Opinion Osama bin Laden Conundrums

Bin Laden was a terrorist who was responsible for the killings of numerous innocent persons in the US and other parts of the world. News of his killing was understandably greeted with jubilation by Americans with the memory of the horrific 9/11 attacks still fresh in their minds. Besides,there were several people,including Muslims,who felt relieved by his killing because his brand of terrorism was responsible also for killing innocent Muslims and had given Islam a bad name.

Incredibly,prayers were openly held in Pakistan where he was projected and glorified as a martyr,shaheed,for his courage in fighting the hated hafees,the Americans. Nearer home,Geelani mourned his loss and hailed him as a martyr.

Take the case of Adolf Hilter under whose leadership unparalleled cruelty and suffering were inflicted by the Nazis on vast sections of the world’s population. Yet there are groups in Europe,for example the Neo-Nazis,who still admire this monstrous tyrant as a hero for restoring the national pride of the Germans! And are we sure that we do not have in our midst those who admire the assassin of Gandhiji and those who also regard the killers of Mrs Indira Gandhi as shaheeds? The bottomline is that human beings are strange creatures prone to violence and not amenable to logic and reason. Perhaps that is what prompted Walt Whitman to bemoan: “I think I could turn and live with animals,they are so placid and self-contained.”

There are some mysterious and disturbing aspects about Osama’s killing. Was he unarmed? Or did he offer resistance and attempted to flee? Was he asked to surrender but declined to do so? Different explanations from the US State department are not uniformly consistent and do not provide any clarity and give the impression of a fake encounter. Was Osama’s killing legally justified and morally defensible? There are no easy answers in any event before relevant facts are ascertained.

It is futile to believe that the killing of Osama will put an end to terrorism whose source and strength lies in the minds and hearts of people indoctrinated in his violent ideology. His killing may provide further motivation for terrorist acts around the globe. A curious protest about the US operation against bin Laden has been made by native American leaders in the US. They expressed outrage that the name of their legendary Apache warrior Geronimo was used as a military codename because to associate a native warrior with bin Laden undermines their pride and the military service of native people. Who said what’s in a name? Lots,because of human hyper sensitivities.

Gender equality not a one way street

The judgment of Justice Sistani of the Delhi High Court is a step in the right direction to ensure gender equality. The facts of the case established that the husband had set up a hostel for students,made his wife its proprietor but she and their two children had thrown him out of the house and also grabbed his business. The income tax returns of the wife for several years showed that her annual income was over Rs 1 crore from the lucrative business of running a hostel for students in Greater Nodia. On these facts,Justice Sistani ordered the affluent wife to pay Rs 20,000 as monthly maintenance to her 55-year-old husband facing penury. The judgment rightly recognised that gender equality is not a one way street. This salutary signal needed to be sent.