Skip to main content

'Silencing critics': Apex Court view 'brain is more dangerous' revoking Saibaba acquittal

Counterview Desk 

Taking strong exception to the Supreme Court observing that “brain is more dangerous” in order verdict suspending the Bombay High Court’s acquittal order in Prof GN Saibaba and others, a civil rights group has blamed the Apex Court for coming under pressure of what it called “Brahmanical Hindutva fascist” government to overturn its refusal to stay their acquittal order.
In a statement, the group, calling itself Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM), based in New Delhi, said, “The trial court’s argument of ‘they are anti-development’ while convicting Saibaba and others and the argument of the Supreme Court that ‘brain is more dangerous' is reflective of the state-corporate nexus’s approach to silence every conscious mind that speaks against rampant corporate loot of people’s resources done by brute military might.”

Text:

Professor GN Saibaba, journalist Prashant Rahi, student and cultural activist Hem Mishra, Pandu Narote, Mahesh Tirki and Vijay Tirki had been acquitted by the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court on 14th October 2022 on the ground that the sanctions were irregular. They were all convicted by the sessions court in 2017.
Despite getting acquittal from High Court, the Brahmanical Hindutva fascist government, hell-bent on keeping Saibaba and others in jail to kill them like Pandu Narote, like Stan Swamy, approached the Supreme Court to stay the acquittal order.
The Supreme Court refused to stay the acquittal order but later, succumbing under the pressure of BJP-RSS led state, constituted a ‘special bench’ for a special sitting, on the very next day on 15th October, to hear a Special Leave Petition of Brahmanical Hindutva fascist Maharashtra government to overturn the acquittal order of Bombay High Court.
The Supreme Court bench of MR Shah and Bela M Trivedi held that the acquittal was not based on the merits of the case and irregular sanction is not sufficient ground to acquit the accused in such a case of “grave nature”. The SC remarked that the “brain is more dangerous” in such cases and granting acquittal in such case of grave nature is a “threat to national security”.
The reason behind this state repression of GN Saibaba is not unknown and it is well understood that he was incarcerated to suppress the voices against Operation Green Hunt, which was a war waged by the Indian state on its own populace, to facilitate unprecedented corporate loot of resources.
The trial court’s argument of “they are anti-development” while convicting Saibaba and others and the argument of the Supreme Court that “brain is more dangerous” is reflective of the state-corporate nexus’s approach to silence every conscious mind that speaks against rampant corporate loot of people’s resources done by brute military might.
It is pertinent to mention that, due to the struggles spearheaded by GN Saibaba and other pro-people democratic forces and the people, the state had to roll back Operation Green Hunt. But the hunger for corporate exploitation was never doused and the state brought forth its new Genocidal Military Operation Samadhan-Prahar, an intensified and more brutal form of Operation Green-Hunt to facilitate the loot of resources by crushing every people’s resistance against it.
Justices Bela Trivedi, MR Shah
This desperation to loot resources, by any means necessary, is reflective of the imperialist crisis throughout the world and its onslaught on our country and its resources to solve its crisis. This is the reason that the state wants to keep “dangerous minds” like Saibaba to carry on its war without witnesses, without any scrutiny by conscious pro-people minds.
Therefore, to address the question of corporate looting of resources and crushing of people’s resistance against it by using brute military force, there is a need to fight for the release of Saibaba and others; those arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case; gain inspiration from the struggles of those who fought against Operation Green-Hunt, the struggles of GN Saibaba and others, and intensify the struggle against Operation Samadhan-Prahar, which is a genocidal Military Operation to break people’s democratic resistance against corporate loot of resources.
While we condemn this order of Supreme Court to suspend the acquittal, even after years of imprisonment and struggling in prison for basic amenities of healthcare, it is also important to remember the sacrifice of Pandu Narote, murdered by denying medical care. It is important to understand the cause for which they paid the price in liberty, their precious years and, above all, life itself, and sadly, will continue to pay now.
We should also remember the thousands of people’s activists, Adivasis, Dalits, oppressed minorities, and working-class people languishing in jail for demanding their basic democratic rights. This overturning of the acquittal order should only increase our resolve to fight for their release and for the repeal of draconian laws like UAPA which provides such arbitrary power to suppress the people.

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

'A disaster in the making': Expansion of oil palm plantations in Northeast India

By Rupa Chinai, Ravi Chellam*  Until a few decades ago, India was nearly 100% self-sufficient in edible oils, with a diverse variety of oilseeds that were grown and consumed sustainably in keeping with the ecological and climatic conditions of different regions in the country. Today, India is highly reliant on palm oil imports to meet its vegetable oil demands. 

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.