Raipur Satyagraha

Raipur Satyagraha for the Release of Dr. Binayak Sen

March 2009

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 organisation.

All of us, individuals and organisations, who have been concerned, protested and struggled for Dr Binayak Sen’s release all these months have decided to launch a satyagraha/civil disobedience movement in Raipur to prevail upon the Government to reverse its illegitimate action.

The Raipur Satyagraha will continue every Monday thereon at the jail in Raipur where Dr Binayak Sen is incarcerated. The one-point demand of the satyagraha is the release of Dr Binayak Sen. Let us all, civil society groups, human and civil rights organisations, trade unions, lawyers, medical professionals and womens’ groups, organisations and individuals from across the political spectrum, who stand for freedom , unite to protest in the spirit of satayagraha and respecting the norms of civil disobedience.

Resist the use of bail as punitive measure to intimidate human rights defenders

During the entire period which he has been kept in Raipur Jail, Dr Binayak Sen’s pleas for bail have been refused by judicial institutions at all levels in the country. While the Raipur Sessions court rejected his bail application in July 2007, the Chhattisgarh High Court denied bail twice, first in July 2007 and again in December 2008. On an earlier occasion, the Supreme Court of India also refused to consider the bail petition, without citing any specific reason, ironically on Human Rights Day, 2007.

The best traditions of justice and precedents set by Indian courts themselves demand that ‘bail should be the rule and jail the exception’. Bail is normally denied only to those accused who are likely to run away, repeat the crime or tamper with evidence. None of these conditions apply in the case of Dr Binayak Sen. He was arrested when he voluntarily went to the police on 14 May 2007 after learning they were looking for him. Bail cannot be used as a punitive measure; rather, it is an inherent civil right in democracy and an essential part of the Indian criminal justice system.

No evidence to back the charges against Dr Binayak Sen

Though Dr. Binayak Sen has been arrested on grave charges under the draconian Chhattisgarh State Public Security Act, none of the 38 witnesses produced in his trial so far at a sessions court in Raipur have corroborated any of these charges. In December 2008, 18 months after his arrest, the State called in 47 extra witnesses to testify. The Chhattisgarh government and its police have also not been able to provide any proof of his involvement in illegal activities. The blatantly undemocratic CSPSA ensures that the state can virtually imprison anyone it wishes to, and that it can crack down on any democratic peaceful activity that might be critical of the state. In this sense, Dr. Binayak Sen’s arrest is symptomatic of larger efforts by the state to curb all forms of democratic dissent.

Dr. Binayak Sen was arrested by the Chhattisgarh police for allegedly passing on letters from Narayan Sanyal , a senior member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in Raipur jail to Piyush Guha, a Raipur businessman accused of assisting the Maoists. The fact of the matter is that Dr. Binayak Sen met Mr. Sanyal in prison with permission from jail authorities as he was providing medical care to Mr. Sanyal. There are records to prove this.

In the days and months following his incarceration, Dr. Binayak Sen has received tremendous support from the people of India, and outside. 22 Nobel Laureates signed a letter in support of Dr. Binayak Sen. Both international and national media, television and print, through news stories and editorials, has consistently pointed to the unjustified nature of Dr. Binayak Sen’s imprisonment. Moreover, among the wider public too, there is a palpable sense of indignation, dissatisfaction and frustration with the way the Indian legal system and executive has responded to Dr. Binayak Sen’s case.

What Dr. Binayak Sen’s arrest represents however, is not the mere crushing of activities that are critical of the state. It represents something more sinister: that all critique and questioning of the state can be deemed subversive and anti-national. That all space for democratic dissent can be usurped by the state in the name of ‘Public Security.’ The way the state and the court has treated Dr. Binayak Sen shows that neither has any interest in returning his offer of critical engagement with anything other than suppression.

All these factors bring into focus the moral dimension of illegitimacy of Dr. Binayak Sen’s continued detention. We believe that in such a situation, where, Dr. Binayak Sen has repeatedly been denied the most fundamental of legal rights, it is our moral responsibility as citizens to protest his arrest and call for his release.

We demand immediate release of the doctor to the workers DR. BINAYAK SEN

Stop State Repression of Democratic Dissent

In solidarity,

  1. Kavita Srivastava (PUCL Rajasthan)
  2. Rajendra Sail (PUCL Chattisgarh)
  3. Sudha Bhardwaj (Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha)
  4. Ashim Roy (New Trade Union Initiative)
  5. Dunu Roy (Hazard Centre, New Delhi)
  6. N.B. Sarojini (Jan Swasthya Abhiyan)
  7. Anil Chaudhary (PEACE)
  8. Wilfred D’Costa (INSAF)
  9. Jibin R. (Delhi Forum)
  10. Vandana Prasad (PHRN)
  11. Satya Sivaraman (Journalist and documentary filmmaker)
  12. Dr. Mira Shiva (Initiative for Health, Equity & Society)
  13. Anjali (Sama – Resource Group for Women and Health)
  14. Apoorvanand (Delhi University)
  15. Indira Chakravarthi (Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health, JNU)
  16. Neha Wadhaw (JNU student)
  17. Anuradha Talwar (Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity)
  18. C. Sathyamala (Medico Friends Circle)
  19. Ramesh Sharma (Indian Social Action Forum-INSAF)
  20. Dr Amar Jesani (Mumbai)
  21. Ms Manisha Gupte (MFC, Pune)
  22. Dr Padmini Swaminathan (Professor, Madras Institute for Development Studies, Chennai)
  23. Padma Deosthali (CEHAT, Mumbai)
  24. Anand Patwardhan (Documentary Film Maker)
  25. S Srinivasan (LOCOST, Baroda)
  26. Renu Khanna (SAHAJ, Baroda)
  27. Neha Madiwalla (Mumbai)
  28. Centre for Studies in Ethics and Rights (Mumbai)
  29. Ponni Arasu (Bangalore)
  30. Manisha Gupte (MFC, Pune)
  31. Seema (JAGORI)
  32. K.J.Mukherjee ( School of Biotechnology, JNU, Delhi)
  33. Kalpana Mehta (Saheli)
  34. Prabir Chatterjee (MFC)
  35. Narendra Gupta (Prayas Chittorgarh)
  36. Harsh Mander
  37. JAGORI (Delhi)
  38. Sandhya Srinivasan (Independent Journalist, Mumbai)
  39. Dr. Abhay Shukla (Pune)
  40. Dr. Sunil Kaul (The Ant, Assam )
  41. Dr. Dhananjay Prabhakar Kakde (Pune)
  42. Dr. Dhruv Mankad (Nasik)
  43. Dr. S. Sridhar (MFC)
  44. Dr. Rajesh Mehta (People’s Health & Development Trust)
  45. Dr. Lakshmi Lingam, Mumbai
  46. ANTHRA (Hyderabad)
  47. YAKSHI (Hyderabad)
  48. Adivasi Aikya Vedika (Andhra Pradesh)
  49. Mritiunjoy Mohanty (Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta)
  50. Sushil Khanna (Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta)
  51. Radhika Chandiramani (TARSHI)
  52. Vividha (Jaipur)
  53. Pushkar Raj (National PUCL)
  54. Prabir Chatterjee
  55. Asmita Resource Center for Women
  56. Rajshri Das Gupta (Kolkata)
  57. Jyoti Punwani (Journalist, Mumbai)
  58. Bishakha Datta (Point of View)
  59. Sridhar (Jana Vignana Vedika, Andhra Pradesh)
  60. Sudha Vasan (Stree Adhikar Sangatan)
  61. Saheli (New Delhi)
  62. Rajbeer Pawar,Coordinator for Socialist Peasant Federation
  63. Vijay Pratap, National Convenor, Socialist Front
  64. Sanjeev Sane, National Convenor, Socialist Front
  65. Subhash Lomte, National Convenor, National Campaign Committee for Rural Workers
  66. Bhuwan Pathak, Convenor, Harit Swaraj Abhiyan
  67. Babulal Sharma, Chief Coordinator, Global Gandhi Forum
  68. Qurbaan Ali, Media Committee, Lohia Centenary Birth Celebrations
  69. Ghanshyam, JUDAV
  70. Anil Hegde
  71. Dr. Sunilam
  72. Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (Mazdoor Karyakarta Committee)
  73. Nadi Ghati Morcha
  74. Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Ekta Manch (Raigarh)
  75. Rupantar
  76. Chhattisgarh Mahila Jagriti Sangathan
  77. Jameen Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (Jashpur)
  78. Jan Swasthya Sahyog (Bilaspur)
  79. Vishthapan Virodhi Janmorcha (Bilaspur)
  80. Tribal Welfare Society, Chhattisgarh
  81. Communist Party of India, CPI Liberation
  82. Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (Pithora)
  83. CPI
  84. Raigarh Bachao Sangharsh Samiti
  85. Vanvasi Chetana Ashram (Dantewada)
  86. Baiga Mahapanchayat
  87. Ekta Parishad (Kanker)
  88. National Alliance of Womens Organisations (Chhattisgarh)
  89. NSAF (Chhattisgarh)

Alliances