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SALEEM Kamangar was a familiar figure in Shikarpur. He was a TV mechanic and dealt in electronic accessories. A police constable had purchased from him a TV remote that malfunctioned. He offered to reimburse him, but the constable refused and vowed to “teach him a lesson”. True to his word, the constable returned with his cohorts and arrested him on the eve of Eid. He was dragged through the bazaar, slapped and thrown into the lock-up.
But his captors overestimated his endurance. He was over 60 and had a history of hypertension. Soon his condition deteriorated in the lockup. By the time his fellow shopkeepers, who had arrived in their dozens at the police station, rushed him to a hospital, it was too late; he died probably of cardiac arrest.
On the face of it, this is not an unusual case. But it becomes a curious case study when some of its aspects are considered:
Social contract: Saleem Kamangar was a law-abiding citizen. He earned his livelihood by the sweat of his brow. People liked him because he was sociable and helpful. And yet he was mistreated, if not killed, by the law enforcers. The case raises a question that goes to the heart of the ‘social contract’ theory: what should a law-abiding citizen do to protect himself against a state’s rogue operatives?
The death of a TV mechanic exposes society’s many failings.
Ineffectual state: This case begs other familiar but important questions: would Saleem Kamangar receive fast and cheap justice? If not, then should his heirs waste their time and savings fighting prolonged and costly legal battles? Or should they accept an out-of-court settlement?
Answers are not hard to guess, considering the performance of our lower judiciary and also the fact that his heirs are poor wage-earners whereas the culprit is not only a police official but a member of a powerful local tribe. But if private ‘laws’ are resorted to in order to settle disputes because the prosecution is ineffectual, then won’t the writ of state be impaired in the eyes of the citizens?
Decadent cities: Saleem Kamangar’s tragic death also mirrors the moribund state of his birthplace, Shikarpur — a 300-year-old city that once prided itself on its global trade and finance, rich architecture, charity hospitals, quality education and cosmopolitan culture. But today, the city is decadent, like much of rural Sindh. Gone are its civic amenities, social institutions and rich patrons. A neo tribal-feudal culture is gnawing at its civic ethos, forcing many of its enlightened families to move to larger cities, and allowing in displaced peasants and the lumpen populace.
Bad governance: This case also throws ample light on the larger canvas depicting life in general in rural Sindh that has for years been governed by a powerful troika comprising feudals, politicians and bureaucrats. The troika, a gift of both dictatorial dispensations and democracy’s failures, has virtually controlled public offices, funds and properties without any audit or accountability. No wonder, the social and physical infrastructures of much of the province lie in a shambles, with people lacking even the basic amenities of life.
Security or civil rights: Saleem Kamangar’s case also highlights an old dilemma that people face in a stateless milieu — security or civil rights? Though modern democracies, including ours, make it mandatory for the executive and judicial branches to apply a set of constitutional concepts — due process of law, equality before the law and certainty of law — in governance and the administration of justice, here, due to many exigencies, legal theories and judicial pronouncements, even constitutional precepts (let alone criminal codes) are sacrificed at the altar of security.
Therefore, it is not uncommon to witness law-enforcement agencies acting more as free agents than disciplined forces. And yet, desperate people condone their excesses in the hope of security.
In this case also while a large number of Shikarpuris are sad and angry at the death of Saleem Kamangar, there are many who are content with the way police have lately handled criminals, reducing crime to an all-time low.
Surprisingly, some went so far as to praise those ‘brave’ officers who have ‘rebranded’ their units into a force that is no more shy of employing ‘out-of-the-box’ methods in dealing with hardened criminals. Of these methods, the most ‘popular’ is the ‘half-frying’ and ‘full-frying’ of criminals ie crippling and bumping off the suspected criminals through real or staged encounters.
A school headmaster aptly summed up this paradox to this author in these words: “after a long time, I can use my motorbike and cellphone; and I can commute freely even after sunset in and out of the city, without being mugged or kidnapped; I don’t care what methods police use as long as I and my family are safe.”
The writer is a lawyer and academic.
Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2015
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