Special Article (from The Statesman, 19 May, 2009)
Democracy at stake
The Prolonged And Unjustified Imprisonment Of Dr Binayak Sen
By Bharat Dogra
There is much in Indian democracy that we can justifiably be proud of. Yet on occasion, the authorities betray an obstinate tendency towards ruthless and revengeful injustice against social activists and movements. This undermines, even stigmatises, democracy. Quite often this is the outcome of intense prejudice, poor investigation and failure of governance. The crisis gets prolonged as justice is denied because the government refuses to acknowledge that its initial decision was distorted. That initial blunder is compounded when the administration makes it an issue of false prestige. This intensifies the agony of the victims, and makes a mockery of the basic tenets of democracy. There ought to be a system of checks and balances before it is too late.
It is this intrinsic ability of democracy that is at stake in the case of the prolonged and unjustified imprisonment of Dr Binayak Sen, a highly accomplished doctor devoted to serving the poor, and one who doubled as a fearless human rights activist. Accused of such flimsy charges as carrying letters from an alleged Naxalite prisoner, Dr. Sen has been in jail for two years despite relentless protests by civil society and organisations as well as appeals for his release by eminent personalities the world over.
As many as 22 Nobel prize winners have signed a public statement describing Dr. Sen as a ‘professional colleague’ and asked for his release. A satyagraha was organised in Raipur , the place of his incarceration, where many citizens, including eminent social activists and professionals, have offered arrest.
Worked for the poor
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, dated April 17, 2009, a former Supreme Court judge, V.R. Krishna Iyer, has examined the nature of the injustice this accomplished paediatrician has been suffering. Justice Krishna Iyer wrote: “The trial of Dr. Sen, which began in a Raipur Sessions Court in late April 2008 has, however, not thrown up even a shred of evidence to justify any of these charges against him. By March 2009, of the 83 witnesses listed for deposition by the prosecution as part of the original charge-sheet, 16 were dropped by the prosecutors themselves and six declared ‘hostile’ while 61 others have deposed without corroborating any of the accusations against Dr. Sen. Irrespective of the merits of the case against Dr. Sen, there are very disturbing aspects to the way the trial process has been carried out so far.” The former CJI has described it as “a case of grave injustice which is a cause of much shame to Indian democracy.”
At a more personal level, I had the good fortune of seeing Dr. Sen in action. He has worked for the weaker sections for nearly three decades. In 1980, a health programme for Chhattisgarh’s iron ore miners was launched under the leadership of the legendary trade union leader, Shankar Guha Niyogi. Dr. Sen and other highly qualified doctors had come to this part of undivided Madhya Pradesh. They had given up their lucrative careers in medicine to provide health care to iron ore miners and villagers in general. It was a challenging period to work in. The miners had started donating from their meagre salaries to build a ‘Shaheed hospital’ which would serve villagers who were poorer still. While awaiting its construction, Dr. Sen and other doctors had started providing their services from the union office.
I recall seeing a long queue of patients. During subsequent visits, I noticed how conscientiously the medical team and the volunteers had worked to make the “Shaheed hospital” one of the better healthcare centres in the region. It was a hospital built by workers; it functioned so well that patients came from places hundreds of kilometres away. They avoided the government and private hospitals, located much nearer their homes. The hospital was a dream come true, a wonder of sorts that drew health activists from all over the country.
The medical team had to attend to a large number of patients each day. Yet there was time to join the relief effort in the event of a flood or earthquake. Yet there was time to help the victims of the Bhopal gas leak tragedy – the world’s worst environmental disaster (December 1984).
Subsequently, Dr. Binayak Sen and his wife, Ilina, started a voluntary organisation, called ‘Rupantar’. It was based in Raipur . Dr Sen would regularly visit the remote tribal villages to work in the public health segment. One major challenge was to set up village-based laboratory facilities so that serious cases of malaria could promptly be diagnosed. Dr. Sen’s success in this venture as well as his other initiatives were widely applauded in health circles. Besides, he provided healthcare services free of charge in the workers’ bastis of Raipur .
I was struck no less by Dr. Sen’s deep interest in several other areas of development, notably the promotion of traditional varieties of seeds. In the context of his future activities, he once mentioned his interest in an altogether different subject – solid waste management.
Uncompromising stand
It wasn’t surprising that a person of such diverse interests and deep commitment became so closely involved with the human rights movement as well. He took an uncompromising and highly critical position towards certain aspects of the functioning of the government. This obviously antagonised the powerful lobbies within the state government. The climax was reached when the situation in the predominantly Maoist tribal belt deteriorated rapidly. Dr. Sen emerged as a firm critic of the government’s controversial strategy.
The truth of the matter is that the increasing distress of the people was caused partly by the Naxalites, partly by the government’s policies and partly by the projects which were resulting in large-scale displacement and destruction of sustainable livelihood.
Even if the government completely disagreed with Dr. Sen’s position, it could well have challenged his views and asserted its own position in a far more forceful manner. Far from it. Instead, the state took recourse to the thoroughly unjustified step – the doctor was arrested.
This decision to arrest Dr Binayak Sen was taken in the face of widespread opposition. The government has been equally obstinate in refusing to admit its original mistake. This has deepened the agony of a distinguished doctor and his family. It is high time the government responded to the demand for his release. And over the past two years, that demand has become more and more strident both in India and abroad.
