मैं जिन्दगी का साथ निभाता चला गया

हर चेहरे में छुपा है कई और चेहरा !
जिसको भी देखना है कई बार देखिए !!
(Every face has embedded many faces in itself…
Whoever you see, see time and again…)
I don’t know in what mood poet Nida Fazli had written these lines but now-a-day’s its very much relevant in the case of Binayak Sen. He has been sentenced life time imprisonment by the Raipur session court, and after that a outrage has broke out in Indian and foreign media and in intellectual class across the world. He has been portrayed as hero and victim of human rights activism. As many as 40 noble laureates including Noam Chomsky and Amartya Sen are openly supporting him against the verdict of court.
Now let me tell you, a little about Dr. Binayak Sen. He has different faces, all portrayed by the media. Sometimes ‘Doctor’ Binayak Sen , sometimes ‘Conspirator’ Binayak Sen. Sometimes ‘Social Activist’ Binayak Sen, sometimes ‘Maoist’ Binayak Sen. Sometimes ‘Philanthropist’ Binayak Sen who is serving tribal population of Chhattisgarh, and sometimes ‘Extremist’ Binayak Sen who is helping naxlites.
The honorable court has found him guilty of seditious activities. But this can’t be the end of the story of a person, who has been internationally acknowledged for his works. He has done a lot for the tribal community of Chhattisgarh state. He has helped in opening a hospital in the almost impossible area of the same state. All this prove him a good citizen of India.
Another area where Binayak Sen is working is promotion of civil liberties. He is the national vice-chairmen of Peoples Union of Civil Liberties. He opposed the policy of state government to use the tribal people against the Maoist in the name of Salva Judum. His supporter says he is the victim of the same work.
The prosecution of government says there is enough of evidence to prove his involvement in unlawful activities. He met 33 times Narayan Sanyal, a naxel leader, in Bilaspur jail. He was working as a courier person between Sanyal and CPI Maoist. Naxal literature, eight CDs containing objectionable talks has been seized from his house. A naxalite leader of Bilaspur jail, Madan Barkade has addressed him as ‘Comrade’ in one of the postcards seized from his house. Besides all this, prosecution presented 97 witnesses to prove the charges.
Dr. Sen explained all this in his defense. All the 33 meetings of him with Narayan Sanyal were as a doctor and always with the prior permission of authorities. He says he was falsely implicated in all this. ‘Comrade’ is a common addressing pattern of Maoists and other left oriented people. He has been victim of protesting against the police atrocities in Chhattisgarh.
The drama has still not come to an end. The court has enough reason to award him punishment and leftist intellectual class has enough reason to doubt. In this kind of hazy situation he is being portrayed as martyr. This is not a good sign for the future of anti-extremist movements in India. If he is not guilty he must be freed. This will be a good indication for those who believe in the constitutional supremacy of India. If he is guilty he must not be portrayed as victim of going against the government or martyr.