“It wasn't poor health that killed Saibaba. It was Amit Shah and the Union government,” roared participants at memorial meeting for Prof GN Saibaba in Hyderabad on Monday.
Published Oct 22, 2024 | 8:51 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 22, 2024 | 3:17 PM
People's organizations and the friends and families of Professor G N Saibaba held a Memorial Meeting for him in Hyderabad on 21 October
“Joharu (Salute) Comrade Saibaba,” the speaker called out, to be met with a thundering “Johar Johar,” from over 200 attendees. This became a recurring act at the Professor GN Saibaba Memorial Meeting held on 21 October in Hyderabad.
Held in the Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in New Nallakunta, the event began at about 11 am, with a performance of revolutionary music in honour of Saibaba by the Praja Kala Mandali. Professor Gaddam Laxman, president of the Civil Liberties Committee, kicked off the Memorial Meeting.
“It wasn’t poor health that killed Saibaba. It was Amit Shah and the Union government,” he said. “If Saibaba has been declared innocent, then who is guilty of his wrongful arrest?” he further questioned.
Professor G Haragopal was among the first to speak in the morning session of the Memorial Meeting. Calling Saibaba a great strategist, he said: “Saibaba didn’t think he’d survive his last summer in prison.”
He was the president of the Saibaba Release Committee that took shape following the ex-Delhi University professor’s arrest in 2014 for alleged Maoist links under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Haragopal revealed that Saibaba asked for Supreme Court lawyer Ram Jethmalani to be on his case. However, the latter wasn’t able to fight Saibaba’s case due to deteriorating health.
Referring to NCP president Sharad Pawar, he recounted: “When Sharad Pawar met Saibaba on our request, he asked him about his troubles in prison. Saibaba spoke of the plight of everyone in the prison instead of his own.”
“Strangely, Narendra Modi calls Rahul Gandhi an urban naxal alongside the Congress and all other opposition parties,” he lamented, noting that: “Reducing all Adivasi struggles to Maoist struggles is inappropriate.” He added that Prime Minister Modi capitalised on the association between Naxals and violence due to propaganda to demonise dissent.
Calling Saibaba an experiment in society, he stated: “Despite being unable to walk, he taught society to walk the right path.” “G N Saibaba is to Social Rights what Stephen Hawking is to astrophysics,” he rested.
“I first met him in his Delhi home after his release,” writer Meena Kandasamy recalled. “He was so full of joy that nothing could’ve foreshadowed his death,” she continued. Stating that the NDA government was perpetuating an atmosphere of silence she held that there was a reign of intellectual terror.
Calling his arrest more of an institutional kidnapping, she said: “The Congress is saying that the state killed Saibaba. However, the UAPA was P Chidambaram’s brainchild.” Deeming him the first culprit in Saibaba’s death, she said that the NDA’s incumbency does not absolve him of his role.
“The Supreme Court which goes on vacation for 2 months, and the judges who come as per their whims, sat on a Saturday to deny Saibaba his bail,” she lamented. “Even those who called for his release were targeted,” she stated, calling Saibaba a victim of state terrorism.
Calling Saibaba a romantic revolutionary, she recalled his love for his wife Vasantha in the numerous letters he wrote her from jail and their personal interactions.
“Those responsible for Saibaba’s wrongful arrest must pay for their mistakes,” Kothagudem CPI MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao said. “If people like Saibaba and G Haragopal and anti-Indian, were Gandhi and Vajpayee also anti-Indian?” he asked.
“This country is being run by criminals like Modi and Shah,” he lamented, expressing disgust at the treatment of Saibaba and numerous others.
“Amit Shah is bragging about winning the war on Naxals, our fellow Indians demanding their rights. He is bragging about the state machinery overpowering those fighting with their ideology,” he stated.
“Saibaba is not just yours, he’s everyone’s,” DU professor Saroj Giri said. Recounting his time with Saibaba, he opined that there was more to his story than the numerous interviews after his release was revealed.
“His story is a ‘Maha-Kaavyam’ (an epic) that we might not be qualified to comprehend. Reducing him to tags like human rights activist is a disservice to his story,” he said, adding that Saibaba’s story could touch millions of hearts.
He said that the price of Saibaba’s path was a lonely life where companions would choose to distance themselves out of fear. “It is time we spread Saibaba’s stories to the masses, help them articulate their discontent, and fight against Operation ‘Kagar,'” he stated.
Operation Kagar is the Union government’s anti-Maoist drive in parts of the ‘Red Corridor’ in Central India. It is similar to Operation Greenstar under the UPA regime. Professor Saibaba was in staunch opposition to both, deeming them genocidal against Adivasis.
“Remembering Saibaba is carrying his legacy forward,” Kunamneni said. A sentiment that was echoed by revolutionary writer Arasavelli Krishna who called for a united front opposing the atrocities against Adivasis in Saibaba’s memories.
At the event, Manjeera, Saibaba’s daughter, said: “The world has not forgotten my father. Not just for the years in prison but also his struggles from before then.” She revealed that the French ambassador to India, Thierry Mathouv, and the German ambassador to India, Dr Philipp Ackermann, both sent condolence letters to Vasantha and Manjeera respectively.
She added that both diplomats wished to work with Saibaba after his release. Additionally, she read out letters of condolences that the family received from organisations like Forum Asia, the RSPM in Brazil, students from Bangladesh, INSAF, and the communist parties of Columbia, Morocco, Australia, Nepal, and Greece.
In the afternoon session, Ramdev, Saibaba’s younger brother, read out letters of condolences and statements regarding Saibaba’s passing from across the nation. He read out letters from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Manoj Jha of the RJD, Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM, Sagarika Ghosh of the TMC, and Telangana Minister Seethakka of the Congress.
He also revealed that lawyer Prashanth Bhushan, musician TM Krishna, and actress Swara Bhaskar also posted their condolences to X. He also noted that CPI (Marxist), CPI (Maoist), the All India Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India Kisan Sabha, the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights, and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties sent in their condolences among numerous other organisations from across the country.
As the afternoon session concluded, the organisers opened the dais for the attendees to pay their respects and express solidarity with Saibaba. VCK Telangana President, the Praja Kala Mandali president, and the representative for the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) party all called the death of Saibaba institutional murder, calling for the state’s accountability.
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
