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Statement by Academics and intellectuals on Dr. Binayak Sen judgment

27 December 2010

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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.

  1. Professor Prabhat Patnaik, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  2. Professor Noam Chomsky, MIT, Cambridge, Mass, USA
  3. Professor Amiya Kumar Bagchi, Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata
  4. Dr. Ashok Mitra, former Finance Minister, Govt of West Bengal
  5. Professor Akeel Bilgrami, Columbia University, New York, USA
  6. Professor Romila Thapar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  7. Dr Vina Mazumdar, National Research Professor, New Delhi
  8. Professor Jasodhara Bagchi, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
  9. Professor Utsa Patnaik, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  10. Professor Muchkund Dubey, former Secretary and Ambassador, Government of India
  11. Professor Partha Chatterjee, CSSS Kolkata
  12. Dr S.P. Shukla, former Member, Planning Commission, Government of India
  13. Professor C. P. Chandrasekhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  14. Professor T. Jayaraman, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
  15. Professor Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  16. Mr Sashi Kumar, Journalist and Educationist, Chennai
  17. Dr B. K. Chandrashekhar, former Minister, Karnataka, Bangalore
  18. Dr Vinod Raina, Educationist, New Delhi
  19. Ms Indira Chandrasekhar, Tulika Publishers, New Delhi
  20. Dr Mushirul Hasan, Director, National Archives of India
  21. Professor Mohan Rao, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  22. Professor Alok Rai, University of Delhi
  23. Dr. Praveen Jha, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  24. Professor Zoya Hasan, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  25. Dr Anita Raina, University of Delhi
  26. Dr. Vikas Rawal, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  27. Professor Malini Bhattacharya, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
  28. Ms Smita Gupta, Institute of Human Development, New Delhi
  29. Ms Githa Hariharan, Writer, New Delhi
  30. Professor Anuradha Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  31. Professor Mihir Bhattacharya, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
  32. Professor Kamal Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  33. Professor Aijaz Ahmad, New Delhi
  34. Professor Nivedita Menon, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  35. Dr. G. Arunima, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  36. Professor Neeladri Bhattacharya, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  37. Dr. Aditya Nigam, Centre for Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi
  38. Dr Chitra Joshi, University of Delhi
  39. Rahul Roy, Film maker
  40. Professor Vijay Prashad, University of Connecticut, USA
  41. Prof. Rajeev Bhargava, Centre for Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi
  42. Seema Mustafa, Journalist, New Delhi
  43. Prof. Achin Vanaik, University of Delhi
  44. Pamela Philippose, Journalist, New Delhi
  45. Fr Cedric Prakash, Director, PRASHANT, Ahmedabad
  46. Dr Partho Datta, University of Delhi
  47. Mr Prashant Bhushan, Lawyer, Delhi
  48. Professor Sumit Sarkar, formerly University of Delhi
  49. Professor Tanika Sarkar, Jawaharlal Nehru University
  50. Dr Himanshu, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  51. Dr Avinash Jha, University of Delhi
  52. Ms Teesta Setalvad, Mumbai
  53. Dr Badri Raina, University of Delhi
  54. Professor Sumangala Damodaran, Amedkar University, New Delhi
  55. Professor Nandini Sundar, University of Delhi
  56. Dr AJC Bose, University of Delhi
  57. Dr Parthapratim Pal, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
  58. Dr Saumyajit Bhattacharya, University of Delhi
  59. Mr Harsh Mander, Member National Advisory Council, Delhi
    60. Dr Rahul Roy, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi
  60. Professor Venkatesh Athreya, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai
  61. Professor Sushil Khanna, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
  62. Ms Dipa Sinha, Right to Food Campaign, New Delhi
  63. Dr Dilip Simeon, University of Delhi
  64. Ms Rajarshi Dasgupta, Kolkata
  65. Professor Surajit Mazumdar, ISID, New Delhi
  66. Mr Ankur Khanna, actor, Kolkata
  67. Mr Praful Bidwai, Journalist, New Delhi
  68. Dr Ayesha Kidwai, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  69. Mr Pradeep Magazine, Journalist, New Delhi
  70. Mr Indrajit Hazra, Journalist, Delhi
  71. Professor Tulsi Ram, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  72. Mr Vinod Sharma, Journalist, New Delhi
  73. Ms Radhika Menon, Tulika Books, Chennai
  74. Dr Neeraj Javed, University of Delhi
  75. Mr Asad Zaidi, Publisher, New Delhi
  76. Dr K. R. Nayar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  77. Mr Nasir Khan, New Delhi
  78. Dr Smitha Francis, Economic Research Foundation, New Delhi
  79. Dr Murali Kallummal, Centre for WTO Studies, New Delhi
  80. Ms Kamla Bhasin, Jagori, New Delhi
  81. Prabir Purkayastha, Delhi Science Forum, New Delhi