Archive for March, 2009
Raipur Satyagraha Update 30th March
Dear friends,The third batch of 90 protesters took part in the satyagraha for the release of jailed human rights and health activist Dr Binayak Sen, in Raipur today.All 90 protestors have courted arrest. The courting of arrest occurred after the satyagrahis were detained at Subhash Stadium by the Chhattisgarh authorities, following peaceful non-violent protest. They were all later released.
The satyagrahis who courted arrest included:
- Amitdyuti Kumar (APDR)
- Chauton Das (Bandi Mukti Committee)
- Jayamitra (writer)
- Prashant Haldar (APDR)
- Santosh Rana (PCC)
- Meher Engineer (intellectual/scientist)
- Shyamoli Khastagir (social activist)
- Members from Shilpi Sena
- Members from Sanjukta Paribahan Shramik Union
In solidarity,
Rakhi & Anirban
Free, Free Binayak Sen – Report on US Protests
50 international groups organize support in the USA for the Raipur Satyagraha in India
Simultaneous protests held in 3 US cities
· Information on the Raipur Satyagraha for the Release of Dr. Binayak Sen is available here: http://raipursatyagraha.wordpress.com
· More information on Dr. Binayak Sen and his case:
o For a detailed analysis of the state’s case against Dr. Sen, read the 3-part series in Indian Express by Vinay Sitapati: http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/indian-express-series-on-binayak-sen/
o A timeline of Binayak Sen’s case is available here: http://www.binayaksen.net/2009/01/timeline-of-events-in-the-strange-case-of-dr-binayak-sen/
o A compilation of news articles on Dr. Sen can be found at www.binayaksen.net , www.freebinayaksen.org and http://www.aidboston.org/FreeBinayakSen/media.htm
· On Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005:
o The text of the law and its analysis by People’s Union for Democratic Rights can be found here: http://cpjc.wordpress.com/chhattisgarh-special-public-security-act/
o A law and its victim, Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Frontline, Oct-Nov 2008 http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2522/stories/20081107252212400.htm
o Caught between Naxals and police, Indian Express, June 11, 2008 http://in.news.yahoo.com/indianexpress/20080611/r_t_ie_nl_general/tnl-caught-between-naxals-and-police-aaaedd4_1.html
· Fact-finding reports on Salwa Judum can be obtained from the website for the Campaign for Peace and Justice in Chhattisgarh, http://cpjc.wordpress.com/reports-by-fact-finding-teams-on-salwa-judum/
· Letter to the Chhattisgarh government by over 50 international peace and justice groups can be found here: http://docs.aidindia.org/Documents/AID-Chapters/Maryland/campaign/Binayak_Sen_Org_Endorsement.pdf
The good doctor: Binayak Sen and the cost of dissent
Richa Bansal, 23 – 03 – 2009
Open Democracy India
When India wraps up its fifteenth general elections in mid May, Dr. Binayak Sen will be completing two years in jail in a cruel inversion of democracy. Held on charges of suspected involvement with Maoist insurgents under the heavy-handed Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA), his guilt has not yet been proven.
Why is this award-winning doctor – who for thirty years worked tirelessly for the tribal poor of Chhattisgarh – still imprisoned?
Sen dared to speak out against the atrocities of Salwa Judum, a controversial state-backed militia group, which armed local tribal people and pitted them against the Maoist insurgents in Chhattisgarh, an impoverished state in central India. He led a fifteen-member fact-finding team in December 2005, which published the first in a series of damning reports about the excesses of the Salwa Judum.
The evidence he produced of police involvement in the killing of innocent tribal people in Santoshpur cost him his freedom in late March 2007. The state moved deliberately to silence him. He was detained under the CSPSA and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on charges of sedition, criminal conspiracy, making war against the nation, and knowingly using the proceeds of terrorism. Both these laws allow for arbitrary detention without any right to appeal.
The flimsy “evidence” for his arrest – that Sen allegedly passed on letters from a jailed senior Maoist leader to an aide – is not fully substantiated. Sen had visited the Raipur jail as the state general secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) to provide legal and medical assistance to prisoners including the said Maoist leader. His request for bail has been consistently rejected at all levels of judiciary since his arrest.
A paediatrician by profession and a gold medallist from the prestigious Christian Medical College in Vellore, Sen turned down lucrative career options to work in the field of community health. After helping set up a worker’s hospital, owned and operated by a mine worker’s organization, he later founded the NGO Rupantar with his wife. The couple have worked through Rupantar for the last eighteen years in training village health workers to provide basic health care in nearly twenty villages in the state.
Sen inevitably got drawn into social advocacy in Chhattisgarh, one of the states that has been particulary affected by the strengthening Maoist insurgency in recent years. The rise of the Maoists has been abetted by the acute governance vacuum in these areas, which are inhabited primarily by impoverished rural and forest-dwelling people, known within India’s complex socio-economic taxonomy as “tribals”.
To counter the Maoists, Chhattisgarh state launched in 2005 a paramilitary force called Salwa Judum that armed underage tribal boys ostensibly to fight the Maoist insurgents in the area. The move resulted in pushing the region into a fratricidal war. Caught in the fray were the poor tribal villagers trapped between the Maoists, on the one hand, and the state-supported Salwa Judum cadre on the other. The combined vested interests of the state and an industrial sector keen on the mineral rich land further fuelled the violence.
Since its inception, the Salwa Judum has emptied 700 tribal villages. The villagers have been forced into temporary roadside camps robbing them of their livelihood of farming and minor forest horticulture. It comes as a saddening surprise that some of the evacuated land is earmarked for Tata Steel and Essar Steel’s proposed steel plants and mining projects.
Sen’s open criticism was an impediment that the state government decided it could not afford. Despite intermittent media outrage and strong condemnation by international human rights organizations at his farcical arrest and trial, Sen continues to remain behind bars. With the second year of his imprisonment now coming to a close, a number of organizations from different parts of India, including the PUCL, have launched the Raipur Satyagraha to step up the campaign for his release.
The Satyagraha - echoing Mahatma Gandhi’s belief in nonviolent resistance – will be a sustained movement, in which leading human rights activists, civil society organizations, lawyers, women’s groups and other supporters will walk every Monday to the Raipur Central jail, where Sen is being held, and court arrest.
Professor Ilina Sen, the wife of the jailed doctor, and Kavita Srivastava, National Secretary of PUCL, have also been raising international awareness about the injustice of his arrest by giving a series of public talks at leading universities around the UK. The talks have also launched a public petition to the Indian Home Minister demanding Sen’s release. The following is a brief interview with Professor Ilina Sen and Kavita Srivastava when they visited the University of Cambridge on 6 March.
In discussion with Professor Ilina Sen, wife of Dr. Binayak Sen:
Do you feel the media has done enough to generate a sustained campaign through its coverage for Dr. Sen?
The media is sensitive to particular events. It has a very short memory span. So when something happened, it would generate interest. For instance when he received the Jonathan Mann Award last year, there was coverage. [Dr. Sen received the Jonathan Mann Award in 2008 for Global Health and Human Rights from the Global Health Council]. The Award was also a serious embarrassment (for India) because it was the first time a South Asian was given this Award and he was not able to receive it but was in prison on the charge of sedition.
How many times has Dr. Sen’s bail been rejected? And are you planning on trying for bail again?
The bail had first been denied by the Chhattisgarh High Court in July 2007. Then on 10 December, 2007, which is the International Human Rights Day, the Supreme Court dismissed the bail petition without any reason. After that, the trial started, charges were framed. But once the material witnesses had failed to substantiate any of the charges, the bail application was put once more to the Chhattisgarh High Court as there was a change in circumstances now with the charge-sheet having been filed and a lot of evidence run through, but nothing proved. Yet, once again in December 2008, the High Court dismissed the application stating that there were no fresh grounds for bail. We are now in the process of going to the Supreme Court once more for bail.
Now that a second year in jail seems to be drawing to a close, have you any other plans to expedite Dr. Sen’s release?
We are now focussing a lot of our campaign activity in Raipur itself. And the shape it is taking is in the form of the Raipur Satyagraha. Large numbers of activists and supporters will walk every Monday through the city of Raipur in Chhattisgarh to the jail where he is being held. Then they will court arrest. We plan to sustain it over a long time now – till he is out. People from mass organizations, writers, activists will support it. It will start on 16 March. We already have the support of organizations like the Asha Pariwar, Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity, NBA (Narmada Bachao Andolan), lawyers associations and people like Nandita Das, Mahasweta Devi, Sandeep Pandey, Kuldip Nayar, and maybe Mahesh Bhatt.
Could you tell us something about the Christian Medical College’s support through all this?
They have been very, very supportive. They are doctors from the highest positions in the world. They have been active in writing letters, arranging meetings, supporting the cause and our movement as well as bearing the legal costs of the case.
In discussion with Kavita Srivastava, PUCL:
How is Dr. Sen holding up at the jail?
His spirits are well but his health is not well. He has lost 25 kgs. They had kept him in solitary confinement for some time but now he is back with the lifers. There is nothing much to write about Indian jails, except that he has a bed – a cemented one.
Have you approached the central government in New Delhi and requested its intervention?
We met the Home Minister P. Chidambaram on 23 December. He was very sympathetic but told us, “What can we do?”. [The state government in Chhattisgarh is a BJP government, which has just been re-elected to power for another five years.]
What will you talk about this evening?
I will be talking about the use of draconian laws and how in the name of national security, there are two groups of people in India today, who are being targeted. First are those who are fighting intolerant policy, they are being targeted in the name of nationalism and held under draconian laws on charges like sedition or supporting banned organizations. The Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act criminalizes “intent”. This is against any kind of criminal jurisprudence. It is “intent”, not an “act”. The second group are the Muslims, who are being targeted in the name of terrorism. Legislating laws like this in the name of national security represses civil dissent and prevents people from holding views.
What do you hope will be the outcome from your talks at the universities in the UK?
We have come to the UK to build awareness about Dr. Sen’s unjust arrest. We want to highlight that Binayak is a “prisoner of conscience”. His arrest has nothing to do with territorial boundaries. It is about the subjugation of human freedom – freedom to think, dream and have hope.
India: One land, two laws
NEW DELHI: This is a country where the law clearly protects the rich and famous and comes down heavily, very often unfairly, on the poor and powerless.
For all those listening / watching aghast at how low our politicians can sink – e.g. Varun Gandhi’s vituperative attack against the Muslim community in an election address in Pilibhit from where he will contest on the BJP ticket – they always knew deep down that nothing would come of it. The interim anticipatory bail granted to him on Friday is on those very predictable lines.
The scion of Sanjay Gandhi will grow from strength to strength in an age which hails ‘khalnayaks’ who indulge in communally divisive politics .For them there is no Model Code of Conduct but a Model Code of Self Seeking Hate Politics. The BJP will not take away their symbol from Varun .Nor will the law of the land really move against him and keep him from contesting the election. And getting a bail will be child’s play for a person as influential as Varun Gandhi.
Contrast this with another case playing out in far off Raipur in Chattisgarh. The case of Dr. Binayak Sen , a good doctor who worked tirelessly to provide health care to the poor and who has been languishing in jail for nearly two years now . The charges slapped against him were that of having sympathetic links with Naxalites and allegedly being a courier between a jailed Naxalite he was treating and a businessman.
While the Raipur Sessions court rejected his bail application in July 2007, the Chattisgarh High Court denied bail twice, first in July 2007 and again in December 2008.
Countless media reports and organizations fighting for his release have pointed out that although Dr Binayak Sen has been arrested on charges under the controversial Chattisgarh State Public Security Act, none of the over 80 witnesses produced in his trial so far at a sessions court in Raipur have been able to substantiate any of these charges.
So far the Chhattisgarh government and its police have also not been able to provide any proof of his involvement in extremist activities.
Yet the barefoot doctor, whose life’s mission was to heal those who had been left out of the state’s medical radar, has been denied bail and left to rot in jail for 22 months. What is worse his health has been fast deteriorating and appeals for justice have fallen on deaf ears.
In the days and months following his incarceration there has been an international and national demand for the release of Dr Binayak Sen. As many as 22 Nobel Laureates signed a petition in support of his immediate release terming his arrest a travesty of justice. But it has failed to move either the BJP government in the state or the UPA government at the Centre.
On March 16, 50 activists of the national campaign for the release of Dr. Binayak Sen, marched to the jail in Raipur in a ‘jail bharo’ agitation to highlight the case.The Raipur Satyagraha was led by well-known social worker and Magsaysay Award winner Sandeep Pandey and include eminent persons like documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and members of various civil society groups, civil rights organisations, trade unions, lawyers, journalists, medical professionals and women’s groups.
The satyagraha will be held every Monday in front of the jail in Raipur where Dr Binayak Sen is incarcerated. They are demanding that the Chattisgarh government should stop opposing the grant of bail to Dr Sen. Denial of bail should not be used as a punitive measure as this goes against the spirit of the entire justice system and constitutional rights, they stress.
In a bid to win over high profile judicial support in favour of Sen, there is now a petition going around with former Supreme Court and High Court judges. Eminent former Supreme Court Judge V R Krishna Iyer has already put his weight behind the petition along with six others.
Clearly the law as it plays out for Varun Gandhi and Dr Binayak Sen smacks of one land-two laws.
Photos from Raipur Satyagraha May 23rd
Read the Detailed Report here
U.S. ACTIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE RAIPUR SATYAGRAHA FOR DR. BINAYAK SEN
Friday, March 27: Washington DC, New York, San Francisco
It is now 22 months since Dr Binayak Sen, the well-known public health and human rights activist was imprisoned by the Chhattisgarh government on false charges of abetting activities of an outlawed organization. International and national groups and individuals, including Twenty Two Nobel Laureates, have consistently demanded the release of Dr. Binayak Sen.
Send a FREE FAX to the Chhattisgarh Government to support our demands.
|
Our Demands:
1. Release DR. BINAYAK SEN 2. End state repression, and Repeal CSPSA 3. Disband SALWA JUDUM |
| New York City:
When: Friday, March 27th at 2:00 pm
Where: Indian Consulate, 3 East 64th Street, (Between 5th and Madison Avenues), New York, NY 10065
Contact: Murli Natrajan, 973-928-3918
Jinee Lokaneeta, 973-216-2360 |
San Francisco:
When: Friday, March 27th at 2:00 pm
Where: Indian Consulate,
540 Arguello Boulevard,
San Francisco
Contact: Anu Mandavilli, 408-480-5805 |
Washington DC
When: Friday, March 27th at 4:30 pm
Where: Indian Embassy,
2107 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C.
Contact: Somu Kumar, 703-728-8987
|
For more information, visit
www.binayaksen.net , www.freebinayaksen.org, www.aidboston.org/freebinayaksen
RAIPUR SATYAGRAH Update – March 23rd
23rd March
Sudha Bharadwaj & Kavita Srivastava
“Mere Desh ko ye janane hak re, kyun jailon me rahe desh premi, desh drohi ki pechaan nahi….” sang the Satyagrahis and courted arrest in Raipur
More than 83 persons courted arrest today, 23rd of March, 2009, demanding the release of Dr. Binayak Sen. The arrests were led by Rashida Bi, Hazra Bi and Sati nath Sarangi of Bhopal Gas survivor organisations. More than 65 people came. They came from three orgnaisations of the Gas affected people. The others who courted arrest included Narottam Sharma CPI(ML) Liberation, noted film maker Amar Kanwar from Delhi, people’s musician Vinay Mahajan from Ahmedabad, Kavita Srivastava from the PUCL and. Lakhan Sahu and others from CMM, Mazdoor Karyakarta Samiti, They were more than 59 women and 25 men who were arrested. The march began with a two minute silence remembering Dr. Smitu Kothari a friend of People’s movements in the country, who passed away today morning in Delhi.
The March from Budha Talab in Raipur was led by 82 year old Anasuya Sen mother of Dr. Binayak Sen from Kolkata, others who participated in solidarity include Sh. Saura Yadav, Bharat Bhushan Pandey and nine others from the CPI ML. Speaking to the rallyists Ms. Anasuya Sen said that the world knew that Dr. Sen was innocent and he was not in good health, however, it was also clear that since he had exposed the excesses of the State that he was behind bars and was being denied freedom. She also sang Tagore’s “aami bhoy korbo na” meaning “I will not be afraid” which added to the power of the satyagrah.
The Bhopal Gas Survivors through a powerful rendering of slogans demanded the release of Dr. Sen. They also demanded the repealing of the Chhattisgarh Jan Suraksha Adhiniyam and the end of Salwa Judum from the Chhattisgarh Government. They also pledged that would bring down corrupt administration of Chhattisgarh if the incarceration of Dr. Sen would continue. Speaking on the occasions Rashida Bi expressed shock that while Varun Gandhi publicly made hate speeches was granted anticipatory bail in no time by a Delhi Court but Dr. Sen who had committed no crime was even being denied bail even after twenty months. They said that since Dr. Sen was the hope of the poor adivasis and workers he was being incarcerated. She ended her speech that till Warren Anderson of Union Carbide the killer of more than 25, 000 Bhopal Gas victims wouldnot be arrested they would not stop their quest for justice.
Vinay Mahajan from Loknaad Ahmedabad sang songs demanding the release of Dr. Sen. The most popular lines which were rendered by all were Mere Desh ko ye janane hak re, kyun jailon me rahe desh premi, deshi drohi ki pechaan nahi. He also sang Shravan Kumar’s song dhola baje, Ghunghroo Baje, Madal Baje celebrating the struggles and the lives the great heroes, BirsaMunda, Tilka Manji and Sidhu. The lines were ….Tilika nachey, Sidhu Nachey, Birsa Nachey He also demanded of the authorities that our Dr. Sen, the people’s doctor be handed back to us, his was not the place in Jail.
Noted Film Maker Amar Kanwar also marched with the satyagrahis and courted arrest. He had earlier inaugurated the Bhilai Film Archive and the Chhattisgarh Jan Film Utsav which was to dedicated towards Dr. Sen’s release and against the injustice being meted out to the people of Chhattisgarh.
The Satyagrahis will be back next Monday 30th of March in Raipur to continue the protest against Dr. Sen’s arrest and demand his release.
The songs and photographs will be posted later today
Send a free fax in support of the Raipur Satyagraha for release of Dr. Binayak Sen
send a FREE FAX to the Chhattisgarh government to demand:
1. Immediate release of the doctor to the workers DR. BINAYAK SEN
2. End to the state repression of democratic dissent, revocation of the CSPSA
3. Disbanding of SALWA JUDUM, full compensation to all victims
VISIT http://petitions.aidindia.org/binayaksen09/
Even though the state has been unable to produce any evidence against him, Dr. Binayak Sen’s pleas for bail have been repeatedly refused by judicial institutions at all levels in the country. We oppose the use of bail as punitive measure to intimidate human rights defenders and demand and demand the immediate release of Dr. Binayak Sen.
The Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA), under which Dr.Binayak Sen has been arrested, allows the state to bypass many routine forms of due process through the law’s unreasonably broad definition of unlawful activity, and acceptance of vague and unreliable evidence, all in the name of national security. The unclear provisions of this law have been used unfairly by the State to silence government critics such as Dr. Binayak Sen, Ajay TG , a film maker and PUCL activist, and Journalist Sai Reddy (and many others). We demand that draconian laws which have been used unfairly to harass human rights activists be immediately repealed.
Salwa Judum, the State-sponsored militia set up in 2005, has been responsible for killing, looting, rapes and forced eviction from their homes of more than 100,000 indigenous people to camps with inhuman conditions. Common concern for many is that the arrest and detention of Dr. Sen was directly related to his activities in defending the rights of the indigenous communities in Chhattisgarh state, and to his open criticism of the Salwa Judum. We condemn the state government for arming Salwa Judum and abetting terror against innocent civilians and tribals, and demand that it be immediately disbanded.
· More information on Dr. Binayak Sen and his case:
- For a detailed analysis of the state’s case against Dr. Sen, read the 3-part series in Indian Express by Vinay Sitapati
- A timeline of Binayak Sen’s case
- A compilation of news articles on Dr. Sen can be found at www.binayaksen.net , www.freebinayaksen.org and http://www.aidboston.org/FreeBinayakSen/media.htm
· On Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005:
- Fact-finding reports on Salwa Judum can be obtained from the website for the Campaign for Peace and Justice in Chhattisgarh,
- Letter to the Chhattisgarh government by over 50 international peace and justice groups
Raipur Satyagraha & A Day in Court with Dr. Sen
50 survivors of Bhopal disaster will be joining in Raipur Satyagraha on Monday
Dear All,
The three bhopal survivor organizations today held a conference in solidarity of Raipur Satyagraha campaign for release of Dr. binayak sen. tomorrow 50 survivors of 1984, Bhopal disaster will be travelling to Raipur to stage a dharna outside Raipur jail on Monday. Please see the press release below
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
March 21, 2009
Press Statement
At a press conference today, three organizations working for the survivors of the Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal, demanded that the Chattisgarh government withdraw charges under the draconian Chhattisgarh State Public Security Act and release Paediatrician and Human Rights defender Dr. Binayak Sen from Raipur jail.
They said that Dr. Sen who was awarded the prestigious Jonathan Mann Awardlast year for his work in public health and human rights, remains jailed by the state government since May 14, 2007. They said that Dr. Sen was being punished by endless trial for his public criticism of the human rights violations by the government in the Salwa Judum campaign.
The organizations said that the charges of �treason, waging war against the state and abetting activities of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) are completely baseless and false. This is evident by the fact that till today, of the 83 witnesses listed for deposition by the prosecution as part of the original charge sheet, 16 were dropped by the prosecutors themselves, 6 declared �hostile�, while 61 others have deposed without corroborating any of the accusations against Dr Sen.
Members of the three survivors� organizations will soon be joining the Raipur Satyagraha campaign and court arrest at Raipur in support of Dr. Binayak. The Raipur Satyagraha is an initiative of over 100 groups around the country agitating for release of Dr Binayak Sen and against persecution of human rights defenders.
They said that the international supporters of Dr. Sen, which include 22 Nobel Laureates, will demonstrate outside Indian consulates in the US, UK and Sri Lanka on March 27, 2009 in support of the Raipur Satyagraha. Earlier on March 14, 2009, 44 satyagrahis led by Magsaysay Award winner and well-known social activist Sandeep Pandey, film maker Anand Patwardhan and trade union leader D. Thankappan have courted arrest in Raipur and more intellectuals, artists, writers and others are expected to do the same as part of the national campaign to release Dr. Binayak Sen, the organizations said.
Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
94256 88215
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
93290 26319
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
98261 67369
For information on the Campaign for Justice in Bhopal please visit
www.bhopal.net
Binayaksen.net is one of many efforts by well wishers and supporters of Dr Binayak Sen to bring the injustice being done to him by the government of Chhattisgarh to the attention of people around the world. 
