Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Speaks Against Death Penalty

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Speaks Against Death Penalty

1 CommentSeptember 15, 2011 – 9:38 am  By Guest Writer Sundaram Iyer, New York | Permalink | Print This Article |

In an interview to a local television channel, Corporate Guru and much revered God man Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has expressed his opinion against the capital punishment.

He says, “The capital punishment should be completely eradicated. It is against the humanity. Whoever it may be , if confined in prison there is a chance for reform.Therefore the three ( Perarivalan, Murugan, Santhan) should be given mercy and must be excluded from death penalty.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the only god man who shows some interest in Ealem and Kashmir issues. He went to Sri Lanka war zone to have a first hand information on the suffering of Tamils. After his briefing only the AIADMK leader J.Jayalalithaa shifted her stance on Ealem Tamils and and started to issue statements in favour of Tamils.

Certainly Ravi Shankar is a god man of difference and shows the real philosophical approach unlike Jayendra Saraswati and Nithyananda who have not come forward to take a stand on public issues.

God men speaking against death penalty is nothing new .Osho has said

“The death penalty is an eye for an eye. If a man is thought to have murdered somebody, then he should be murdered. But it is strange. If killing somebody is a crime, then how can you remove crime from society by committing the same crime again. There was one man murdered; now there are two men murdered”

The abolition of death penalty is always advocated in a wider sense of religion and divinity. It is also a global culture as declared by Amnesty International

“The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. This cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is done in the name of justice.

It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner.”

Although voices against death penalty were raised long time back in Tamil Nadu, the recent public uprising against rejection of clemency petition by the President of India for the three convicts in Rajiv assassination case has heightened the campaign against capital punishment. This has opened a national public debate on abolition of death penalty.

Meanwhile as the eight week reprieve on the three convicts given by the High Court of Chennai is nearing to an end, the activists against death penalty are planning to hold continued protests. The central Government has not yet come up with proper explanation for the delayed processing of mercy petitions.

The opinion of Guruji at this stage assumes great importance and this is one more support and step to pave the way for saving the three lives. The devotees of another Guru Jaggi Vasudev are also waiting to see whether he comes forward to say something on death and life with reference to this case.