Binayak Sen

Binayak Sen (बिनायक सेन, বিনায়ক সেন) is a paediatrician, and public health specialist.

He is the national Vice-President of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

He is the recipient of several awards including the Jonathan Mann Award, the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, and the Gandhi International Peace Award.

He has been convicted of sedition by a local Court in India which was later upheld by the High Court of Chhattisgarh.

He was subsequently granted bail by the Supreme Court of India on appeal.

He is a member of the policy group for Police Reforms of Aam Aadmi Party.

Binayak Sen originally started working as a paediatrician extending health care to poor people in the rural-tribal areas of the Chhattisgarh state, doubling up as a human rights activist.

While Sen has worked with the state government on health sector reform he has also strongly criticised the government on human rights violations during the anti-Naxalite operations, while advocating non-violent political engagement.

Sen was the recipient in 2004 of the Paul Harrison award for a lifetime of service to the rural poor.

This award is given annually by the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India to its alumni.

In May 2007, he was detained for allegedly supporting the outlawed Naxalites which would violate the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 (CSPSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

Sen was awarded the R. R. Keithan Gold Medal by The Indian Academy of Social Sciences (ISSA) on 31 December 2007.

The citation describes him as "one of the most eminent scientists" of India.

"The award is for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of science of Nature-Man-Society and his honest and sincere application for the improvement of quality of life of the poor, the downtrodden and the oppressed people of Chhattisgarh."

His "suffering and personal risk" would inspire scientists as well as the general public for a very long time, according to the citation.

On 14 May 2007, Sen was arrested in Bilaspur on the charges of acting as a courier between jailed Naxalite leader Narayan Sanyal and businessman Piyush Guha, also accused of having links with Naxalites.

Sen had met the 70-year-old Sanyal 33 times in Raipur jail, though all the visits were with prior police permission.

The Chhattisgarh police also reportedly relied on certain electronic documents to establish a link between Sen and Naxalites.

The evidence presented against Sen included:

The Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Hyderabad analysed the contents of Sen's computer during 6–11 June 2007, under the orders of the Session's Court.

On 15 May 2007, Sen was presented before a local court where he was denied the bail and was remanded to judicial custody.

In a 2008 interview, Sen stated that he does not condone the Naxalites, does not approve of their violent methods, and has spoken strongly against them several times.

But, he also expressed his opposition to the violent activities carried out by Salwa Judum, which he believes, have created a split in the tribal community.

Sen advocates peaceful methods such as negotiations to solve the Naxalite problem.

Sen was selected for the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights in 2008.

The Global Health Council issued a public statement, "Dr. Sen's accomplishments speak volumes about what can be achieved in very poor areas when health practitioners are also committed community leaders. He staffed a hospital created by and funded by impoverished mine workers, and he has spent his lifetime educating people about health practices and civil liberties—providing information that has saved lives and improved conditions for thousands of people. His good works need to be recognized as a major contribution to India and to global health; they are certainly not a threat to state security."

Sen first applied for bail before the Raipur Sessions Court and then the Chhattisgarh High Court in July 2007, soon after his arrest, but was granted bail by the Supreme Court of India on 25 May 2009.

In 2010 he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by Raipur Sessions Court, Chhattisgarh, for sedition and helping Naxalites to set up a network to fight the State.

He was granted bail on 15 April 2011 by the Supreme Court of India which gave no reason for the order.

Sen has filed an appeal before the Chhattisgarh High Court and the case is pending.

Binayak Sen and his wife Ilina Sen played key roles in the foundation of the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha's Shaheed Hospital which is owned and operated by a workers' organisation.

He is also an advisor to Jan Swasthya Sahyog, a health care organisation.

He has also been published in the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet (in its edition of 12 February 2011) where he talks about the severe inaccessibility of the healthcare to the poor in India.

The article was hailed as reaffirmation of support to Dr Sen by the international community by Ilina Sen.

Sen is the National Vice-President of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and General Secretary of its Chhattisgarh unit.

In this capacity, he helped organise numerous investigations into alleged human rights violations carried out during anti-Naxalite operations.

The alleged violations included the murder of unarmed and innocent civilians by the anti-Naxalite movement Salwa Judum.

Sen has been awarded the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights 2011

in memory of the Gwangju Democratization Movement of South Korea.

The award announcement remarks "Dr Sen, as an accomplished medical practitioner has distinguished himself by his devotion to providing health services for the poor and by his strong advocacy against human rights violations and structural violence inflicted on the poor in Chhattisgarh, a state in central India."