Victims of keeping red book

I know few people who have decorated their almirah with books related to Marx and communism and many similar books. Even I have read few of them.

Ironically, more than 100 people are in jail only for keeping such books in their possession. The draconian law has endangered their life for the very same crime, what a lot of us are doing in routine life. In an interview to The Hindu, Dr Binayak Sen has said, I realised while I was in prison is that there are hundred of people who are in exactly the same legal situation as I am. I fear that governments are using this law as a short cut to imprisoning people.”

According to the  definition of these governments, we could be imprisoned anytime and we are safe only till, we are not posing any threat to these cruel functionaries on any issue, be it a virtual one.

Though, the Apex Court of the country has given its verdict in the favour of Dr Sen, saying “We are a democratic country. If Gandhian literature is found on some one, it doesn’t make him a Gandhian. He may be a Naxal sympathiser but that doesn’t make him guilty of sedition”. The court also observed that possession of Naxal literature is not a proof of sedition. The court termed him sympathiser of Naxal movement, nothing beyond that.

This is good slap against the Chhattisgarh government and as usual it has said that it respects the decision. But, how could it justify the period of more than four months that Dr Sen has spent in prison.

Sometimes it comes to my mind, how two different bench of judges can give different verdicts, quoting same law. If any judge commits mistake, that could be proved turmoil for a person. Who is the responsible for such kind of behaviour? I am using the word mistake, but we all know it is not appropriate here. We feel that all decisions were taken under pressure of very aggressive Chhattisgarh government towards Naxal sympathiser.

I feel very sorry for those judges, who have not faced even a minor negative consequence of their wrong doing. It will result in the form of continuation of all those prisoned at present for similar the charges.

Arundhati Roy in an interview to a news channel said, “What happens is that it underlines the fact that Dr Sen was being made an example of; and the terror that reigns in Chhattisgarh remains so. Because, how many people have those lawyers? And have the ability to come to the Supreme Court? How many people are there poor, unnamed and named, under the very same laws for even less reasons? But they cannot come up and get bail. In some ways, it is a very necessary thing that has happened today. And in other ways it is worrying because we have so many people who don't have access to the Supreme Court.”

  

So, who is going to fight for those imprisoned for keeping only red books (symbolic)? Many Nobel awardees people have signed in the favour of Dr Sen to put pressure on the government. There was some campaign in a section of media also to consolidate the pro-Sen movement. Even after all these efforts, the State government was not ready to melt at any cost. What about those, who cannot represent themselves on fore or even, come in the scene!