Time moves on. So fast that what happened a moment ago is referred to as a time that has already passed. At the operational level, “past” is the operative word which determines the significance or insignificance of events that lay in its fold. As a state craft, past is a world that must be forgotten when deemed fit, eulogized, canonized, revived and restored when suits best.
Some defenders of state crimes would have us believe that crimes after being committed also become part of a past and should be seen as such. The time scale they refer is one in which every passing moment is an addition to the history, thereby affording the most cruel, cunning and the most brutal and violent acts the luxury of “past analysis”, one that could establish a linear relation of cause and action or action reaction theory to normalize the state accomplicity.
At times, this analysis requires carefully strategized campaign running some thousand (four) crores as was the case with Prime Minister Modi, or a mere comparison with the more terrible options to portray one as the lesser evil as was with the former Prime Minister Vajpayee.
With the assertion of fascism across the world it shouldn’t come as a surprise if some day the Fuhrer himself gets an off grey whitewash. For, if another megalomaniac does take birth, who has his faith rooted in German Fatherland, Hitler would receive posthumous gallantry award. And with that reset the time would have moved on viz a viz Hitler.
The victims of any crime after passage of sufficient nights of agony do also move on. But does also the idea of justice?
The idea of penalty for the crimes committed in linear past (so to say) is to ensure that no acts of humanity escape punishment for contravention of established principles of law and order. If every crime of the past is to be contextualized for political posturing , for what purpose is the grinding process of justice delivery. Why not declare after the passage of day to be more precise after the sunset or before dawn of the night crime is committed; the criminals would be absolved of all charges.
Memories erased. Case settled. All jails to be emptied.