India Sentences Doctor to Life for Aiding Rebels

[BOG PERSON]

Source: New York Times

NEW DELHI — In a ruling that outraged human rights advocates, an Indian court on Friday sentenced a doctor to life imprisonment on charges that he committed sedition by aiding Maoist rebels in rural India.

The case of Binayak Sen, 60, had attracted international attention when 12 Nobel laureates wrote to Indian leaders asking that he be released from jail as he awaited trial.

The court in the state of Chhattisgarh convicted him on Friday on two counts of sedition and conspiracy while finding him innocent of a third charge of waging war against the state.

Dr. Sen, a well known figure in Chattisgarh, had provided treatment to poor people in the state since 1981. “This is completely irresponsible,” said his wife, Elina Sen, during an interview on NDTV, a news channel. “There was not a single piece of evidence against him.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/25/world/asia/25india.html

[David__77]

1. There is strong support for the Maoists among the poor and the middle classes in eastern India.

The charges against Binayak Sen are a farce, and everyone knows it. They are trying to scare people into not even criticizing the state's war against the poor farmers and tribals of India. It is little wonder that many thousands leave their villages to join the Maoist army. And this won't work either, terrorizing intellectuals: they'll simply leave the cities and join the rebel army as well.

[Dhalgren]

2. The stronger the Maoist rebels become the better.

Folks all over are beginning to stand up and say "We do not consent!" The more who do the better the future will look...

[CJvR]

3. Yeah sure...

...Maoism is clearly the wave of the future, The Great Leap Backwards and the Cultural Massacre shining examples for everyone to emulate.

[Dhalgren]

4. Well, at least we agree on the essentials!

But in all seriousness, I would not seek you out to discuss leftism, so let's leave it at that...

[Vehl]

6. Mao's version of "leftism" was hardly "leftist" as we know it

We all know what Maoism did(does) to the people of Tibet and those who live in whats now known as western China..don't we?

imho its folly to assume that Maoism = socialism. it definitely is not...it has a heavy dose of expansionism, and ethnic imperialism against the minorities ingrained within it.

The last thing those with legitimate grievances in India need to associate themselves with is the philosophy of a person whose rule resulted in the death of at least 40 million of his own countrymen/women.....and lets not even get into the irreparable damage done to Chinese culture and traditions as a whole. The end result of Mao's "version" of Leftism is a country of "yes men"...those who oppose this end in jail or worse. The recent row over the Nobel is a prime example.

Im one who supports socialist policies...but not at the expense of a democratic form of government, or fundamental human rights.

Let us make distinctions, and call things by their right names.

cheers :)

[David__77]

9. This is my view.

You say "Im one who supports socialist policies...but not at the expense of a democratic form of government, or fundamental human rights."

I say "I'm one who supports democratic governance...but not at the expense of social justice, or fundamental human rights."

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. Not really. The stronger maoists become indicates just how much India is ignoring it's poor

And India will quell a real rebellion with no compunctions.

[cosmicone]

5. There is little support for the maoists as a % of the population

Maoists are simply a front for Chinese and Pakistani intelligence agencies to try to destabilize India. All the weapons and funds come from Pakistan or China via Pakistan.

Some politicians use the maoists but when their use is over or if they become a major headache, India will eradicate them easily.

[BOG PERSON]

7. you have zero credibility when it comes to anything that's india-related

just thought you should be made aware of that, in case you weren't

[cosmicone]

10. Well, I maintain a second residence in India

and manage 3 subsidiaries in three different cities there. I visit India about every 6 weeks and get first hand knowledge from local politicians, business leaders and people on the street.

Just because you don't agree with me doesn't mean *I* lack credibility.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6165720.stm

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/dawood-isi-trying-to-involve-maoists-in-terror-44242

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_isi-has-managed-to-bolster-maoist-activities_1423201

http://www.chowk.com/Views/Raped-Maoist-Quits-Revolution

http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers16%5Cpaper1565.html

http://www.indiandefencereview.com/IDR-Updates/Maoists--Chinas--Proxy-Soldiers.html

Maoists are nothing but a bunch of paid thugs recruited by China and Pakistan. They commit atrocities daily on the population they are supposed to represent, such as rapes, murders, pedophilia and drug distribution.

It is amazing that some on DU would support any leftist-sounding movement regardless of how heinous and atrocious it may be.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cosmicone]

15. Ad hominum attacks are evidence of a

complete lack of logical arguments.

[BOG PERSON]

18. it's not an ad hominem attack

you do have a habit of lying. it is not my job to enumerate every instance you have lied in this forum; i will point at least that you are lying about maoists receiving outside funding or training and the US state department also confirms this

[cosmicone]

19. Your link states they are "not dependent" on foreign aid..

it doesn't say "they don't receive foreign aid." I posted several links, including one from BBC that shows Pakistani involvement in nurturing the maoists, yet you chose to ignore those links.

[BOG PERSON]

20. more lies

for example, that bbc report you posted was about nepal, which is not india

[cosmicone]

21. It is also about India

and what about all the other links?

Everything you dislike to read is not a lie. Nevertheless, your personal hatred of India is now quite transparent.

[David__77]

8. The same was said of the Chinese communists in the 1930s.

They said the "communist bandits" could be wiped out easily, and that they only survived because local warlords could be played against one another. Well, the fact that the Indian state is in such disarray that the Maoists could emerge, is testament to the fact that conditions are at least somewhat ripe for revolution - in the south and west, in particular.

Revolutionaries always take full advantage of geopolitical divisions to further their cause - Lenin did it with Germany, for instance. As a percent of the population, the Maoist support is indeed small, but that is little matter. Most of the people are apathetic and depoliticized and do not matter right now. Only the politicized poles at both ends of the spectrum matter.

[cosmicone]

11. India is not like the 1930's China

comparing the two is far from realistic. India is a multi-party democracy with an independent judiciary. If the maoists want to change the government, they can run for elections, an option not available in China.

[David__77]

12. Of course they are different. I didn't say they were the same.

But the fact that elections are an option matters little to the question of the viability of the Maoist movement. CPM rules in two states, but there was no social transformation as promised, because there are other forces ensuring the continuation of the old order. The poor farmers and tribals sense this, and so they do not engage in electioneering, but join the fight of groups like People's Committee Against Police Atrocities, seizing political power at the grass roots. We'll see how it plays out.

[cosmicone]

14. Actually, CPM now rules in only one state

and those are not the states where the maoists are strong. The maoists thrive in poor states where the money they can provide the ignorants works. Maoists will not be able to get any traction in the more advanced and prosperous or upwardly mobile states at all.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. India's human rights record is pretty shitty.