Free Dr. Binayak Sen!

Right. Lets get it out.

On Christmas eve a court in central India sentenced Dr. Binayak Sen to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of "sedition".

In a land which a certain Trinidadian Nobel Laureate has called a land of a 'million mutinies' - this judgement has sent a chill that is deeper than the winter cold we are facing across the country.

Dr. Sen is a man known for his courageous voice - and years of service. One may not always be comfortable with the particular policitical flavour that that his life has been lived in - but as the vice president of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties - arguably the most prominent national human rights organisation in India - he has been at the forefront of speaking out against injustices big and small.

So what has convinced the hon'ble judge that Dr. Sen is a threat to the state? Sedition by definition is a serious offence - one where the acts of the perpetrator threaten the very core of a nation.

This is what seems to be the rub.

Living in Chhatisgarh - Dr. Sen has seen first-hand the anti-Maoist 'Salva Judum' movement. It is no secret that we are in the midst of a low-level civil war with large portions of central India being contested between ultra-maoist groups (often called 'Naxalites') and the various security agencies that 'bear the sword.'

What is creepy is how similar to our erst-while colonial masters the current representatives of the state are in large tracts of our country. The power still rests with the district magistrate. The local police outpost is still a place where people fear. The forest and mineral resources are still largely exploited by large entities that have very little to do with building genuine local wealth - and all to to with people far away becoming very rich.

Dr. Sen has dared to speak up - publicly and consistently - against the excesses of various state enforcement agencies. That seems to have been enough to brand him an enemy - and to hand down a judgement that baffles the mind.

In a land where we have a miserable conviction rate - some figures talk about less than 10% of serious crimes leading to convictions - we have the opposite in the case of Dr. Sen. The court bending over backwards to put a brave voice behind bars. For life.

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So what is anyone going to do about the plight of Dr. Binayak Sen?

Having already served 2 years in prison before finally being set free earlier this year - Dr. Sen looks set for another lengthy spell in our prison setup.

Friends in the Free Binayak Sen Campaign have started up their support. Voices are heard in the press. Questions are asked as to why Christians are not speaking up? An on-line petition has been started - which can be accessed by clicking: here

Our fervent prayers are that God will show our nation to be a place where justice does prevail - and where the innocent are not lumped with the guilty - while the swindlers go scot-free. The fact that this 'conviction' has taken place in a season where every day the newspapers trumpet another mind-bogglingly large scam adds bile.

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This morning I stopped in a bank - and was talking with the person at the counter about my work. The young man looked at me whistfully and told me that he had earlier joined the communist party in his home state of Andhra Pradesh. There we were - seated opposite each other in a swish new-age branch of a leading private bank - and the man was telling me of his past as a community activist. Why did he leave that and why was he here in Thane? Family problems (code word for - money needs to be earned - obligations to be met).

To most of our countrymen - the plight of Dr. Sen is an afterthought. Life is tough and we need to survive. Few will have ever even heard of him.

To many of our more privileged countrymen - Dr. Sen is at best a slight embarassment and at worst a dangerous subversive who ought to be locked up anyway.

To an small minority of us Dr. Sen represents the best our country has to offer - a man who had the world at his feet having graduated from CMC Vellore - but who chose to live out his life among the poor - and challenge the portals of power that have so long ruled (and continue to rule) our dear land.

The fact that Dr. Sen has been linked to a group of people who are themselves wreaking havoc in the name of a people's revolution does not take away from the travesty of justice that is being carried out against him.

Dr. Sen's imprisonment has weakened the very fabric of our nation. His arrest threatens you and me. This terrible decision must not be allowed to stand.

There can be no other word than this: Free Dr. Binayak Sen!