Sarabjit Singh: A Martyr and a Patriot

In case of Sarabjit Singh, our worst fears came true. It is difficult to say if he died some days back and still the treacherous nation Pakistan kept doing drama over his body, but it does not matter now.

Today's newspaper quotes Sarabjit Singh saying from Pakistani Jail, "I will reach heaven the day I reach India - alive or dead". This was his patriotism! He longed not only to meet his wife and two daughters in India, but "to be in India"! We can't imagine the inhuman conditions in which he had to spend 22 years in Paki jail. Great Chandrashekhar Azad had shot himself rather than getting captured by the enemy. But innocent that he was, Sarabjit might not have considered Pakistan as an enemy and would have tolerated all with our good old belief "satyamev jayate - truth alone wins"... His end may not justify his faith in this world's goodness, yet, he has left a long list of inspirations for all of us. We complain and crib, but we are living in the land which gave us birth and sustained us - is cause of all the great things which ever happened in our life.

This land was Sarabjit Singh's heaven... Finally his mortal remains have come here... Mother India would have wept a lot today...

At the same time there are people amongst us who ask why Sarabjit Singh was declared a martyr in India? The question is:

“In the Indian version, Sarabjit Singh was a farmer but in Pakistani version he was a bomber and his guilt was proven by Supreme Court in Pakistan; hence Pakistan’s treatment of him should be expected! Also, a martyr is defined only if one sacrifices life for some honorable cause. What was the honorable cause in case of Sarabjit?”

Here is what I have to say as answer:

(1) To say "his guilt of bombing and killing innocent people has been proven in court" is misleading. There is no proof against him. There was one man called Shaukat Salim who the police claimed was "eye witness". But the man after some days denied seeing him and said he made that statement under pressure from the police! If courts of some nations start giving verdicts without any proofs, we can't call it justice just because it is called "court" by that nation. There is nothing called "Indian version" and "Paki version". There is only known facts, and known facts tell us that he was a common farmer and was not linked to the bomb blasts. In fact he was arrested months after bombings had happened there.

(2) Definition of Martyr and what is "honorable cause" in this case: Most dictionaries tell martyr as " One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle" So what is the belief, cause, or principle in this case? Or what is the "honorable cause" you question? It is simply what always is in case of martyrs - TRUTH! Sarabjit was innocent and had not bombed Pakis. But they falsely accused him of doing that and tortured him till death. Thereby, he becomes a martyr. He had belief in "victory of truth over lies" and "good over evil", this is why he lived! Otherwise one could have done suicide to save himself from Pakis's so called justice. Just like Chandrashekhar Azad had shot himself. But the good man Sarabjit believed in truth winning and this was his "honorable cause"! Thirdly, his patriotism! Did you read today's newspaper where his one letter is quoted, where is says, "I will reach heaven the day I reach India - dead or alive"? Such was his patriotism!!! If after reading his this statement, still you don't find a "honorable cause", your heart is made of stone! Sorry for strong words, nothing personal, but I think there are more than one honorable causes in case of Sarabjit, only if we look.