The conviction of the English professor of the Jawaharlal Nehru
University in Delhi Gokarakonda
Naga Saibaba has created sadness and indignation. The decision of the District
and Sessions Court in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra to impose life imprisonement on
Professor Saibaba and four other co-defendants is an unprecedentred decision in
the judicial annals of India since its independence in 1947. Professor Saibaba,
a 90% invalid since childhood, and restricted to a wheelchair, is accused,
without any proof, that he had contacts with the illegal CP India (Maoist) and
the naxalite guerilla movement. The accusations were based on his views and
ideas as well as on his public political and social activities. It was indeed a
rich activity, since his youth, alongside the poor and destitute Indians in the
cities and the rural areas. What mainly irritated the indian state authorities
were his struggles and condemnations, in India and internationally, of the
violent operations of the police and paramilitary forces against the indigenous
people in the hinterland of India. It is about an operation that is combined
with the looting of land and forests by the multinational mining and
construction companies. The conviction of Saibaba was based on provisions and
articles of the anti-terrorist law (UAPA) that
incriminates ideas, articles, books and public speeches, considering
them preparatory terrorist deeds that undermine national security!