Today just an hour ago, i happened to see a spirited altercation or should i call it an interview, (a la Devil's ADVOCATE, CNN-IBN) between Karan Thapar, and the ex-CM of J&K Dr.Farooq Abdullah, the latter advocating clemency for Afzal, sentenced to death by hanging. Karan's hard hitting questions took Farooq by storm and one could see him absolutely unfazed for Fazal, and instead keeping up a spirited defence in support of his claims. Some of the questions were thought provoking too... When asked Why Fazal should not be hanged, Farooq said, “Well, for two reasons.. One, We give him the chance of becoming a hero and a martyr for the next coming centuries, which he doesn’t rightly deserve. Second, It will see India burning… cos it will be a nice excuse for some crooks who would take this opportunity in their stride… Secondly, people like Advani will then pick it up as a political weapon and as a result, innocent thousands will suffer and languish. Thirdly, it will derail the India- Pakistan peace process. When asked why his son Omar is silent all along on this issue, when he, his father has been raising a hue and cry about the whole thing, Farooq replied in his inimitable style, defended his son: “You see, I am 70 years old.. he’s just seeing the world. I’ve seen the bloody past, the result of 19 years of terrorism in J&K, so, let him take his time.” When questioned if he was equating Gujarat with J&K, Farooq quipped, Gujarat can never be equated with J&K. The problem with J&K is years of cross border terrorism and not communalism, and unless and until the General and our PM sit across and sort out the issue, we are never going to see peace in the horizon. In the end, it was a high-spirited kinda contest, where both were equally vociferous, and delivered their thoughts with the needed punch. It was a treat for the inquisitive journalist, an admirable display of rhetoric for the orator, and a nice piece of infotainment for the average Indian. Kudos, Karan…!

Your Name:


Your Comment: