Ten-day fast in protest against the black laws & for immediate release of dr. Binayak Sen, Ajay TG & Others (16th to 25th June, 2008)
AN APPEAL TO JOIN
June 1, 2008
Dear Friend,
Greetings from CG PUCL!
This is to share with you AN APPEAL TO JOIN TEN-DAY FAST IN PROTEST AGAINST THE BLACK LAWS & FOR RELEASE OF Dr. BINAYAK SEN, AJAY TG & Ors. (16th to 25th June, 2008).
The enclosed APPEAL is self-explanatory. So far, Sandeep Pandey ( Magasasay Award Winner), and Com. Prem Narain Verma (CMM Activist and President of Rajnandgaon Kapda Mill Mazdoor Sangh) have made a commitment to sit for full 10 days of Fasting.
You are requested to kindly consider:
a) Endorsing The Appeal;
b) Join the Group Fasting either for full 10 days, or any of the days according to your convenience.
We are planning to make public this announcement on 8th June 2008, preferably at a Press Conference at Raipur and New Delhi, etc. Thus, your response must reach us by 7th June 2008.
The Invitation & details of the National Convention on State Repression & Black Laws in India (June 25 & 26, 2008) will be shared later! However, it would be helpful to get confirmation for your participation by 7th June, 2008, so that we could arrange accordingly. Read more
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‘Scapegoats and Holy Cows’ – The Indian State’s ‘Response’ to Terrorism
Statement of the convention
organised by PEACE, HRLN and ANHAD
Each time there is a bomb blast like the recent one in Jaipur, the Indian State reaches out its ‘long arms of injustice’ to pick a scapegoat from amidst the Indian population to cover up its own incompetence in providing security to its citizens.
The hapless creature, decorated and demonized by the ‘fashion designers’ of Indian officialdom, is then paraded before the entire nation to create a public spectacle prior to its ritual sacrifice.
The armchair warriors then call for ‘tougher laws’ to deal with terrorism while the scapegoat disappears forever into the black hole of the Indian prison system.
That the ‘prime suspects’ in such cases always happen to be bearded young Muslim men and Islamic theologists to boot is not a surprise at all. In the racist imagination of theadministration, police , intelligence agencies , security forces, sections of the media and politicians all the criminals in this country wear their ‘criminality’ on their faces- the suspects are always MAD- Muslim, Adivasi, Dalit.
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Impunity Institutionalized: 50 years of AFSPA
Armed Forces Special Powers Act completes 50 years as Indian law
Jagmohan Singh
manipurfreedom.org
While people couldn’t care less and the State continues to revel in the impunity granted to the armed forces, well-meaning social activists, journalists, academicians and young human rights activists demand the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 at a Seminar held in New Delhi on 22nd May 2008 –marking the 50 years of the legislation. The event went totally unreported in the Indian media. The author files this report and comments on various aspects of the draconian law.
50 years ago, on 22nd May 1958, in the face of rising political dissent in the North-east, India decided to add fiction to its laws -the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Though enacted only for a year, it has continued since. It contravenes the fundamental principles of jurisprudence, Indian law, particularly the right to life and right to a fair trial and international standards, particularly the derogable and non-derogable provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which India is a signatory.
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Scottish campaigners call for release of Binayak Sen
Doctors, academics and human rights campaigners in Scotland gathered on Thursday 29 May 2008 outside St. John’s Church, Edinburgh for a vigil demanding the immediate release of award-winning renowned doctor and human rights activist Dr Binayak Sen. On that day, Dr Sen was due to receive the Jonathan Mann Award For Global Health And Human Rights but cannot due to his illegal detention. Following the vigil, campaigners presented a letter to the Indian Consul in Edinburgh.
Dr. Sen’s arrest has been condemned worldwide by human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and PUCL, 22 British MPs who signed an Early Day Motion about the case; several Nobel laureates, well-known public health campaigner Dr Wendy Savage, Noam Chomsky, Aruna Roy, and Amartya Sen. Iain Gray MSP (Labour), Robin Harper MSP (Green), Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP (SNP) and Bill Wilson MSP (SNP) have also given their support to the call for the release of Dr Sen.
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‘Scapegoats and Holy Cows’ : State ‘Response’ to Terrorism
May 29, 2009
Seminar
Time 10am to 4pm
Venue: Main Auditorium, India International Centre, Max Mulellar Marg, New Delhi-110003
Speakers:
- A. Bimol Akoijam, Associate Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
- Arun Shrivastava- Certified Management Consultant
- Dr Syed Ahamed Anwar State Secretary, Human Rights Wing. TMMK, Tamil Nadu
- Justice Rajinder Sachar – former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court
- Hilal Ahmad Meer, Journalist, Greater Kashmir, J & K
- Kavita Srivastava-General Secretary, PUCL, Rajasthan
- Mahesh Bhatt-Director, Producer, Filmmaker, Social Activist
- Nasiruddin Haider Khan-Senior Journalist, UP
- PC Tiwari, Human Rights Law Network, Uttrakhand
- Prof KN Panikkar-Historian, Social Activist, Writer
- Sheema Mohsin-Social Activist, PUCL, Karnataka
- Siddharth Vardarajan-Senior Journalist, the Hindu, Delhi
- Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, Editor, Siasat, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
- Zakia Jowher-Social Activist-Gujarat
Every now and then the Indian State, reaches out its ‘long arms of injustice’ to pick a scapegoat from amidst the Indian population to cover up its own incompetence to provide security to its citizens.
The hapless creature, decorated and demonized by the ‘fashion designers’ of Indian officialdom, is then paraded before the entire nation to create a public spectacle prior to its ritual sacrifice.
The Bengali speaking Muslim people of Jaipur are the latest in a long line-up of such scapegoats.
The Indian state’s treatment of scapegoats is in stark contrast to the ‘holy cows’ it protects, irrespective of their trespasses or crimes against the people of the country.
Whether it be the Hashimpura massacre of 1987, the Babri Masjid demolition and the Mumbai riots of 1992, the Gujarat carnage of 2002 , Nanded Bomb Blast April 6, 2006 or the recent anti-national activities of the likes of Raj Thackeray in Mumbai- no one gets even arrested- leave alone punished for their terrorist activities.
The seminar mentioned above is being organised at a very short notice to register our anguish and protest against the way innocent people across India are being harassed, picked up, arrested and tortured in the name of fighting terrorism. It is also to register our protest against the well designed plan of demonising minorities in this country. We might not be able to document all the cases at this seminar but this is being organised as a first step to plan a larger national level campaign involving citizens and organisations from across india to resist the state terror.
Related posts
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Gallery
From freebinayaksen.org- Updates from Google News
- Dr Binayak Sen: An unfortunate achiever - Merinews
- Jailed human-rights activist works for peace - Ode Magazine
- Q&A: 'Rights activism uses space within the Constitution' - Times of India
- DIFFERENT KINDS OF SILENCE - Calcutta Telegraph
- Vote War 2008: Chhattisgarh - Tehelka
- National Convention on Countering Fascist Forces: Defending the ... - NewsBlaze (press release)
- Reports From Indian Media
- Different kinds of silence - Telegraph: Opinion
- Whither democracy? - Oheraldo
- Q&A: 'Rights activism uses space within the Constitution' - TOI: Editorial
- The Shootin' Sheriffs - Outlook
- Videos - Rediff: Top Stories (India)
- India must be reclaimed - Hindustan Times: Views
- A law and its victim - Frontline
- An appeal for peace in South Bastar - Hindu: Opinion
- NGOs demand severe action against attackers - The Navhind Times