The entire collection of Indian (and some non Indians as well) leftist liberals is up in the arms about the conviction and sentencing of Maoist sympathizer and seditionist Binayak Sen. One thing I would like to say about these guys. They are united the world over. They sympathize with causes without understanding what is at stake! I had the pleasure of visiting a tea plantation in WB long time ago. While going through a very small town called Phalakata, I saw a banner painted on the wall. It was a very large banner, appealing for the release of “non-white activist Mumia Abu Jamal”. Upon some research, I found out that Abu Jamal was convicted of killing a young police officer in the American city of Philadelphia. I seriously doubt that most people living in that town would have known about Philadelphia (It’s not New York or LA), let alone a convicted murderer from there. People who painted it did it without knowing anything about the cause. Binayak Sen’s help for the Maoists was not due to his desire to help the poor although it may have started that way. There are ways to help the poor without a gun or proposing sedition. It is done all over the place. Binayak Sen himself was doing so! However, for a lot of people (including Sen after he lost his way), the excuse of help is just that- an excuse. The real agenda is their intense hatred for the laws of the land, establishment and anything that is against their vision. Religion and nationalism are favorite subject for their scorn. For them, all this is a perverted sport. Either they do not care about who gets hurt or they do not care. The bodies of sixty plus policemen wasn’t even cold yet and Medha Patkar and Sandeep Pandey were in Jharkhand voicing their support for the Maoists.
As Mr. Kanchan Gupta says in his excellent article – “Scornful repudiation of the authority of the state and the legitimacy of Parliament, in a sense, has become the leitmotif of the Left-liberal intelligentsia’s immoral defence of Maoists, terrorists and separatists: We do not accept the rule of law, hence neither we nor those whom we speak for can be accused of violating the law. Sophistry separates this from the crudity with which those waging war on the state articulate their purpose. For example, the Maoists are waging war on the state not to defend tribal rights but to supplant democracy with totalitarian rule; for them their defenders and facilitators in the media and among the intelligentsia are “useful idiots, but idiots nonetheless”.
He then goes onto say-“A fair assessment of the curious case of Binayak Sen would be incomplete without mentioning his admirable efforts to take healthcare to the poor, impoverished tribals of Chhattisgarh. Undoubtedly, Rupantar, set up by him and his wife Elina, has done remarkable work. Not many alumni of Christian Medical College in Vellore would give up lucrative careers at home and abroad to tend to the sick and the suffering in the interiors of Bastar. But somewhere along the line, the healer became an ideologue and a partisan in Chhattisgarh’s war against Maoists, choosing to align with Left extremism over apolitical humanism.”
That is the tragedy with some of the leftists. They start out by doing the right thing. Sandeep Pandey started off with his admirable efforts with ASHA. I used to donate money to his organization. He also left a rather comfortable position of a professor at IIT Kanpur. But somewhere along the way, their focus changes and they start to believe in their legend rather than the cause. At least Sen and Pandey started on the right path and lost their way. Most others are just publicity hungry minor celebrities for whom activism becomes a way of cheap publicity and staying relevant. What happens is that when usual cheap tricks fail to garner support, their rhetoric becomes more and more shrill; the activities start bordering on criminal. At this stage most of them find themselves espousing anti-national causes including sedition.
As. Mr. Gupta says, at least the state gave Sen a chance to defend himself. The Maoist kangaroo courts live by the “my way or the bullet” law!
As. Mr. Gupta says, at least the state gave Sen a chance to defend himself. The Maoist kangaroo courts live by the “my way or the bullet” law!
Sen has been sentenced but there are equally big if not bigger seditionists in the country. Unfortunately, they belong to the minority community and thus are untouchable in the rule of the current administration. A detained Imam Abdul Lone has confessed that Syed Ali Shah Gilani paid money (Rs. 400 per youngster) to pelt stones. This Gilani is a known seditionist last seen in New Delhi sharing the stage with Arundhati Roy. Lone’s confessions establishes what has been suspected all along that this was no intifada but work of anti Indian / pro Pakistani terrorists. Think about it. One small act of crime and a small amount of money from Gilani ended up with more than 100 J&K youngsters dead (I am not even going to mention the causalities on the defense and police side to prove a point to the sane J&K Muslims-at least take care of your own!!). Binayak Sen’s sentencing is the first step. Until people like Arundhati Roy and Gilani are out their unpunished, we should not celebrate.
The Kanchan Gupta article can be read at: http://www.dailypioneer.com/306255/Spurious-protests-over-Binayak-Sen.html
The Gilani article can be read at: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/hurrriyat-paid-youth-to-pelt-stones-imam/20101227.htm
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