Founding Editor: Daya Varma (1929-2015)
Editors: Vinod Mubayi (New York) and Raza Mir (New Jersey).
Editorial Board: Ram Puniyani and Irfan Engineer (Mumbai); Pervez Hoodbhoy (Islamabad); Dolores Chew (Montreal); Vamsi Vakulabharanam (Amherst); Ajay Bhardwaj (Vancouver).
Circulation/website: Feroz Mehdi (On behalf of Alternatives, Montreal).
Hopefully the New Year would be better than the last one!
A LAND OF POVERTY GOVERNED BY POLICE AND JUDGES
Daya Varma and Vinod Mubayi
India impresses visitors and its residents differently. Despite evidence of modern development, what is still unique about India is the pervasiveness of corruption, poverty, police atrocities, a reliance on judges for exercising executive functions, as well as a steady march of majority religious symbols into what were hitherto secular spaces.
BINAYAK SEN, THE STATE AND THE COURTS
Dr. Binayak Sen is a devoted paediatrician and human rights activist. He was particularly concerned with the health and social status of Adivasis in Chhattisgarh, the Indian state ruled by the Hindu chauvinist party Bhartiya Janata Dal (BJP); the area is also a hotbed of Maoist activity. He was unjustly arrested a few years ago for allegedly supporting Maoists; after incarceration he was released on bail. His case came up for trial and the court found him guilty of sedition. He has now been sentenced to life imprisonment. There is an outcry against this unjust sentencing of Sen. Read the following articles – Editors
FINAL STATEMENT OF BINAYAK SEN
I am a trained medical doctor with a specialization in child health. I completed my MBBS from the Christian Medical College, Vellore in 1972, and completed studies leading to the award of the degree of MD (Pediatrics) of the Madras University, from the same institution in 1976. After this, I joined the faculty of the Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and worked there for two years, before leaving to join a field based health program at the Friends Rural Centre, Rasulia in Hoshangabad, MP. During the two years I worked there, I worked intensively in the diagnosis and treatment of Tuberculosis and understood many of the social and economic causes of disease. I was also strongly influenced by the work of Marjorie Sykes, the biographer of Mahatma Gandhi, who lived at the Rasulia centre at that time.
BINAYAK CONVICTED – SENTENCE STILL TO BE PRONOUNCED
Kavita Srivastava
By now you all must have got to know about the conviction of Dr. Binayak Sen u/s of 120(B), 124(A) of the IPC and 1,2,3,5, Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and Sec 39 (2) of the UAPA (2004 amended).
SEDITION DECISION ‘MISUSE’ OF LAWS
Amartya Sen
I am very upset about the court decision in Chhattisgarh about Binayak Sen. It is a huge perversion of our system of justice, and particularly of the laws concerning sedition. It’s not at all clear, to start with, that the thing he has been exactly accused of — of passing letters — has been really proved beyond doubt.
PRESS RELEASE BY PUCL ON DR. BINAYAK SEN’S CONVICTION
Delhi/ Raipur (24th December, 2010)
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties is deeply disappointed at the miscarriage of justice reflected in the judgement of Raipur Additional District and Sessions Judge B. P Verma sentencing our National Vice President Dr. Binayak Sen to life imprisonment under charges of sedition 124 (A) of the IPC read with conspiracy (120-B IPC) along with convicting him concurrently u/s 8-(1), (2), (3) and (5) of the Chhattisgarh Vishesh Jan Suraksha Adhiniyam,2005 (Chhattisgarh Special Public Safety Act, 2005) and u/sec 39 (2) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 2004 (amended).
INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND COMMUNALISM
Ram Puniyani
Although Indian National Congress which led the struggle for India’s independence is a secular party, it has failed to live up to its ideals more than once. The article below gives a good account of failings and accomplishments of Congress as far as communalism is concerned.
REPORT OF A SYMPOSIUM ON AYODHYA JUDGMENT
Teesta Setalvad
The September 30 2010 verdict in the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi case, that began as a dispute over a title suit but escalated into a full blown politico-religious conflict— one that legitimized the criminal assault on a 450 plus year old mosque as also targeted minority life and property— has raised serious issues for the future of Indian democracy given the fact that the verdict was disproportionately based on issues of contested faith and disputed histories.
FOR A PROGRESSIVE PAKISTAN, AGAINST THEOCRACY, FOR PLURALISM, FOR EQUALITY & JUSTICE
(Source: Association for Communal Harmony in Asia, December 25, 2010)
AKA & LEGAL FRATERNITIES OF INDIA, PAKISTAN JOIN HANDS FOR PEACE
Aman Ki Asha
(Source: Association for Communal Harmony in Asia, December 25, 2010)
SOLIDARITY CARAVAN FROM INDIA TO PALESTINE
Gautam Mody
A solidarity Caravan composed of delegates from several Asian countries left New Delhi on 2 December and is expected to reaching Gaza on December 27, 2010. While so far the Caravan has received rousing reception from India to Syria, the clash point near Gaza still has to come.
DO SUPPORTERS OF NOBEL WINNER LIU XIAOBO REALLY KNOW WHAT HE STANDS FOR?
Barry Sautman and Yan Hairong
While opposing jailing of 2010 Peace Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo by the Chinese authorities, the author of the article castigates both the Nobel Committee for its arbitrariness and the recipient of the Prize for his war-mongering and anti-China position.
RUSSIA HAILS U.S. SENATE’S RATIFICATION OF NEW START
(Circulated by Sukla Sen)
Moscow, December 23, 2010 (Xinhua) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev welcomed
the ratification of the new Russia-U.S. strategic arms reduction treaty (START) by the U.S. Senate, said the Russian presidential press secretary.
DEMOCRACY WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS
Sam Noumoff
China is at a critical stage with respect to democracy and human rights. We are producing this article by a well-known China observer because of the importance of this question, the outcome of which is bound to have significant effect not only in China but in the entire Asia and the world.
OBITUARY: BHAGWAN DAS: 1927-2010
Vijay Prashad
Bhagwan Das (The historian of ‘his people’). His life was given over to the fight against caste and untouchability, and towards the promotion of Buddhism.
OBITUARY: CATHERINE POTTER: 1957-2010
The accomplished Montreal-based Basuri player Catherine Potter, a student of Hariprashad Chaurasia, was a part of CERAS and Kabir Cultural Center and a friend of South Asia. She used to participate in activities of these organization and had volunteered for fund raising to help Pakistan flood victims. In her death, the South Asian community lost a friend and supporter. We produce an Obit written for the local news paper Gazette. Another lengthier Obit written by Philip Fine of Montreal was published in the Canadian national newspaper Globe and Mail of December 23, 2010. Ed.
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