It was a typical night of Aug 9 2014 at Ferguson (St Louis, Missouri) when an 18 year old teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by Officer Wilson. Ever since, Ferguson has not been the same. Initial few days witnessed incessant protests from the locals who found the police action unacceptable. Well, Officer Wilson and others from the police department were hard pressed for a justification for the killing. It could have been a bad neighborhood; it could have also been that Michael fit nicely into the description of “usual suspect” but shooting to kill an unarmed teenage student cannot be justified by any stretch of imagination. The least the police department could do is suspend the officer concerned for long duration for colossal lack of judgment or discharge him from the police duty and let him face the prosecution for his act. Instead, the police strong armed the demonstrations and for almost 3 weeks Ferguson burned and faced the brunt of irate locals going berserk. “It could have been me” said one of them when asked why he was protesting; Point taken. Do any of us still feel this was over reaction? (A grand jury subsequently decided that Officer Wilson is innocent and is let off)
President Obama addressed the nation on Monday morning (24th Nov 2014) and appealed to the people of Ferguson to maintain calm and respect the rule of law. I have nothing to add to the President’s soothing words except, Mr. President! Justice seems to evade Ferguson! Rule of law is fine but the law has a letter and a spirit; while the judgment of the jury is perfectly adhering to the letter of law, it seems to be lacking in the spirit. It is not enough if justice is done; it should seem to have done too. Nobody is asking the officer face death sentence, but am sure the people will say “A mistake was done and a life is lost. Surely someone must take responsibility”. It is here I agree with the residents of Ferguson when they protest the decision of Grand jury. Please understand, I do not condone the violence but when the state fails to react to citizen’s concerns protests get out of hand.
India does not have a good record on the likes of Michael Brown’s either. However, India goes one step ahead when such incidents occur. Police immediately brands them terrorists and politicians brand them Pakistanis. Consequently, nobody dares to question the state’s overreach in the fear to be labeled “traitor” for siding with the enemy or worse, being next in line for similar action by police. Don’t get me wrong, it may sound like I am suggesting that police are generally the bad guy, am not. However, too many officers get involved with politicians and execute “extra judicial killings” at their behest in the name of fighting crime. Anyone who questions them in Parliament is shouted down as anti-national and nobody takes to the streets fearing police backlash. The police derive their power not by rule of law but by political patronage and this is where it gets all messed up. India has a long list of Michael Browns and will continue to have until its citizen realize one thing – “It could be me next time”. We often complain people don’t stand up for the right cause but we forget we never stand up for other’s rights too. If we had stood up and fought against the police overreach the first time, irrespective of the fact the person they shot and killed was a gangster or terrorist or whatever, things would not have been so grim. Today, police can literally “pick-up” inconvenient individuals and eliminate them by staging an encounter because they are sure nobody will protest nor will the courts take cognizance.
With the death of Michael Brown (may rest in peace) a town arose and stood by him and fought for him despite not being related to him. Even though we do not need the incidents like Michael Brown in India, we desperately need the spirit of “I am my brother’s keeper”. Until then, India will continue to see cases like Michael Brown.
So long…..
President Obama addressed the nation on Monday morning (24th Nov 2014) and appealed to the people of Ferguson to maintain calm and respect the rule of law. I have nothing to add to the President’s soothing words except, Mr. President! Justice seems to evade Ferguson! Rule of law is fine but the law has a letter and a spirit; while the judgment of the jury is perfectly adhering to the letter of law, it seems to be lacking in the spirit. It is not enough if justice is done; it should seem to have done too. Nobody is asking the officer face death sentence, but am sure the people will say “A mistake was done and a life is lost. Surely someone must take responsibility”. It is here I agree with the residents of Ferguson when they protest the decision of Grand jury. Please understand, I do not condone the violence but when the state fails to react to citizen’s concerns protests get out of hand.
India does not have a good record on the likes of Michael Brown’s either. However, India goes one step ahead when such incidents occur. Police immediately brands them terrorists and politicians brand them Pakistanis. Consequently, nobody dares to question the state’s overreach in the fear to be labeled “traitor” for siding with the enemy or worse, being next in line for similar action by police. Don’t get me wrong, it may sound like I am suggesting that police are generally the bad guy, am not. However, too many officers get involved with politicians and execute “extra judicial killings” at their behest in the name of fighting crime. Anyone who questions them in Parliament is shouted down as anti-national and nobody takes to the streets fearing police backlash. The police derive their power not by rule of law but by political patronage and this is where it gets all messed up. India has a long list of Michael Browns and will continue to have until its citizen realize one thing – “It could be me next time”. We often complain people don’t stand up for the right cause but we forget we never stand up for other’s rights too. If we had stood up and fought against the police overreach the first time, irrespective of the fact the person they shot and killed was a gangster or terrorist or whatever, things would not have been so grim. Today, police can literally “pick-up” inconvenient individuals and eliminate them by staging an encounter because they are sure nobody will protest nor will the courts take cognizance.
With the death of Michael Brown (may rest in peace) a town arose and stood by him and fought for him despite not being related to him. Even though we do not need the incidents like Michael Brown in India, we desperately need the spirit of “I am my brother’s keeper”. Until then, India will continue to see cases like Michael Brown.
So long…..
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