A mischievous smile a little decorating a long salt-and pepper beard. And slender fingers that grip the wire fence of a police van. Dr. Sen is all there. Serenity behind bars. Moral force eyeing nuts. This photo is now famous in India. She was taken to Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state, during one of many shuttles Binayak Sen from prison and court.Striking, this cliché has now promised a fortune larger. On 24 December 2010, Sen was sentenced to life in prison for "sedition" by a court in Raipur. Indian court judge convicted the doctor of the poor, who spent thirty years of his life to caring for the tribal communities of central India, in collusion with the guerrillas Naxalite (Maoist).
The unusual severity of the assessment in the light of evidence to say the least light caused a shock in India. Workplace civil rights cry foul at the "shame". Day by day the case swells. Candlelight vigils, petitions, forums in the press, concern of Chancery in New Delhi. If Binayak Sen is becoming an unfortunate embarrassment for the Congress Party in power.
We must return to this stereotype, this irony caged. Because everything is a matter of image. There are of course the contrast between the face of harsh light and grille. But there is also the discrepancy between this symbol of a manifest injustice and good reputation in India. How? India heir of Gandhi, India's "largest democracy in the world," India "emerging" acclaimed in international forums, the country that - in contrast to its historic rivals Pakistan and China - has a flattering coverage in the international press, has imprisoning for life a "barefoot doctor" on the basis of a questionable criminal record? Everyone knew that India was full of injustices: recurrent bursts of sectarian rioting, oppressive caste system for the weakest.
But this is a legacy of the past, rooted in the depths of society, difficult to recover a magic wand. Binayak Sen's case is different. This is a court coldly deliberate. The blow to the image of India is severe. Amnesty International would like Binayak Sen a "prisoner of conscience." And some commentators are wondering: Binayak Sen is it the Liu Xiaobo (Chinese dissident, Nobel Peace Prize) Indian? India compared to China on freedoms! A public relations disaster.
What are the facts? Brilliant doctor, Binayak Sen could have led a magnificent career, but he chose to settle among the tribals of Chhattisgarh state. This Gandhian belief will discover the dark reality of "emerging India", this side of the coin, that of indigenous communities (Adivasis) are marginalized in their forests and increasingly dispossessed of their land by large mining companies coveting the wealth of the subsoil.
At the heart of this "under-India", the feeling of alienation has become so acute that Maoist guerrillas there is established without difficulty. With 20,000 fighters, the insurgency is active in 90 districts and manifest a presence in 223 of the 636 that make up the Indian Territory (about a third).
The clashes have claimed more than 1,000 deaths in 2010. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to admit that the Maoists are now the "greatest threat to domestic security." Faced with such a growth of "red peril", the state of Chhattisgarh has opted for the military showdown, including putting up local militias engaged in serious violations of human rights.
Witness at the forefront of this forgotten war, Dr. Sen has repeatedly denounced the escalation of repression. The "Maoists" are certainly not soft. Binayak Sen is far from approving of the violent methods of running a guerrilla or even slaughtered and decapitated, police and "spyware" suspects.
But he expects most of the Indian state that respects the principles and values enshrined in its Constitution frontispiece. Over the years, this medical witness became a nuisance. An obstacle to remove. In May 2007 he was arrested. After much complicated proceedings, it is therefore sentenced to life imprisonment.
Would he planted bombs? Concealed weapons? No. He is alleged to have met "thirty-three times" an ideologue of the guerrillas, some Narayan Sanyal, who had handed the letter to send to a businessman from Kolkata. Defenders of Binayak Sen have a field day to demonstrate the fragility of the charge: the famous visits took place as the world officially in Raipur jail, where the ideologue was detained, and under close supervision of an officer Police all ears.
Binayak Sen had obtained permission to meet to discuss the prisoner's criminal record and his health. Not much to do with a conspiracy in the hollow of a bush. The family appealed the ruling. Pending the review of the case to a higher level, everything that India has enlightened minds - and there are plenty - is focused on the case is emblematic spot on the country's image.
"Shame" should always be cleared. Email: @ lemonde coiled. fr. Frederic Bobin Article published in the edition of 08.01.11
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