Chhattisgarh and the danger of dissent
Hindustan Times, July 20, 2008
Paramita Ghosh
If Ajay TG had been smart enough to know where to point his camera, his films might have been showing in Osian today. As it stands, he is in Durg jail, 40 km from Bhilai.
Having started making films 7-8 years ago, he would capture “daily life, festivals and rituals of Durg”, and particularly, says Ajay, in a statement, “my own neighborhood — an old village now surrounded by urban growth.” In Chattisgarh though, these are acts of terrorism.
This week, www.releaseajaytg.in, a website was set up by a committee for his release. Playwright Habib Tanvir, activist Aruna Roy, professor Dr Kamal Chenoy, ex-director ActionAid India, Harsh Mander, law expert Usha Ramanathan, journalist Siddharth Vardharajan, among others, are its members.
Renowned film-maker Mrinal Sen who signed the petition condemning Ajay’s arrest, says: “I wish I was 30 years younger, so that I could have physically joined you all in this campaign.”
Tanvir says, “Chattisgarh was always a peaceful place. It is a great shame that artists, film makers and journalists are being targeted in this state.”
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Release Ajay TG Campaign getting momentum
Ajay TG has a right to make films.
Ajay TG has the right to show his films.We have the right to see his films.
We strongly protest and condemn the arrest of independent documentary filmmaker
and freelance journalist Ajay TG by the Chattisgarh Police.We demand his immediate release from prison and the dropping of all charges against him.
We reiterate that it is not possible to silence
the voice of dissent, the expressions of our conscience or even the reporting of facts
by intimidation, imprisonment and the politics of branding.
Filmmakers, artists and activists distributed hundreds of RELEASE AJAY TG pamphlets at the opening ceremony of the 10th Osian’s Cinefan - Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, in New Delhi on the 11th of July 2008.
Recipient of the Osian’s Lifetime Achievement Award, renowned filmmaker Mrinal Sen signed the petition condemning Ajay TG’s arrest.
Demanding Ajay TG’s release, Mrinal Sen said, “I am with you. I wish I was 30 years younger so I could have physically joined you all in this campaign.”
A Committee for the Release of Ajay TG has been formed with eminent personalities such as Habib Tanvir, Aruna Roy, Dr. Kamal Chenoy, Dr. Banwari Lal Sharma, Dr. Usha Ramanathan, Harsh Mander, Siddharth Vardharajan, Sudhir Pattnaik, Ranjan Palit and Amar Kanwar.
Also a new website http://www.releaseajaytg.in/ is launched by the campaign committee
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Sign the petition on Abuse of State Power Against Indian Journalists
Sign the petition
To: President and Prime Minister of India
We condemn the action of the Gujarat police in foisting a case of sedition on The Times of India, the editor of its Ahmedabad edition and other staffers for criticizing the choice of O P Mathur as the police commissioner of Ahmedabad.
The action of the police is not only plainly vindictive and a threat to media freedoms but a perverse misuse of laws supposedly meant to protect national security and the lives of citizens. As the Editors Guild of India has rightly pointed out sedition is a charge which was slapped on the Indian media by the colonial rulers during the freedom struggle and its abuse against the media today negates the freedom granted to the citizens by the Constitution.
We also note with grave concern that elsewhere in the country too there are attempts by those in power to use anti-terror or anti-sedition laws to muzzle dissenting voices of artists, journalists, academics and human rights defenders who are telling unpalatable truths.
Some of the clear examples of this alarming trend, which threatens Indian democracy, are the arrests of human rights activists Dr Binayak Sen in Chhattisgarh and Lachit Bordloi in Assam, journalists Prashant Rahi in Uttarakhand, Praful Jha in Chattisgarh and P. Govind Kutty in Kerala. The most recent case of such abuse of state power is the arrest of independent filmmaker and journalist Ajay TG under the notorious Chhattisgarh State Public Security Act on 5 May 2008.
We demand the unconditional withdrawal of charges against all these activists and journalists and the setting up of an independent commission to look into the misuse of anti-terror laws by state authorities. We further demand the scrapping of all legislation that violates the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
Sign the petition
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Chennai: Dramatic display of their protest : The Hindu
Special Correspondent
The Hindu
Tamilnadu-Chennai
Children protest incarceration of Dr. Binayak Sen
Drumming up support: Members of Kanchi Makkal Mandram performing in Chennai on Thursday as part of a protest to seek the release of Dr. Binayak Sen.
CHENNAI: Protests from artists are often brushed under the carpet. But when a group of children decided to protest the continued incarceration of Dr. Binayak Sen in a Chhattisgarh prison, the ‘Q’ Branch of the police showed up at the skit they performed.
Organised by the Corporate Accountability Desk, a protest programme was conducted at Elliot’s Beach Road on Thursday, in honour of Dr. Sen’s being conferred the prestigious Dr. Jonathan Mann Award. Played to a small and appreciative audience, the programme started with a ‘Parai’ performance by the Kanchi Makkal Mandram.
Venkat, one of the organisers, referred to ‘parai’ as the “voice of the oppressed.” This was followed by a series of songs against mindless consumerism by the Chennai Kalai Kuzhu.
The grand finale was a skit by children from ’Pudiyador,’ a non-governmental organisation dealing with children’s education on the state of Adivasis in Chhattisgarh.
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Susmit Bose(Urban Folk Singer) on Dr. Binayak Sen
Susmit Bose tributes to Dr. Binayak Sen’s resistance to anti people’s laws and politics. The song is in solidarity with Dr. Binayaksen’s struggle. He was written it on May 14 2008, the anniversary of Binayak Sen’s arrest.
A lot of Artists are Organising Protests against Binayak sen’s arrest all over the country. See the statement of Artists for Human rights in Delhi below.
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Gallery
From freebinayaksen.org- Chief of Police of Indian State under Fire for Human Rights Record at Berkeley Conference
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- Scrap Salwa Judum : Brigandry in the name of self-defence
- UPDATE On Dr. Binayak Sen’s TRIAL (15 Sep 2008)
- The Right to a Fair Trial Compromised in the Name of Security: The Case of Dr. Binayak Sen
- Updates from Google News
- Chhattisgarh DGP under Fire for Human Rights Record at Berkeley ... - MyNews.in
- BINAYAK SEN - ZNet
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- Spiritual guru offers to mediate between government, Maoists - Fresh News
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- Living to tell the tale of Tyranny - Express Buzz
- Reports From Indian Media
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