Chronicles of Kanjisheik

When I read the article of 12 Indians arrested on a jet by Netherlands for "suspicious behaviour", the first words that came to my mind was - "How could they?" Indeed, thats what everybody ought to think...

Agreed, the Indian passengers had shifted seats among themselves without informing the airplane crew, and apparently exchanged a mobile and laughed more than once, but the question is - How can this be sufficient grounds for arresting them?? This was either an act of stupidity or racial prejudice. Throughout the one and half day ordeal, the passengers were treated as terrorists, irrespective of their vociferous denials and the lack of actual evidence that would point to any terrorist activity- the police considered them guilty. And the reports in newspapers all over the West announced this with great fanfare, as if a major terrorist plot had been prevented.

Would this have happened if the the passengers were boisterous Americans or drunk Europeans?? Would the Netherlands authorities behave so insolently, interrogate them so relentlessly, infringe on their privacy, and then announce their innocence without even an apology??

The so called "guardians of democracy and equality" are guilty of double standards: they have one set of rules for their white/black Christian citizens, and another set of rules for everybody else. Is this sensible? It will only fan the fires of anger in the Third World and enable terrorists to strengthen themselves. Are the governments of Europe and America so blind to the current reality that they cant see that all their measures to "control" terrorism have backfired?? Have they no respect for the dignity of others?

Instead of tyrannical measures like "racial profiling" or the infamous "shoot at sight" statement [which led to the death of the innocent Brazilian at the hands of the British police- or should I call it murder?], they should understand the root causes of terrorism- the Palestine issue, a mistrust of the West, and an underlying frustration due to the Arab governments' inability to improve their peoples' condition- and try to address these issues by extending the olive branch to the Arab nations. But no, they dont- they act like matadors and get gored by the bull in the process. As the saying goes, history repeats itself...

Now, it was 12 Indian passengers.. What next, o ye defenders of the "free" world???