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...

While China has made great economic and social progress in recent years, land degradation and the widening income gap between rural and urban are posing challenges to ensuring the right to food for its population, says an independent United Nations Human Rights expert. “Within a few decades, China has been able to feed itself and to feed one fifth of the entire world population. That is really impressive. Yet, considering a...

Expressing shock over awarding of life sentence to rights activist Binayak Sen on charges of sedition, over 80 intellectuals including Noam Chomsky on Monday demanded that his appeal be heard "expeditiously" with "enlightened reason" and sought his immediate release on bail. They claimed that Sen never resorted to violence or incited anyone else to do so. On the contrary, as a doctor and a Human Rights activist he stood up in...

Expressing shock over awarding of life sentence to rights activist Binayak Sen on charges of sedition, over 80 intellectuals including, Noam Chomsky, today demanded that his appeal be heard 'expeditiously' with 'enlightened reason' and sought his immediate release on bail. They claimed that Sen never resorted to violence or incited anyone else to do so. On the contrary, as a doctor and a Human Rights activist he stood up in defence...