I mourn her death

I start my first blog on this New Year remembering the most significant incident of the year gone by.....THE ASSASSINATION OF BENAZIR BHUTTO.This is my attempt to pay homage not only to a great leader but also to a great fighter.........a fighter against oppression to humanity,a fighter for democracy.This horrifying incident has afeected me personally in an astounding way...I must confess I have not been an out-and-out admirer of Bhutto....but it is her courage that struck me the most.Her decision to stay on and fight for her people despite repeated theats to her life only showed that her ambition was not for the highest office in her country but also her indomitable fight to restructure the ruling system in the country of her birth.
'Benazir'-means the one without an example.She hails from one of the most prestigious political families of Pakistan.Her father Zulfikar ali Bhutto was a former PM.He was hanged by the military regime.Zulfikar ali was survived by two sons,but it was his daughter who was destined to carry the Bhutto Baton forward......and how well she did.Representing the People's Party of Pakistan(PPP),she was elected the first woman PM of an islamic nation in 1988.However,due to corruption charges,and many other unavoidable circumstances she had to sacrifice her seat to Nawaz Sherif in the middle of a second term.She and her husband Zardari were sentenced to 5-year jail terms.It was then that Bhutto decided to go into exile...only to slowly rebiuld her support group outside Pakistan just as she had done after her father's death.
As far as her personal life is concerned,she is remembered as a carefree and funloving person,often enjoying cruise rides with her handsome elder brother during her stint at Oxford.She created a great impact as the Pak PM's daughter during her visit to India for the signing of the Shimla Agreement Between the two countries.She did not take a single day maternity leave during the birth of her son in 1988.......not because she ignored motherhood but she believed that her win was important for the people of the country.There are those who remember her as the 'Lady who gave birth in Office'.
I consider her to be one of the greatest patriots-one who laid down her life unflinchinly at the service of her country and her people.Once in a lifetime does a country get a leader like that....however,there are many who think otherwise and her brutal killing is a finger pointer at that.People draw parallels of her life with that of Rajiv Gandhi.....both burdened with huge expectations on young soldiers,both forward-thinking inspirational leaders and both killed at a time when they were the frontrunners for the post of PM.But I consider her work more difficult-mainly because on one hand she was considered an outsider(mainly an US 'ambassador' for democracy)on one hand and also Pakistan's only hope for democracy.So convincing the already existing beaurocrats of her will to do good must not have been easy,neither coming back from exile after 8 long years.I salute her as a great woman,but more so because of her outstanding belief in power of the people.
However,after the death of Bhutto where does Pakistan stand?I am informed that the PPP will now be chaired by her 19-year son Bilawal Bhutto.He inherits the glamour of Oxford,but does he inherit his mother's drive....her passion for the people and the country??Well,only time will tell....but time will also tell whether Bhutto's dream of a Democratic Pakistan was indeed an UTOPIA?"Democracy is our revenge",she said.

(Source of informatoin regading her personal life and political career:The Times Of India)