Ajay TG : Released But Not Free

ENGAGED CIRCLE
interview

Filmmaker Ajay TG tells SHOBHITA NAITHANI it is important he speaks out, even if it means going back to jail

In May 2008, the Chhattisgarh police arrested freelance journalist and filmmaker Ajay TG in Raipur. The charges against Ajay: violating the provisions of the draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA) which allows the police to arrest anyone with political associations that dispute state policies. Ajay was released on conditional bail on August 5 after the police failed to file a charge sheet against him within the stipulated 90 days. After his release, the filmmaker spoke about his incarceration, his work and starting life afresh.

Now that you’re out of jail, do you feel free?
Not at all. The police haven’t closed the case against me yet. I don’t know what their next step will be. I have to think twice before I say something. I can be thrown back into jail if I make a statement that disconcerts the government or the police. Read more

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August 23, 2008 | Filed Under Press Reports | Leave a Comment 

Book Review: Indian Doctor in Jail: The Story of Binayak Sen

MainStream

Spotlight

Indian Doctor in Jail: The Story of Binayak Sen
Doctors in Defence of Binayak Sen
Promilla & Co Publishers in association with Bibliophile South Asia
Rs250, pp112

Pediatrician, public health professional and civil rights activist, Binayak Sen, was arrested by the Chattisgarh police on 14 May 2007. Asked by the superintendent of police to appear for recording a statement he was placed under arrest when he reached the police station. Given his outstanding role as a public health professional and development activist his arrest has came as a surprise to many. The Global Health Council has selected Dr Sen for the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights recently. However, it seems that the state government could hardly tolerate his relentless exposure of human rights violations in Chattisgarh. This book weaves together essays by eminent doctors in defence of Dr Sen and his agenda. It also contains essays by Dr Sen on the interrelationship between health and human rights and people’s healthcare initiatives in Chattisgarh. The collection presents the facts and circumstances that have led to his illegal arrest, detention and charge sheet. In doing so it not only seeks to uphold the dignity of a humanitarian cause and a philanthropic doctor’s noble mission but also the rights and duties of every Indian citizen as enshrined in the Constitution.

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August 22, 2008 | Filed Under announcements | Leave a Comment 

Online petition on the issue of Blockade at Chengara land Struggle

Dear Friends

As most of you are aware, around 5000 families protesting in Chengara are facing violence and are completely cut off even from basic necessities like food and medicine by a bunch of goons with the connivance of the Government of Kerala.

There are several activities taking place on the ground to provide some relief to the protestors. In addition, we thought it is important to show solidarity in the form of a petition addressed to Constitutional authorities in this country, to put pressure on the Government of Kerala to act immediately and secure justice for the peaceful protestors.

Please do sign this petition and circulate it widely amongst your contacts.

The petition can be found at http://www.petitiononline.com/chengara/petition.html

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August 15, 2008 | Filed Under solidarity | Leave a Comment 

I’m no Maoist: Filmmaker Ajay TG

MSN India

Incarcerated for 93 days on charges of being a Maoist, independent documentary filmmaker Ajay TG has vehemently denied the label, saying he will fight for repealing the draconian law under which he was arrested.

“I am no Naxalite (Maoist). I have never been associated with any acts of insurgency or terror. I don’t know what I am being charged with,” Ajay, who was held under the notorious Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) and accused of sedition, said.

He was released on conditional bail after the police failed to file a chargesheet against him in court within the stipulated 90 days. The case against him has not been closed and he has to report to the police in Bhillai town every alternate Monday. He has also been barred from leaving the country.

“There is no FIR (first information report), no charge sheet. How do I defend myself?” asked Ajay, who is a member of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). He was in the capital to attend a meeting convened by the Committee for the Release of Ajay TG, to celebrate his release.

Ajay was released on August 5 but another prominent rights activist, Binayak Sen, who was arrested under the same act on May 14, 2007, is still in jail. Sen is the PUCL’s general secretary.

Read more

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August 14, 2008 | Filed Under Press Reports | Leave a Comment 

Arundhati Roy, rights activists rally around freed Chhattisgarh filmmaker

Express news service
Posted online: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 0047 hrs IST
New Delhi, August 12

“It’s not the first or the last time someone has been arrested in Chhattisgarh,” said human rights lawyer Vrinda Grover, setting the tone for a public meeting at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on Tuesday to mark the release of documentary filmmaker and journalist Ajay T G.

On May 5, Ajay was arrested and sent to jail by the Chhattisgarh police on allegations of involvement with Naxals and sedition against the Indian Government. When the police failed to find any evidence to support these charges within the mandatory 90 days period, Ajay was granted statutory bail and released on August 5. Yet despite being unable to file a chargesheet, the police have not closed the case against him.

After spending 93 days in prison, Ajay said, “I still don’t feel free. And I’m not the only one, there are so many more imprisoned like me.” His bail conditions require him to report to the police station every second Monday.

Warned by the police not to travel to Delhi or speak to the press, Ajay and his wife, Shobha, attended Tuesday’s meeting at their own risk.

Although the family lives in fear of retaliation from the state, said Shobha, “we were excited about the opportunity to come to Delhi and speak out”.

Led by the Committee for the Release of Ajay T G, human rights activists, journalists and writer Arundhati Roy were among those who spoke of the wider ramifications of his arrest.

Based on her research in Chhattisgarh, Nandani Sundar, sociology professor at the University of Delhi, spoke of the climate of fear in the state as a result of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security (CSPS) Act, 2006, and on the blackout of the violence perpetrated by the Salwa Judum. Speaking at the event, independent law researcher Usha Ramanathan said: “Critiquing this law, as we are now, is illegal under the CSPS, a clear indication we’re moving away from the rights of people.”

Following the meeting, Ajay T G’s film on the life and work of Dr Binayak Sen, who was also arrested under the CSPS Act, on 14 May 2007, was screened. In a fitting concluding note, Sen’s wife, Ilina, said, “We cannot individualise cases, we have to look beyond this.”

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August 14, 2008 | Filed Under Press Reports | Leave a Comment 

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