Statement
by Academics on Dr. Binayak Sen judgment
We are deeply
shocked by the judgment of a Chhattisgarh court holding the human rights
activist Dr. Binayak Sen to be guilty of sedition, and sentencing him to
life imprisonment.
Dr. Binayak
Sen never resorted to violence against any other person, never incited
anyone else to resort to violence, never entered into any conspiracy against
the Constitutional order of the country, and never entered into regular
service of any organisation that was involved in any such conspiracy, for
furthering its cause. On the contrary, as a doctor he served the people with
devotion and helped to save many lives; as a human rights activist he stood
up in defence of the rights of the downtrodden. And yet he has been handed
down this sentence whose savagery is unbelievable.
Such an
action on the part of the State in the name of preserving the Constitutional
order will only serve to undermine that Constitutional order itself. It will
inevitably raise the thought in the minds of many that an order within which
the activities of a person like Dr. Sen can be held to be “seditious” is not
worth defending.
Such an
impression must be avoided. The damage done by this shocking verdict to our
Constitutional order must be undone. The higher judiciary of the country
must hear his appeal expeditiously, must grant him immediate bail till the
end of the appeal process, and must judge his case with enlightened reason.
Professor
Prabhat Patnaik, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Professor
Noam Chomsky, MIT, Cambridge, Mass, USA
Professor
Amiya Kumar Bagchi, Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata
Dr. Ashok
Mitra, former Finance Minister, Govt of West Bengal
Professor
Akeel Bilgrami, Columbia University, New York, USA
Professor
Romila Thapar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Dr Vina
Mazumdar, National Research Professor, New Delhi
Professor
Jasodhara Bagchi, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
Professor
Utsa Patnaik, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Professor Muchkund Dubey,
former Secretary and Ambassador, Government of India
Professor Partha
Chatterjee, CSSS Kolkata
Dr S.P. Shukla, former
Member, Planning Commission, Government of India
Professor
C. P. Chandrasekhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Professor
T. Jayaraman, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Professor
Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Mr Sashi
Kumar, Journalist and Educationist, Chennai
Dr B. K.
Chandrashekhar, former Minister, Karnataka, Bangalore
Dr Vinod
Raina, Educationist, New Delhi
Ms Indira
Chandrasekhar, Tulika Publishers, New Delhi
Dr Mushirul
Hasan, Director, National Archives of India
Professor
Mohan Rao, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Professor
Alok Rai, University of Delhi
Dr. Praveen
Jha, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Professor
Zoya Hasan, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Dr Anita
Raina, University of Delhi
Dr. Vikas
Rawal, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Professor
Malini Bhattacharya, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
Ms Smita
Gupta, Institute of Human Development, New Delhi
Ms Githa
Hariharan, Writer, New Delhi
Professor
Anuradha Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Professor
Mihir Bhattacharya, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
Professor
Kamal Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Professor
Aijaz Ahmad, New Delhi
Professor
Nivedita Menon, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Dr. G.
Arunima, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Professor
Neeladri Bhattacharya, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Dr. Aditya
Nigam, Centre for Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi
Dr Chitra
Joshi, University of Delhi
Rahul Roy,
Film maker
Professor
Vijay Prashad, University of Connecticut, USA
Prof. Rajeev Bhargava,
Centre for Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi
Seema Mustafa,
Journalist, New Delhi
Prof. Achin Vanaik,
University of Delhi
Pamela Philippose,
Journalist, New Delhi
Fr Cedric Prakash,
Director, PRASHANT, Ahmedabad
Dr Partho
Datta, University of Delhi
Mr Prashant
Bhushan, Lawyer, Delhi
Professor
Sumit Sarkar, formerly University of Delhi
Professor
Tanika Sarkar, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Dr Himanshu,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Dr Avinash
Jha, University of Delhi
Ms Teesta
Setalvad, Mumbai
Dr Badri
Raina, University of Delhi
Professor
Sumangala Damodaran, Amedkar University, New Delhi
Professor
Nandini Sundar, University of Delhi
Dr AJC
Bose, University of Delhi
Dr
Parthapratim Pal, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
Dr
Saumyajit Bhattacharya, University of Delhi
Mr Harsh
Mander, Member National Advisory Council, Delhi
Dr Rahul
Roy, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi
Professor
Venkatesh Athreya, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai
Professor
Sushil Khanna, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
Ms Dipa
Sinha, Right to Food Campaign, New Delhi
Dr Dilip
Simeon, University of Delhi
Ms Rajarshi
Dasgupta, Kolkata
Professor
Surajit Mazumdar, ISID, New Delhi
Mr Ankur
Khanna, actor, Kolkata
Mr Praful
Bidwai, Journalist, New Delhi
Dr Ayesha
Kidwai, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Mr Pradeep
Magazine, Journalist, New Delhi
Mr Indrajit
Hazra, Journalist, Delhi
Professor
Tulsi Ram, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Mr Vinod
Sharma, Journalist, New Delhi
Ms Radhika
Menon, Tulika Books, Chennai
Dr Neeraj
Javed, University of Delhi
Mr Asad
Zaidi, Publisher, New Delhi
Dr K. R.
Nayar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Mr Nasir
Khan, New Delhi
Dr Smitha
Francis, Economic Research Foundation, New Delhi
Dr Murali
Kallummal, Centre for WTO Studies, New Delhi
Ms Kamla
Bhasin, Jagori, New Delhi
Prabir
Purkayastha, Delhi Science Forum, New Delhi