhagat singh never fought for the cause of religion. I think ur understanding of occurrences is seriously flawed and clouded by your perception of India being a bad state as being Hindu dominated state and Pakistan being good as being Islamist and Kashmiris being poor Muslims suffering at the Hands of Kafirs....
@Nida Ali: Bhagat Singh was not a terrorist. He didn't attack or hurt the innocents. Thanks anyway for showing your gratitude to someone who died for your freedom.
Bhagat Singh used only smoke bomb, and no one died.
The Baghat Sing of Kashmir is hanged.
Now you know the difference between an executioner and a terrorist. Pakistan could use the former.
anyone who is supporting the verdict should read this http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?232979
@Rana:
Why do you have to think of battling all the time? Your ilk is destroying our region keeping it backward and poor. Kashmir will be solved peacefully giving due respect to the wishes of Kashmiri Muslims.
@Nida Ali:
So all Indians justify Baghat Singhs hanging ?
Not justify it; but accepted it. That's why he is a Shaheed. Some men know not only how to live but uncannily how to die too. Bhagat Singh never begged for pardon til the end. He sought no favours. He was ready to become a martyr for a cause. Only "petition" he ever made to Lord Irwin was he be shot as a warrior rather than be hanged. British did not show that grace. Afzal on the other hand got a fair trial, he was defended well, went through appeals & finally petitioned the President of India for Mercy. Revolutionaries & Martyrs do not seek Mercy.
@jagjit sidhoo.: Thanks for endorsement . Think before you type
@ Nida Ali .. No wonder Pakistan is finding difficulty in naming a road on Bhagat Singh ... Bhagat Singh was hanged when Pakistan was not formed ... So Pakistanis should consider him as a freedom fighter ... of Pakistan tooo ...
@Nida Ali: Must be really dumb if you cannot differentiate between a terrorist and a freedom fighter
Justice done. No death however calls for a celebration.
@Nida Ali: No!!, because we have commonsense to differentiate that.
@Nida Ali Indians will never justify Bhagat Singh's hanging. After all they are not known for being consistent. And anyone with a Muslim name is fair game anyway. Btw, you will see them blowing the trumpet of Indian justice system all the time but of course the Pakistani system has to be put down to make a case for any and every individual they want hanged or exonerated.
One way I like the delayed hanging. Every day in jail, this terrorist should have been living in fear and waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares. Hafiz Saeed next on line. Let us see if he issues any statement this time. Odd's are that he shall keep quiet for some time.
@Nida Ali: if i was british then..... yes :)
well `done Indian Justice
For those who do not know, it is the same building where Bhagat Singh and Afzal Guru both threw bombs. And for those who don't know who is Bhagat Singh, he is the India's national hero for what he did. Now another hero is born, but of the Kashmiri nation.
@Nida Ali: Baghat Singh was fighting for his country and not against his country.
While justice was done, it's sad to see people misguided into resorting to violence. Whatever the anguish of Kashmiris, justified or otherwise, they have to understand the geopolitical reality of the region they live in and have patience. Kashmir is critical for the security of India and the safety of one billion Indians is at stake with Kashmir. Unless they are secure, Kashmir will be non negotiable,
A bit late in the day
So all Indians justify Baghat Singhs hanging ?
While the merits of the case are not subject of discussion, as a matter of principle the State taking revenge by indulging in the medieval practice of hanging is shameful. It is useless as a deterrent since a terrorist is set to die anyway. In any case, the timing was a matter of political stunt keeping the general elections in mind under the impression that somehow death prolongs life.
The Parliament house is the sanctum sanctorum. No one can get away attacking it. Afzal Guru got his justice. Now I only hope people of Kashmir will stay calm and peaceful.
Another freedom fighter/aid hanged by India and with trail of consistency! Kashmir cause is going to bounce back in near future, no matter how shameless liberals appreciate this hanging! A final battle is on its way!!
He was innocent as trial had major flaws.
Hope the charity leader reads this...
I am against death penalty in principle. However, if one deserves death penalty these terrorists are the ones who should be the ones.
finally good step by GOI. No mercy should be shown for terrorists
No loss for humanity. The world is a slightly better place.
Justice done. Better late than never. But one of them is still roaming free in Pakistan.
Good riddance... This vermin should be hanged long back...
One terrorist less. Many to go.
Congress thinks, it can buy our votes by hangind Afzal guru and Ajmal Kasab.
I bet you that Congress will also hasten to punish the 6 rapists of Delhi gang rape victim.
Also, Pakistanis, now don't start comparing Afzal Guru with Sarabjit Singh.
One man is guilty, went through fair trial and is punished by the legal system of a country which is not known for ugly shenanigans.
Another man is innocent, framed by security agencies to save themselves, underwent a farce of a trial in a country where Judiciary has either been a lackey of the army or that of the ruling party.
You can twist the facts but the world knows who is what.