Indian civil society was dismayed and horror-struck when human rights activist Dr Binayak Sen, who has spent over three decades caring for the poor in tribal areas of central India, was sentenced to life imprisonment for ‘sedition’ along with two others, Piyush Guha and Narayan Sanyal by a Raipur Sessions Court judge.  Protests are taking place everywhere in the country and the members of India’s vibrant civil society, peoples’ movements,...

“Conviction sets a dangerous trend for judiciary” It has ominous undertones: All-India Milli Council Three days after a Chhatisgarh court convicted Binayak Sen of treason and sedition, the sense of disbelief seems to be growing, with more and more members of the civil society joining in to protest the judgment and urging fellow citizens to start a campaign for the release of the paediatrician and civil rights activist. The voices were unanimous in...

Calling it a “fraudulent and politically-motivated judgment,” the Forum of Artists, Cultural Activists and Intellectuals condemned here on Monday the life imprisonment given to activist Binayak Sen by a court in Chhattisgarh and demanded his “unconditional release.” Dr. Sen, Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal and city-based businessman Pijush Guha were sentenced to life on December 24 by a Raipur sessions court, which found them guilty of criminal conspiracy to commit sedition under...

The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has termed the prosecution and conviction of human rights activist Binayak Sen on charges of sedition a blow to Democracy. “We are deeply disturbed by the judgment of the Raipur Additional District and Sessions Court, convicting Dr. Binayak Sen on charges of sedition, treason and conspiracy against the state and sentencing him to life imprisonment. We believe the trial of the eminent and committed human...

Thirty years ago, in an act I still feel guilty about, I woke up a very great Indian from his sleep. I was volunteering at a conference in New Delhi, and had been asked to fetch the Member of Parliament from Dhanbad, AK Roy, from his quarters in Vithalbhai Patel House. Roy, a labour leader legendary for his integrity and his wide range of reading, had been elected from the...