Mahasweta Devi urges youth to support Binayak Sen

KOLKATA - Eminent writer and Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta Devi Wednesday urged the younger generation to join in the protest against the conviction of rights activist Binayak Sen.

“We need the younger generation to make our protest successful. They need to be aware of the ground realities. We must inspire them.

“Why Binayak (Sen) should be released? To know, one must read the books that describe his contribution to the cause of mankind,” she told a media gathering in the city.

Sen was sentenced to life imprisonment Dec 24 after being held guilty of sedition and criminal conspiracy by a Chhattisgarh court.

Condemning Sen’s conviction, the octogenarian writer accused the Chhattisgarh government of not allowing Sen adequate opportunity to defend himself.

“I want to know why Binayak was not given the chance to defend himself. Why he was convicted in a hurry and immediately taken to jail?” the Jnanpith awardee asked.

“The protest should be on a larger scale. The whole world must know of his (Sen’s) plight. More and more people should write about him,” she said.

She also proposed a sit-in demonstration outside the jail where Sen is presently lodged. “I think we all can sit outside the jail and protest. Of course, it won’t be a hunger strike. I am a diabetic…if I don’t eat I will die. I am just 86, too young to die,” she joked.

Sen, 60, presently lodged in Raipur central jail, has challenging his conviction.

The Chhattisgarh High Court Wednesday reserved its order on his bail plea.