AWARDS TO THE PRISIONERS - UNEASINESS TO THE GOVERNMENTS

Binyak Sen, the doctor arrested by the police, had been awarded life term imprisonment by the Raipur district court, on the charge of sedition. The charges levied against him were that he was carrying leftist pamphlets and books in his bag, posessing Maoist related articles and documents in his laptop, and he met the Maoist leader in the prison for many times. Police also said that it found a letter that showed Sen’s links with the Maoist. He was accused of acting as a courier between a Kolkata based business man and Maoist leader Sanyal. In all, he was charged with treason, criminal conspiracy and waging war against the state.

After hearing this, I read some articles about him, to know who this man is. In his past, he worked with NGOs, campaigned against human rights violations, spread health awareness among tribes and also advocated for the upliftment of tribes . He also opposed the idea of forming Salwa judum. He asserted that Salwa judum was a tactic by the government to divide tribal people.

He received many awards in India and in foreign too. In 2004, he got Paul Harison award for life time service to the poor people in rural areas. In 2007, he got R.R.Keithan gold medal with the citation “eminent scientist.”

In 2008 he was selected for Jonnathan Mann award for global health and human rights. At that time he was under arrest. The Global Health Council, which selected Sen for the award, had requested Indian government to allow Sen to receive the award in USA. But the government denied permission and his wife received the award instead.

Similar to this, an incident happened in China which we all are well aware of.

The Nobel Prize for peace 2010 was awarded to Chinese activists Liu Xiaobo, who had been jailed for 11 years by the communist regime. He was also denied permission to receive the Prize. Chinese Foreign ministry spokesperson said,”Liu is a criminal who violated the laws.”

Both the detainees, Sen and Liu, are famous for their contributions for their contribution to the upliftment of downtrodden. Their works have been recognized worldwide. However, both the governments see them as culprits. I could not found any differences between Indian and Chinese government’s behaviors. Both the countries arrested the human rights activists on the charge of treason.

India did the same with Sen as China did to Liu!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Interestingly, India attended the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Oslo.

Why did India attend? Why? Why?...Does anyone know the answer…?

The Real Hero – Wael Ghonim

Wael Ghonim is a 30 years old man who was behind the successful Egyptian revolution. He is working as a marketing executive for Google, the search engine. Outside of office hours, he started a Facebook page that provided a platform for the revolution. The Facebook page ‘We all are Khaled Said’, named after a businessman who was beaten to death by the Egyptian police, was a pivotal cog of the recent revolution.

With a membership of around three lakhs, the page drove the revolution. The FB page apprised the Egyptians about the state atrocities. His page played an unprecedented role in organizing protests and rallies in different parts of Egypt. As a consequence of his actions, he was arrested and taken into police custody for 12 days.

After his release from the custody, Wael appeared on TV. His emotional appeals to the people in a TV interview inspired thousands of people to participate in the protest against government. Even though the revolution has been a leaderless movement, Wael could well be regarded as a silent leader.

On February 8, Wael spoke at Tahrir square, the heartland of Egyptian revolution. He appealed to the people to not give up their resistance against the government. After his public appearance, the protest gained momentum. More people started gathering at the square. Police and army failed to curb the increasing participation. Few were killed in clashes with police. Despite the threat from the state, people remained firm.

As a result, Egyptians successfully ousted years of aristocratic rule. They overthrew the tyrant government out of their land. President Hosini Mubarak resigned and handed over the power to the military. The military has assured the people, that it will bring democratic form of governance by conducting elections as soon as possible.

Wael said, “People who sacrificed their life for freedom are the heroes. I am not.”

“Egypt above all” says Wael, the 30 years old man who defeated 30 years old dictatorship.                

Indian MP Denied Entry in Sri Lanka

An Indian MP, Mr.Thirumavalavan, went to Sri Lanka to attend the funeral of Mrs.Parvathi Amma, Prabhakaran’s mother who died 3 days ago. But, he was stopped by officials at Colombo airport. They said that he cannot enter into Sri Lanka.

Mr. Thiruma asked officials the reason for the denial of permission. Senior officer replied that he cannot tell the specific reason for that and urged him to leave Sri Lanka by the same plane in which the MP arrived. Mr. Thiruma said he will leave Lanka only after officials tell him the reason. He also demanded officials to inform him the reason for the denial in a written letter. Mr.Thiruma also argued that he had been to Sri Lanka many times and said recently he came to Colombo along with 10 Indian MPs to examine the rehabilitation work which is going on there since Eelam war. That time Indian MPs met Sri Lankan president Mr.Rajapakse and discussed about the progress in rehabilitation works.

However, Sri Lankan officials did not respond and were very much keen on sending him back. After some hours of argument Mr.Thiruma left Colombo for India. After arriving in Chennai, he launched a protest along with hundreds of his party members in front of Sri Lankan High Commission. He said, “I am a member of Indian parliament. If Sri Lankan government didn’t want an ordinary Thiruma to enter, that is fine. They should have permitted MP Thiruma to enter. But it didn’t. It was a great insult to Indian government.” He urged the ministry of external affairs to condemn SL government’s disrespectful act.

My comments

Doesn’t Indian government feel that Sri Lankan government’s act should be condemned?

Indian government’s silence on the issue of Tamil Nadu fishermen being killed by SL Navy provoked the entire Tamilians. If New Delhi continues to remain silent then the Tamilians will start hating our federal set up to the core. To avoid this, the Indian government should act immediately.

If SL doesn’t stop attacking Tamil fishermen, India should reconsider its relationship with SL .

The government should also ensure the safety of Tamil Nadu fishermen while they are fishing on the sea which lies between India and SL.

Like the government felt that the act of security officers who checked an Indian ambassador at an airport in USA was insult to India, it should treat Mr.Thiruma incident as the same and must force SL government to apologize.