For Us Nation Is Bigger Than Our Son: Sartaj Ahmad

One should congratulate to our Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who had the exemplary courage and conviction to publicly hail Sartaj Ahmad who disowned his son Saifullah and refused to accept his dead body to cremate him as he had become a terrorist. No doubt, what Sartaj Ahmad has done has no parallel. Every father must always emulate Sartaj but in reality we don’t see this happening. But what Rajnath Singh who is our Home Minister has done is no less courageous and one from the inner core of heart hails him for doing so because this has sent a clear message that the whole nation is solidly behind Sartaj even though his son wrongly chose the wrong track.

Truth be told, Sartaj minced no words in saying that a person who cannot be of his country cannot be ours. He also made it clear that for them country is bigger than son. It must be revealed here that Sartaj’s son Saifullah who had left his home about two and a half month back after having a fight with his father became a terrorist even though he was a B. Com from Manohar Lal Degree College in Kanpur and was killed on March 8 after an encounter with security forces and a lot of ammunition, pistols, bombs etc. were recovered. Sartaj in a very bold move said that a terrorist should not get the shoulder of any person and refused to extend it to his slain son’s dead body.

Every Indian must be proud of Sartaj. What Sartaj has done is unprecedented and must be emulated by the father of all those sons who pick up guns and become terrorists.  One must bestow his/her unadulterated appreciation to all those especially politicians who in Parliament publicly backed Sartaj and appreciated him lavishly. He certainly deserves it. Many often we don’t see such appreciation but in this case we are seeing it and this is a very good news. Rajnath Singh deserves full credit for summoning the courage to speak publicly in the parliament in favour of Sartaj and hailing him in no uncertain terms. We are proud of you Rajnath!

One wishes that our other politicians too pick up some lessons from it. Leaders should never encourage those college going students who publicly rant anti-Indian slogans like “Bharat teri barbadi taak jung ladenge jung ladenge! Ek nahin do nahin hazaar tukhde karenge! Bastar kya mange – Azaadi, Kashmir kyan mange – Azaadi, etc.” What is most shameful is that some shameless politicians of different political parties shamelessly hail such misguided youths and boost their morale for further indulging in more anti-national acts. Not stopping here, they honour such misguided youth and try to defend them in the name of “freedom to speech and expression”. Freedom of speech and expression cannot be deemed to mean freedom to disintegrate India. No eminent lawyer or intellectual or judge can ever try to justify it on any ground whatsoever.

What such politicians fail to realise is that their wrong support further encourages them and then some of them like Saifullah decide to actually fight and say “Bharat teri barbadi taak jung ladenge jung ladenge.”  When such misguided youths like Saifullah then these same politicians who when they were in college and whom they used to honour publicly refuse to even recognise them. This must stop once and for all if our nation is to stop seeing more and more youth wrongly picking up guns.

Where did Saifullah land after picking up gun? Died at a very young age and shamed his entire family to the extent that his parents refused to accept his body. Where are now those politicians who encourage separatism? Shamelessly laughing in private.

My best friend Sageer Khan once rightly said to me way back in 1994 that, “Defend a rapist or a dacoit or a robber or a murderer or any other ordinary criminal but never ever in life defend a terrorist. I say so because a rapist or a dacoit or a robber or a murderer or any other ordinary criminal  never goes to Pakistan or any other foreign country to get the best possible rigorous training on how best to destroy India but a terrorist goes and is brainwashed to cause maximum possible destruction in India. A rapist or dacoit or any other ordinary criminal attack and adversely affects one or few persons but in case of terrorists things are quite different because they want to attack and adversely affect our nation as a whol e whom they want to destroy completely. Terrorists are worse than enemy soldiers because they don’t fight on borders with our soldiers but they place bombs in trains, places of worship etc and kill maximum innocent people in the most cowardly manner! Still our politicians shamelessly hold talks and dialogues with them, declare ceasefire with them, treat them like VVIPs and refuse to hang them even after the Supreme Court sentences them to death and even after their own PM or CM is killed by them most brutally! Why politicians have so much soft corner for terrorists? This only our politicians can reply best and not ordinary citizens like you and me!”

Shameless politicians who hail anti-national slogans in the name of “freedom of speech and expression” and try to justify even waving of Pakistani flags and burning of Indian flags must slap themselves with full force and then ask “Why can’t we become like Sartaj Ahmad and place country above our own vested political interests? Why we try to justify what can never be justified? Why we don’t allow killers of our former PM Rajiv Gandhi and former Punjab CM Beant Singh to be hanged and shamelessly plead mercy for them with folded hands while at the same time naming so many things after the departed leaders? Whom are we trying to fool?” Their own conscious will give them the right reply.

Killing innocent people, chanting anti-national slogans and waving flags of Pakistan or terror groups like ISIS can never be justified under any circumstances and must be strongly dealt with. No eminent lawyer or jurist or judge worth his salt will ever try to justify such anti-national acts because even they themselves cannot be above the nation. Nation stands first, always and every time and this is what Sartaj has bravely demonstrated by rendering the supreme sacrifice of placing his national interests above his parental interests.  One  must salute Sartaj Ahmad from innermost core of heart!

By Sanjeev Sirohi