Dawood's death

Recently there was a rumor of India's most wanted fugitive Dawood Ibrahim dying from poisoning in a hospital of Karachi, Pakistan. The stories surrounding his anticipated death is nothing new. In 2016 he supposedly died. He died a 2nd time in 2020. He must be muttering in his Karachi hidehouse- "If you can't kill me, rumor me". 

In late 1970s and early 1980s, the Pathan gang, followers who carried the legacy of the legendary smugglers Haji Mastan and Karim Lala were dominating Bombay underworld. Their rivals in both smuggling and police used a rookie Dawood, the son of a Muslim constable to checkmate the Pathan gang. Well, Dawood not only checkmated the gang, he managed to eliminate all one by one. 

Dawood knew that the Pathan gang members had serious weakness for women. So, he tracked them and eliminated at least one of them, named Alamzeb Khan, who was literally caught pants down with a prostitute. Another one killed by Dawood was a Pathan gang member Samad Khan, who famously proclaimed that he would bed all pretty Call Girls of Bombay before he died. Not sure how far he succeeded in achieving his mission, in 1984 he was gunned down soon after coming out of a Bombay flat after having sex with a girl for the last time in his life. 

When Dawood's enemies were baying for his blood and things become too hot for him in Bombay, he escaped to Dubai. Then ISI, Pakistan's intelligence agency caused the serial Bombay blast in 1993 using Dawood who by the time has grown too large for the boots of his handlers in India. He is living incognito in Pakistan ever since, rumors of his death not withstanding. 

The other day I was watching a dubbed Telugu movie where the popular actor Ram Charan was playing the role of a dedicated policeman in British era. Following the orders of his Gora officials, Ram Charan goes deep inside a hostile crowd of several hundred violent protesters. In spite of getting hit by the mob multiple times, he manages to drag the culprit out of the melee and brings him to the front of the British Officers. One of the Officers exclaimed - "That was simply outstanding. I am so impressed". But his compatriot, the other British Officer spoke on a cautionary note - "But am scared". He was worried that in case the table gets turned in future, such a person is capable of being a big pain in the British ass, which he eventually becomes. 

This might be the storyline from a movie. But like Dawood, we have several examples of monsters who once thought as useful idiots to serve a person or nation's purpose, went rogue, backfiring big time. Mishandling by the then Congress government in the 1980s catapulted Sant Bhindranwale, a Sikh with a flowing beard and aquiline nose from a small time preacher into a big time martyr. His speech in parts of Punjab, especially in the rural areas caught the imagination of the Sikh youth of the time. His simple slogan 'JO DARTA WOH SIKH NAHI AUR JO SIKH HAI WOH DARTA NAHI' (one who fears is not a Sikh, one who is a Sikh never fears) inspired many to take up gun and became terrorists.  

As Khushwant Singh mentioned in his autobiography, Giani Zail Singh, ex Home Minister and President of India famously described Bhindranwale as SADDE DANDA "our stick" to beat the Akalis with. Congress party wanted to use him as an useful idiot to settle score against opposition Akali Dal. Eventually the genie escaped from the bottle and the DANDA became a huge stick to cause pain to Congress and the nation's backside.   

Same goes with Osama Bin Laden who was trained by CIA to fight against the invading Soviet Army in Afghanistan. Bin Laden was an expert in firing shoulder fire missiles which led to the loss of several Russian Aircrafts. But no sooner the Russians beat a hasty retreat from Afghanistan, than Bin Laden turned his attention to the USA who was once his patron and benefactor, culminating in the terrible incident of 9/11. 

Examples are plenty of such examples and mentioning them is beyond the scope of this blog. I can think of a song for Dawood - "Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar, Yeh Dil Abhi Bhara Nahi" (Don't leave us now, our heart is still unfulfilled). You have already died in 2016 from Heart attack, from Covid in 2020 and now died a victim of poisoning in 2023. You can die yet again in 2026 from Diabetics. Bhakts will give credit to Modi and Doval for feeding you with a lot of sweets and dying a natural death from sugar.