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A
tale of two fugitives
Romeet
K WATT
Once upon a time
there lived two fugitives. The two were poles apart, yet alike. Both
held democratic establishments to ransom and committed the most
inhumane acts - putting to rest, innocent victims by worst possible
means. And there was no stopping their despicable and diabolic acts,
unless they were caught - to borrow an expression - dead or alive.
Both invented that they had across-the-board prop up, which lent
them the essential ingredient for the much needed motivation to go
on and on with their acts against humankind.
While
one is known to inhabit jungles somewhere in the Western
Ghats at the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, in southern India, the other has his last living address
somewhere in Afghanistan or Pakistan. It is ironical and amusing
that half the time, confusion is about which of the known
territories they are presently seeking refuge in. To be on the safe
side, to assume that they live on the cusp (as in sun signs) would
be a better option. Yes - and there are no prizes for speculating -
we are indeed nattering about Osama bin Laden, and our very own Koose
Muniswamy Veerappan.
To
bracket our very own Veer-appan
along with Osama may not sound right in the first instance, after
all, Osama has beaten him hands down in recognition, and popularity
(read notoriety) - something which a fugitive seeks at all times;
and in both the cases, video cassettes, audio tapes are effects
which keep these guys going. And, the similarity does not end here -
both have their own variety of idiosyncratic appearances – while
Veer-rappan may be a serious contender for the greatest or maybe
most unusual signature moustache, which he twirls when he is angry,
Osama has a flowing beard with streaks of grey hair, just giving him
that divine spiritual look, which he needs to make the much needed
impact on his bandwagon.
One
often wonders, how our fugitives will look, minus these chattels
though in case of Osama we have a fair idea from his earlier
pictures as a young boy, but in case of our Veer-appan, we have
nothing to aid us, except for may be some smart image mixing, but
that would not be the same as meeting clean shaven Veer-appan in
person.
Both
our fugitives come from distinct backgrounds. Osama aged, 44, was
born in an extremely rich family. Son
of a Yemeni-born owner of a leading Saudi construction company, he
is believed to have inherited as much as $300 million when his
father died. And
till he went berserk with his way of thinking, was comfortably
enjoying his life to the fullest. On the other hand our very own
Veer-appan aged around 50, was born in a poor family in
Gopinatham village in the Kollegal forest area of Karnataka
and hardships of his early life coupled with his latent ruthlessness
made him the most-sought-after-fugitive. Early in his life he wanted
do better than his
cattle-grazing village friends and was in his early teens when he
exterminated his first elephant. The rest is history.
Osama
has the dubious distinction of being the first fugitive in the world
in whose admiration the modest Uncle Sam has sent up a satellite or
two. As for our very own Veer-appan, all of the mighty Government of
India and the smaller Government of Tamil Nadu have been - God’
knows for how long - sending elite Task Forces
to track him down in the woods. Veer-appan for the last 35
years - in self-imposed exile - has been on the move, his
legs not weary even after years of walking the forests - that too,
believe or not in bathroom slippers. And unlike Osama, who was
stripped of his citizenship, our fugitive still enjoys full Indian
citizenship rights. In
1994 Saudi Arabia stripped bin Laden's citizenship, citing his
opposition to the Saudi King and leadership and expelled him from
the country. He then went to Khartoum, Sudan (where he owns many
businesses), but under U.S. bulldoze was expelled in 1996 and
shuttled to Afghanistan, and is presently on the run, and in hiding.
Our
very own Veer-appan has as over 150 cases against him, is accused of
119 murders and he does once in a while, smuggle out ivory and
sandalwood worth millions of rupees, just to keep him busy. However
of late, he has also resorted to kidnapping and extortions, latent
objective being to have some good company. In the latest episode, the end, when it
came couldn’t have been worse. Former Karnataka Minister, H
Nagappa, 66, held in captivity for the last 106-days is the latest
victim to have fallen prey to our ever elusive forest brigand. This
incident is not the first and shall in no way be his last act of
ruthlessness. In the past he also has had the distinction of being
kept company by an ageing matinee idol.
Osama, on the
other hand, does not by himself carry out the acts, after all, he
has far more resources at his disposal. But the bottom line, the
tailpiece, is the same: He
has been linked to the 1992 bombings of a hotel in Yemen, which
killed two Australians; the 1995 detonation of a car bomb in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia; the 1995 truck bomb in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia that
killed 19 U.S. servicemen; and the 1995 assassination attempt on
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Bin Laden has been directly
connected to the August 7, 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassies in
Nairobi, Kenya and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people, and
the October 2000 attack of the U.S. destroyer ship Cole in Yemen and last but not the least the diabolic acts, which
brought the WTC tumbling down, and members of his elite bandwagon
did also, as a matter of fact, penetrate the
high security fortress - Pentagon.
Osama
and our very own Veer-appan no doubt have their own ideologies and
beliefs, which they dearly protect and propagate. Bin
Laden has always used anti-American, anti-Western and anti-Israel
sentiments as basis for his attacks. In fact, he has been more than
outspoken on these topics – pan-Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera
has been his medium - issuing theological rulings calling for
Muslims to attack Americans and threatening terrorism against
related targets. Pointing to the defeat of the Soviet forces in
Afghanistan, bin Laden has consistently declared that the United
States is vulnerable to defeat by a jihad by Islamic forces.
And
not to be left behind, our very own Veer-appan fancies himself as
the sole protector
of Tamilians. Subsequent to the Rajakumar kidnap, he asserted to be
the sole guardian of the rights of 60 million Tamilians. He goes a
step further and without baiting an eyelid makes known to us that he
can win an election hands down. He has even dreams of walking tall
in public life, which stems
from his belief that he has incredible empathy among the Tamils.
When the Cauvery river water dispute – it erupts every now and
then - between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu turned violent, Veer-appan
to make his presence felt, and to identify with the Tamilian cause
on the issue, raided a police station inside Karnataka to exhibit
his honed disdain for SM Krishna and his people.
And,
believe it or not, our fugitives have a sizable following, which if
not growing in number has shown no signs of dwindling. Osama, for
one derives his support base from among the right wing
ultra-fundamentalist Muslims, who sincerely believe that it is their
moral duty to attack non-believers, who have according to them are
the biggest threat to Islam. In case of our very own Veer-appan, the
story is not much different. He is known to have helped the poor in
times of difficulty, financed marriages, and even donated for
construction of temples. No doubt, he is worshipped,
and is seen as a do-gooder. Unlike Osama, Veerappan has had no
schooling, but that has not deterred him to master wily fox like
qualities, which he exhibits, more often than one desires.
And,
accept as it true or not, our two fugitives are known to make a
lasting impression on whosoever comes into contact with them. Osama,
for one is known for his discourses, which he has used, time and
again, effectively, to allure people to join his bandwagon. And if
the forest grapevine is to be believed, the people who have spent
time with our very own Veer-appan, have suffered from Stockholm
syndrome, where the victims start empathising with their abductor.
He is also known for his lung-power sprouted battery of jokes to
entertain his captives. No wonder, he has still not been caught.
With
their warped sense of logic, to assume that our two fugitives will
return to the civilised fold so soon, on their own, would not be
pragmatic. If we are serious about apprehending them before they
venture into some more of their mischief’s, it is imperative that
we send out our boats to meet their ship, and unburden them of their
deadly cargo. Sink the ship if necessary, but for heaven’s sake,
don’t wait for the ship to arrive at the harbour. If
one intends to really break the dreadlocks, the most
effective cure is drastic surgery.
Hope
still flickers!
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