The late Salmaan Taseer, governor of Punjab province in Pakistan, was assassinated earlier today by one of his bodyguards. I can’t help but be reminded of how India’s own Indira Gandhi was similarly assassinated by her bodyguards on October 31, 1984 (yes, Halloween). Taseer’s undoing was his open condemnation of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws; Gandhi’s was her authorization of the attack on Amritsar’s Golden Temple (the equivalent of Mecca to adherents of Sikhism).
I don’t pretend to be any kind of serious analyst or historian; my knowledge of either assassination and the motivations behind them is mediocre at best. At the same time, however, I am struck by the parallel between the two countries and reminded once again of their similarities. Indians and Pakistanis with whom I have spoken seem generally to have no feelings of ill-will against citizens of the other country and often seem regretful that the political situation between the two countries remains so tense, when the people share so much.
Now they share a deep loss in addition to everything else.
