Justice in politics

One of the the most powerful tools of a ruler is death penalty. Sometimes ruler uses it to maintain political stability and effective governance; other times to suppress dissent voices and remain seated in power at any cost, though at times it is used for all the above reasons. One ruler in the Bible who cunningly used Death penalty to his advantage, or so he supposed, was Herod the Great. With Roman backing, he was securely king of the Jews. His troops moved around in and out to clinically suppress any uprising. Absence of serious threats, thus, provided him political atmosphere to build temples, markets, theaters, gymnasium etc. He was the President of Olympic Games in 12 BC; and used to be its patrons; and was the one who introduced for the first time in Olympic history prizes for those coming second and third in the competition. No wonder the title ‘the Great’ was conferred on him for valid reasons! However, he would also put to death his wives and children for fear of being usurped of his throne; and was willing to slaughter infants of Bethlehem to remove even future potential threat ( Mat 2.16).

Closer home—in time, we have Hosni Mubarak seemingly willing Egypt to be plundered to continue his 30 years stay in power. Not only is his stale leadership suffocating, but a ruler who does not face election hardly is accountable to the people. Democracy has an inbuilt possibility for ‘rulers’ to address problems for the fear of being voted out in the next election.

Closer home—in space, there is Dr. Binayak Sen who faced sedition charge unfairly. Let me put forth why I think it is unfair. Holocaust was an act of terror unleashed by Hitler’s Germany. It was, however, the German citizens who were paying direct and indirect (via purchasing goods) tax to the government that orchestrated the pogrom. The question that emerges then is should all German citizen, therefore, be treated as sympathizer/facilitator of such horrible crime or should the Nazis leadership alone who are directly involved in the Holocaust be indicted? Extrapolating the case to our situation the question before us is should only Maoist extremists who are directly involved in fighting or inciting against the state be charged with sedition or should friends/sympathizers be charged too? If we are to stretch and charge beyond those directly involved all Indian citizens would be guilty too. After all our Indian army, who are funded by our money, have on several occasions violated human rights in different parts of the country. Thus, whenever army officers are tried for crime against humanity his sympathizers/friends who provided him money for such crime should be tried too. But going by this logic would render all political institutions dysfunctional. For this reason I take the view that charging Dr. Binayak Sen with sedition is unfair.

No state is truly sovereign; only God is. All states, whether they acknowledge or not, is subject to God’s law and justice. Alexander Solzhenitsyn once prophesied that USSR would collapse because it was built on Gulag and its kind; and the prophecy came true. A ruler or a state that God chooses to dispose need just a blow ( Herod Agrippa I; Acts 12.22) or an earthquake ( Jericho; Joshua 6) to be purged. God is no respecter of special person or state. A nation like ours which has much historical baggage requires serious homework for peace to prevail. Food is politics; Education is politics; Employment is politics State boundary is politics; nationalism is politics. I think post-liberalisation when change has become rapid God would want to invite us as his children to read afresh the political situation… and participate with him in seeking justice so that peace prevails. Jesus who has conquered death is our side. The fear for death penalty from the ruler or state should not deter us from seeking God’s justice.