Posts Tagged ‘Draconian laws
The Telegraph
India’s growth rate cannot be made a national objective
While there will be general agreement that the judgment in Binayak Sen’s case represents a gross miscarriage of justice, most people will attribute it to the overzealousness of a lower judicial functionary, or, at the most, to the prevailing atmosphere in the state of Chhattisgarh. If the trial had been held elsewhere, they would argue, Sen would not have got the verdict he did. They are probably right, just as those who attribute the bringing of sedition charges against Arundhati Roy and Syed Ali Shah Geelani to the overzealousness of the Delhi police, and against Sudhir Dhawale to the overzealousness of the Maharashtra police, may well be right. But such overzealousness, instances of which are multiplying alarmingly, thrives within, and derives sustenance from, a certain ambience. This consists of the increasing tendency, under the current neo-liberal dispensation, to see any basic ideological opposition to the parameters of official policy as anti-national. The tendency, in short, is to criminalize ideological dissent. Of course, one must not cry wolf, but one must not ignore this tendency either. To do so will be fatal.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags : binayak sen, chhattisgarh, draconian law, Draconian laws, justice, Prabhat Patnaik, Sedition
This coming Sunday, May 31, a discussion amongst activists would be held triggered by a few initiating presentations to explore the nature and implications of draconian laws in India.
This would drive towards evolving an appropriate action plan to tackle the issue in a serious and systematic manner.
This discussion is meant to be the first preliminary step.
Venue: Shramik (1st floor), Dadar (E). (From the station, on the lane behind the second block of Swaminarayn Temple, on the right – midway.)
Day / Date: Sunday, May 31.
Time: 5 30 – 8 00 PM.
Pls. do join.
Tags : announcements, Draconian laws
By Dr. Mookhi Amir Ali
Countercurrents.org
Dr. Binayak Sen will now be out on bail but not without celebrating the second anniversary of his needless detention. He was detained under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Under these laws a person can be detained for flimsy reasons with no provision of bail. This is not the only law in our book which can be used by the Government to harass a citizen who is inconvenient to them. Dr Binayak in addition to being a good and benevolent doctor is a conscientious human rights activist who was blowing whistles on Chhattisgarh government sponsored Salwa Judam’s illegal killings of innocent tribals. The incarceration which the doctor has suffered was the “reward” the government of Chhattisgarh was giving him for his aggressive activism. Salwa Judam, whose misdeeds Dr. Sen was fighting against, has received strong disapproval of the Supreme Court of India.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags : Bail, binayak sen, bomb blasts, Draconian laws, Mumbai Terror, POTA, supreme court, terrorism
K.S. Jacob
The Hindu
Many of the current policies and practices “authorised” by the Indian state require careful review from a human rights perspective.
The latest general elections and the ongoing process of forming a Central government provide an opportunity for introspection regarding India’s human rights record. The policies and practices “authorised” by the Indian state require reflection and reappraisal. The context of India, its framework and policies, shore up and determine many of its practices. The capitalistic model with its success in the West, until the recent collapse, was adopted by India w ith dramatic impact on its economic growth. However, the average improvement in the Indian economy actually increased the income inequality for the majority of those living in Bharat. While poverty based on headcounts has reduced, deprivation, defined as the disparity between base and mean consumption, has increased. The non-inclusive nature of India’s recent growth has resulted in development without social and distributive justice for the majority of Indians.
In many parts of the country, economic issues were complicated by a rising tide of violence. While many of these conflicts seem, on the surface, to have ideological or religious dimensions, their underlying cause is more often social and economic. For example, the deprivation of basic rights for large sections of the population and the gross disparity between the rich and the poor over a prolonged period of time lead to the disadvantaged becoming disillusioned with the democratic process. The naxalite movement, with its philosophy of armed revolution spreading through many poor and deprived parts of India, is a clear indicator of such a trend.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags : amnesty international, binayak sen, chhattisgarh, communal riot, Draconian laws, human rights, justice, kashmir, killings, repressive laws, supreme court, terrorism, violations
India Continues to Imprison Human Rights Activist Dr. Binayak Sen
Binayak-sen
Last week marked the second anniversary of the detention of the internationally recognized award-winning human rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen, who’s worked as a public health professional in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh for twenty-five years. He was arrested on May 14, 2007, for allegedly helping the Maoist, also known as the Naxalite, insurgency in the state and detained under one of India’s most draconian laws, the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act.
Watch it/ Download MP3 at Democracy Now
Rush Transcript
ANJALI KAMAT: Well, moving on to Binayak Sen, last week marked the second anniversary of the detention of the internationally recognized, award-winning human rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen, who has worked as a public health professional in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh for twenty-five years. He was arrested on May 14th, 2007, for allegedly helping the Maoist, also known as the Naxalite, insurgency in the state and detained under one of India’s most draconian laws, the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act. He’s the National Vice President of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, or the PUCL. He’s been denied bail and medical treatment, despite his worsening health.
I spoke to his wife, Ilina Sen, on Sunday.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags : anniversary, Bail, binayak sen, campaign, chhattisgarh, civil liberties, draconian law, Draconian laws, human rights, human rights defender, ilina, malnutrition, PUCL, Salwa Judum, two years
Update From Rakhi
The sixth batch of 60 protesters took part in the satyagraha for the release of jailed human rights and health activist Dr Binayak Sen, in Raipur today.
The programme began with protestors congregating at Budha Talab and holding a public meeting there.
60 protestors marched through the streets of Raipur and later 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 among others:
- 50 workers from Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha (Mazdoor Karyakarta Committee)
- Manohar Kothekar (Jt. Secretary, NTUI)
- Devjit Nandy + 4 activists of NFFPFW (Bilaspur)
- Arvind Ghosh (Activist from Nagpur)
- Sharad Dudhat (Renowned Trade Union leader from Nagpur)
- Aparna Pallavi (Journalist based in Nagpur)
- Shashank Kela (Researcher based in Nagpur)
Detailed updates and photos will follow from participants later.
Tags : Binayaksen, campaign, chattisgarh, Draconian laws, Raipur satyagraha
by Prashant Bhushan
[Text of the Talk Given by Prasant Bhushan on 13th March at George Washington University on the Supreme Court's recent attitude towards Human Rights and Environmental rights where he dealt with Binayak's case]
Anyone familiar with India would be aware of the remarkable paradoxes of the country characterized by obscene wealth in the hands of a few “billionaires” among whom are 4 of the ten richest men in the world, existing side by side with appalling poverty where more than 78% of the population lives on less than Rs. 20 (45 cents) per day. The paradox of a “Shining India” comprising of the largest force of IT and financial services professionals in a country aspiring to make India an economic “superpower”, living alongside the largest slum population in the world who live without electricity, running water and sanitation, amidst unimaginable filth. More than 100,000 farmers have committed suicides in the country in the last 10 years. It ranks lower than many countries of Sub Saharan Africa in the Human Development Index.
In 1991, India adopted the World Bank-IMF model of “Structural Adjustment”, popularly known as the LPG programme, characterized by Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation. Since then, the rate of GDP growth increased substantially from 3-4% to reach 9% in 2007-8. During this period the number of dollar millionaires increased manifold as did the average income of the top 10% of the population. The number of persons living in acute poverty during the same period however continued to grow. The Arjun Sengupta report shows that 78% of the Indian population (836 Million) now lives on less than Rs. 20 (45 Cents) per day.i The average availability of nutrition to people also declined during the same period, most clearly indicating that this spurt in growth, far from being inclusive, was achieved at the expense of the poor and marginalized sections of society. According to one of India’s leading economists, Utsa Patnaik, “Expenditure data from the National Sample Survey Organisation’s 61st Round (2004-05) show that rural and urban per capita cloth consumption, real food expenditure, and calorie intake have all declined from their already low levels since 1993-94. This country remains a Republic of Hunger with a larger proportion of ordinary people being relentlessly pushed down to worse nutritional status. As the tables show, the proportion of rural population unable to access 2,400 calories daily climbed from 75 per cent in 1993-94 to a record high of 87 per cent by 2004-05.The corresponding percentages for urban India, where the nutrition norm is lower at 2,100 calories, are 57% and 64.5%” ii
That was not surprising, since a lot of this “growth” was achieved by acquiring the traditional lands of poor farmers, particularly tribals, for Mining Companies, Real estate companies and “Special Economic Zones”, promoted by Private Companies etc. As the rich/poor divide increased during this period, we have seen the growth in the strength of Left wing Maoist insurgencies which have come to control a significant part of the country.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags : binayak sen, chattisgarh, civil liberties, community health, corruption, draconian law, Draconian laws, fundamental rights, human rights, human rights activists, jonathan mann award, petition, POTA, Right to food, Salwa Judum, TADA, trial, tribals, violations
Delhi: There was a dharna at Jantar Mantar in solidarity with the friends who were courting arrest to press our demand for release of Dr. Binayak Sen. Eminent writer and social activist Arundhati Roy and many senior activists joined the dharna, students from JNU & DU came in large numbers along with the friends of PUDR and Delhi Solidarity Group
Calcutta: About two hundred people including many eminent citizens took part in a protest rally demanding release of Dr. Binayak Sen in Calcutta today. The rally started from the Vidyasagar Statue in front of Calcutta University and paraded down parts of Mahatma Gandhi Road, College street and Bankim Chatterjee street.
Later a citizens’ meeting was held in the Students’ Hall, which was almost packed to capacity. The speakers including Dr. Manas Joardar, (former member of CU Senate), Dr. Punyabrata Guin, Pradip Banerjee Sujato Bhadra, Amitadyuti Kumar, Dipankar Chakrabarty explained the backdrop of Dr. Sen’s arrest and called for building up a strong movement to compel the CG government to release Dr. Sen unconditionally by withdrawing all fictitious charges against him.
The meeting also demanded scrapping of Salwa Judum, and all black laws including CSPSA, NIA , AFSPA.
Tags : binayak sen, Draconian laws, Raipur satyagraha
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. 
