‘The state govt is vindictive’

Forty-eight hours since his release from Raipur jail, civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen is picking up the threads of life after two years of incarceration. Sen, 59, was arrested in May 2007 for being a naxal sympathiser. The Supreme Court on Monday ordered his release on bail, the ruling coming a year after hundreds of human rights campaigners, Nobel laureates, doctors and authors from around the world petitioned the Centre for Sen’s release. He spoke to DNA on telephone about his ordeal.

You have claimed to have received threats from the Chhattisgarh government. Elaborate. I did not say I have received threats from the state government. What I meant was that it has pursued the legal case against me with grave abandonment of legal ethics and morality. In other words, it has lied to the court. The government’s case is crumbling and it is vindictive. Since the legal recourse has abandoned them, I anticipate they will turn to extra-legal means to get to me.

How does it feel to be out after being in jail for two years?
It feels good to be back with family and friends. But several others like me are still languishing in jail. Mine is not an isolated case. The laws that took us to jail continue to exist. Also, this is not a problem just of Chhattisgarh or India. Internationally, too, investigations like those done by Mary Robinson (head of the International Commission of Jurists) have shown that the jurisprudence of the war on terror has led to a degeneration of human rights. So, the problem is generic.

The campaign for your freedom got overwhelming support from within the country and abroad. Did you expect such a response?
I never expected such a wide campaign demanding my freedom. I am grateful to the people for their overwhelming support.

Why do you think so many people, who do not know you personally, supported your cause?
The support was not for an individual. Two years ago, nobody knew me. The people’s support has nothing to do with my personality. There has been disquiet among citizens because of the country’s laws and the partisan ways they have been applied to quell dissent. It is heartening to see people shed their indifference and give voice to their disquiet. But problems arise when activists oppose some military strategies that the states are adopting. Dissent has been met with military confrontation. We want to engage people and the government in a political dialogue. Politics is not restricted to electoral politics. We want citizens to take their political role seriously. Ours is a positive agenda for peace.

What are the implications of your case for the civil rights movement?
Civil rights workers are being targeted with new laws. I was lucky to get support from eminent lawyers owing to their personal convictions. Others do not have access to such help. The ordinary practice of jurisprudence needs closer public surveillance. Tomorrow, such laws could be used against anyone.

What is your priority right now?
I must look after my health; I have a heart condition. Then we have to return to the peace movement.

Your hospital for tribals in Dallirajhara has suffered in your absence. We will revive our health programmes. Did the imprisonment prove tough on you and your family?
Yes. Jail conditions are tough. My family has come together under one roof after two years.