It is a pivotal moment in India history. Not just for the legal system, but for the country and all who reside here. Our tradition of civilization, spiritual and wise thought recognized the world over, passed down from the Vedas, by the Buddha, through Ashoka, the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, Guru Nanak, and with Gandhiji-to give birth to a modern and secular India… will it rise to this moment and be faithful to our lineage? Or will our global status fall, as India, and we as its people, fail to rise to the challenge presented to us by ‘The Death Penalty in India’?
This book represent a unique handbook for those who wish to be informed about the debate. It is for the ordinary person to clarify their views on an understandably emotive issue, through articles and informed opinion. It is for lawyers, who can use the copious resources and materials section to clarify their perspectives and fortify their cases by reference to Supreme Court case law and international jurisprudence related to the death sentence. It is for campaigners to have at hand the facts, statistics, and cases, often so hard t obtain from government offices.
118 countries have effectively abolished the death penalty. Few democratic countries retain it. Though India, the largest democracy in the world, still does. Uncivilized? Barbaric? Reactionary? Vengeful?… Does an enlightened State with a history such as ours have any right to betray our traditions, our spirituality, our religions, our moralities, our ethics? What are the issues that drive the ordinary citizen to back the Death Penalty? What are the theories on which we base the punishment meted out to the perpetrators of heinous crimes? And what is the gulf between these theories and the reality? Will we sacrifice our enlightened reputation and ancestors, so that we can satisfy our primal desires for revenge?… Or, ‘Can Society Escape the Noose…?’
Now is the moment when the battle is to be joined. For the life of each innocent person yet to be condemned to death. For their families, whose suffering has yet to begin. For the disenfranchised who suffer inequality before the law. For fundamental human rights and the Constitution of India. For India’s standing in the eyes of the world. A battle for the reputation and , perhaps, for the soul of our great Nation.
A battle to be fought by each of us who object to any captive person being killed, by our society, in our name.
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