Mahasweta Devi to join mass sit-in for Binayak Sen’s release
January 18th, 2011 - 9:40 pm ICT by IANSKolkata, Jan 18 (IANS) Jnanpith award winning writer Mahasweta Devi and several other intellectuals will stage a mass sit-in demonstration here Thursday to demand the release of rights activist Binayak Sen and Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal.Eminent theatre personality Bivas Chakraborty, writer Tarun Sanyal, pro-Maoist activists and various civil rights groups will take part in the six-hour demonstration at Metro Channel in the city hub from 1 p.m.
Addressing the media, civil rights group Bandi Mukti Committee official Choton Das urged people to join the protest that will also demand release of other political prisoners.
“Dr. Sen who served humanity for long is languishing in jail. We cannot let that happen. We have been and will be demanding his release,” Das said.
Binayak Sen, Tarun Sanyal and Kolkata-based businessman Piyush Guha were sentenced to life imprisonment Dec 24 after being held guilty of sedition and criminal conspiracy by a Chhattisgarh court.
Human rights activist and secretary of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights Sujato Bhadra accused the Indian authorities of being fascist. “They have been acting in a tyrannical fashion. Whoever speaks against the powers-that-be is falsely implicated and put behind bars.”
“The condition of the tribals in the country is miserable. Whoever tries to help them and speaks for their cause is branded as a Maoist and arrested. This is not just confined to Bengal but also to other parts of the country. People should come up in large numbers to stop the tyrannical ways of the government,” Bhadra added.
- Prove my links with Maoists, Mahasweta Devi tells Buddhadeb - Jan 20, 2011
- This is not the change we wanted: Bengal intellectuals - Apr 17, 2012
- Rights activists hit out at Mamata - Mar 27, 2012
- Kishenji was killed in fake shootout: Mahasweta Devi - Feb 03, 2012
- Mahasweta Devi urges youth to support Binayak Sen - Feb 10, 2011
- Bengal Maoists ready for talks, says interlocutor - Sep 03, 2011
- Kolkata intellectuals to fight for Binayak Sen's release - Dec 27, 2010
- Maoist sympathisers doubt Mamata's commitment to peace talks - Oct 15, 2011
- Talks with Maoists will be fruitful, Binayak Sen asserts - Sep 08, 2011
- Intellectuals-Mamata honeymoon over? - Oct 21, 2011
- Peace initiative to continue, say Bengal interlocutors - Nov 19, 2011
- Dooars firing: Maoists call for shutdown Friday - Feb 10, 2011
- Mahasweta Devi slams cancellation of Taslima's book launch - Feb 04, 2012
- Mamata's Junglemahal package: Does it address main issues? - Jul 22, 2011
- Rights activist Binayak Sen convicted - Dec 24, 2010
Tags: activists, bengal, businessman, city hub, civil rights group, civil rights groups, criminal conspiracy, dec 24, democratic rights, human rights activist, ideologue, indian authorities, intellectuals, large numbers, life imprisonment, maoist, metro channel, political prisoners, sedition, tribals