New Delhi: Close to a 100 renowned intellectuals from across the world have appealed to President Ram Nath Kovind and Chief Justice of India (CJI) S.A. Bobde to release professor G.N. Saibaba and activist Varavara Rao, saying they have been imprisoned in ‘fabricated cases’ and that they are vulnerable to infection in the ‘overcrowded Maharashtra prisons’.Among the signatories are Noam Chomsky, Judith Butler, Partha Chatterjee, Homi K. Bhabha, Bruno Latour, Gerald Horne and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. They said that Saibaba, who is 90% disabled with post-polio syndrome, does not have proper access to medical care. “He suffers from a number of life-threatening ailments (including acute pancreatitis, cardiac complications, hypertension, impacted gallbladder stones, fainting spells, and more) and has lost most of the functioning of both his hands since being imprisoned. The continued negligence of jail authorities is effectively a death sentence for him during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are calling on the government of India to immediately release Professor G.N. Saibaba from prison on medical bail so that he can receive proper medical treatment and be protected from the Coronavirus outbreak,” the statement says.The statement says 80-year-old poet Varavara Rao, an eminent public intellectual and ardent civil rights activist, has also been imprisoned “as part of the nation-wide crackdown of public intellectuals by the [Narendra] Modi government in relation to the infamous Bhima Koregaon case”.They pointed to that on May 28, Varavara Rao fainted in the jail and was admitted to JJ Hospital, Mumbai but the government “responded recklessly”, sending him back to jail on June 1 after “preliminary treatment to stabilize his condition”. “The government did not even allow his family members to visit him in the hospital or talk to him over the phone. Given this disturbing situation, Varavara Rao’s wife filed a petition in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court to release him on bail. But, the court refused to release him. Yet, Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to life to all citizens, including prisoners,” the signatories said.Varavara Rao and Saibaba. Photo: PTI/The Wire“Considering G.N. Saibaba’s and Varavara Rao’s deteriorating health conditions and the outbreak of COVID-19 in prisons, we strongly believe that there is a potential danger to their lives. We appeal to you to release them immediately on bail to restore their right to live,” the statement appeals.The full statement and the list of signatories has been reproduced below.§We, the undersigned, appeal for the release of public intellectuals and social justice activists, Prof. G.N. Saibaba and Varavara Rao, who are imprisoned on fabricated cases and vulnerable to COVID-19 infection in the overcrowded Maharashtra prisons.Indian Professor G.N. Saibaba is currently languishing in prison in India without access to proper medical care or his wheelchair. Professor Saibaba is 90% disabled with post-polio syndrome and yet the jail authorities have continually refused to provide him with assistance in moving about, even for basic bodily functions like going to the bathroom. He suffers from a number of life-threatening ailments (including acute pancreatitis, cardiac complications, hypertension, impacted gallbladder stones, fainting spells, and more) and has lost most of the functioning of both his hands since being imprisoned. The continued negligence of jail authorities is effectively a death sentence for him during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are calling on the government of India to immediately release Professor G.N. Saibaba from prison on medical bail so that he can receive proper medical treatment and be protected from the Coronavirus outbreak.Professor Saibaba was abducted and arrested on May 9, 2014 as he left the campus of Delhi University. Police claimed that they had found documents and correspondence allegedly proving his connections with the CPI (Maoist), a banned political party in India. However, in the court proceedings against Saibaba, they were not able to produce clear evidence of this charge or the charge that he was “waging war against the state.” Commenting on the conviction, Amnesty International stated that it “believes that the charges against G. N. Saibaba are fabricated and that his trial did not meet international fair trial standards.” Regardless of the credibility or otherwise of the trial and conviction, Professor Saibaba is entitled to proper medical care and medical bail. Now with Coronavirus spreading like wildfire through the Indian prison system, this life sentence could very well become a death-sentence.Professor Saibaba is confined to a wheelchair as he suffers from post-polio syndrome, which inhibits the use of his legs. Despite his disability, he remains tireless social justice activist and a committed human rights defender. A recent report from Scholars at Risk noted that Saibaba “worked with activists and movements to investigate and struggle against the national and multinational corporations, which extract resources from the region at the cost of the environment and displacement of indigenous communities.” Many, including internationally acclaimed author Arundhati Roy, have speculated that Professor Saibaba was arrested because of his activism and his courageous defense of the human rights of the oppressed.In addition, jail authorities have not permitted him to send or receive letters in his native tongue, Telugu. Even when his mother came to visit him, they insisted that he speak to her only in English despite the fact that she does not speak English. Now she is on her deathbed, battling terminal cancer, while her son languishes in jail, a political prisoner denied medical care as well as the ability to communicate with many of his loved ones.The courts denied Saibaba’s recent application for parole during this pandemic. They claimed that his brother (with whom he would stay if released) was living in a COVID-19 containment zone; however, this is not true. What’s more, it seems likely that he is at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 in jail.Now Professor Saibaba lies in jail, frequently falling in and out of consciousness and unable to even go to the toilet without assistance, which he is routinely denied. We are deeply disturbed by the cruelty with which the Indian government and the judicial system are treating Saibaba. As his jailers have repeatedly demonstrated their inability or unwillingness to provide proper medical care to him, and because the Coronavirus is now spreading through the Indian prison system, we the undersigned call for the immediate release of Professor G.N. Saibaba from prison.The 80-year-old poet Varavara Rao is an eminent public intellectual and ardent civil rights activist. For the past 60 years he has shown a firm commitment to working for the oppressed. Over the decades, the Indian state has been trying to silence his voice by implicating him in many phony cases. Over the past 45 years, 25 false cases were foisted against him. He has spent about 8 years in prison while awaiting trial, but was acquitted in all prior cases. In November 2018, Varavara Rao was once again arrested, this time as part of the nation-wide crackdown of public intellectuals by the Modi government in relation to the infamous Bhima Koregaon case. He is currently imprisoned in the Taloja jail, Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, awaiting trial. Many international scholars and acclaimed organizations such as PEN International have called for his release.Even after 18 months of judicial custody, no charges have been filed against him. It is important to note that Maharashtra has been identified as the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak in India. Moreover, the government admitted in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) case in the Mumbai High Court that one inmate recently died of COVID-19 in the Taloja jail. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Varavara Rao, who is suffering from multiple medical ailments, is in a very vulnerable medical condition.Recently, on May 28, 2020, Varavara Rao fainted in the jail and was admitted to JJ Hospital, Mumbai, when his condition became critical. The government responded recklessly and he was sent back to jail on June 1st, 2020 after some preliminary treatment to stabilize his condition. The government did not even allow his family members to visit him in the hospital or talk to him over the phone. Given this disturbing situation, Varavara Rao’s wife filed a petition in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court to release him on bail. But, the court refused to release him. Yet, Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to life to all citizens, including prisoners.Considering G.N. Saibaba’s and Varavara Rao’s deteriorating health conditions and the outbreak of COVID-19 in prisons, we strongly believe that there is a potential danger to their lives. We appeal to you to release them immediately on bail to restore their right to live. 1.Noam ChomskyLaureate Professor of Linguistics, Agnese Nelms Haury Chair,University of Arizona, USA.2.Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’oDistinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature,University of California, Irvine, USA.3.Judith ButlerMaxine Elliot Professor, University of California, USA.4.Fredric R. JamesonKnut Schmidt-Nielsen Professor of Comparative Literature, DukeUniversity Literature Program, Duke University, USA.5.Bruno LatourEmeritus Professor, Sciences Po Paris, France.6.Homi BhabhaAnne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities, Department ofComparative Literature, Harvard University, USA.7.Paul GilroyProfessor of The Humanities, Institute of Advanced Studies,University College London, UK.8.John Bellamy FosterProfessor, Sociology, University of Oregon, USA.9.Michael BurawoyProfessor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, USA.10.Leo PanitchEmeritus professor of political science, York University, Canada.11.Donna HarawayProfessor Emerita, History of Consciousness Department,University of California Santa Cruz, USA.12.Barbara A. FreyDirector, Human Rights Program, University of Minnesota, USA.13.Partha ChatterjeeSenior Research Scholar in Anthropology and Middle Eastern,South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University, USA.14.David HardimanEmeritus Professor of History, Warwick University, UK.15.Gerald HorneMoores Professorship of History and African American Studies,University of Houston, USA.16.Henry VeltmeyerProfessor Emeritus, International Development Studies, SaintMary’s University, Canada.17.Gyan PrakashDayton-Stockton Professor of History, Princeton University, USA.18.James ScottSterling Professor of Political Science and Anthropology, YaleUniversity, USA.19.Sudipta KavirajProfessor of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies,Columbia University, USA.20.Walden BelloAdjunct Professor of Sociology, State University of New York atBinghamton, USA.21.Michael HardtProfessor of Literature, Program in Literature, Duke University,USA.22.Gyanendra PandeyArts & Sciences Distinguished Professor, Department of History,Emory University, USA.23.David LuddenProfessor of History, New York University, USA.24.Chandra TalpadeMohantyDistinguished Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies &Dean’s Professor of the Humanities, Syracuse University, USA.25.Dipesh ChakrabartyLawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor of History,South Asian Languages and Civilizations, and the College, University of Chicago, USA.26.Jan NederveenPieterseDuncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Distinguished Professor Globalstudies and Sociology, University of California Santa Barbara,USA.27.David F. RuccioProfessor of Economics Emeritus, University of Notre Dame, USA.28.John HarrissProfessor Emeritus, International Studies, Simon FraserUniversity, Canada.29.Vinay LalProfessor of History and Asian American Studies, University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles, USA.30.Deepa KumarAssociate Professor, Department of Media Studies, RutgersUniversity, USA.31.Philip McMichaelProfessor of Global Development, Cornell University, USA.32.Jan BremanEmeritus Professor, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.33.Javed MajeedProfessor of English and Comparative Literature King’s CollegeLondon, UK.34.Marcel van derLindenInternational Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, theNetherlands.35.Ted BentonEmeritus Professor, Department of Sociology, University ofEssex, UK.36.David McNallyCullen Distinguished Professor of History & BusinessDepartment of History, University of Houston, USA.37.Derek GregoryPeter Wall Distinguished Professor, Peter Wall Institute forAdvanced Studies and Department of Geography, University ofBritish Columbia, Canada.38.Joy JamesEbenezer Fitch Professor of the Humanities, Williams College,USA.39.Wendy BrownClass of 1936 Chair of Political Science, UC Berkeley, USA.40.Erik SwyngedouwProfessor of Geography, University of Manchester, UK.41.Raúl Delgado WiseProfessor and Director of Development Studies, UniversidadAutónoma de Zacatecas, Mexico.42.MichelChossudovskyProfessor of Economics (emeritus), University of Ottawa;Director, Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal,Canada.43.Göran TherbornProfessor Emeritus, University of Cambridge, UK.44.Patrick BondProfessor, University of the Western Cape School of Government,South Africa.45.Geoffrey RobinsonProfessor, Department of History, University of California, LosAngeles, USA.46.Ronaldo MunckProfessor, Dublin City University, Ireland.47.Roger JefferyProfessor of Sociology of South Asia, University of Edinburgh, UK.48.Mukoma Wa NgugiAssociate Professor of English, Cornell University, USA.49.Robin D. G. KelleyGary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History, University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles, USA.50.Stephanie LuceProfessor and Department Chair, School of Labor and UrbanStudies, City University of New York, USA.51.Michael GismondiProfessor, Sociology and Global Studies, University of Athabasca,Canada.52.Nancy FraserLoeb Professor of Philosophy and Politics, New School for SocialResearch, USA.53.Haroon Akram-LodhiProfessor of Economics and International Development Studies,Trent University, Canada.54.Ilan KapoorProfessor, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, YorkUniversity, Canada.55.Peter HallwardProfessor of Philosophy, Kingston University, UK.56.Sarada BalagopalanAssociate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, RutgersUniversity, USA.57.Michael GoldmanProfessor, Department of Sociology and Global Studies,University of Minnesota, USA.58.Rachel SchurmanProfessor, Department of Sociology and Global Studies,University of Minnesota, USA.59.Sandro MezzadraAssociate Professor of Political Theory, University of Bologna,Italy.60.Ilan PeppeProfessor of History, Director of the European Center forPalestine Studies, University of Exeter, UK.61.Priya ChackoSenior Lecturer, Politics and International Relations, Universityof Adelaide, Australia.62.Ania LoombaCatherine Byrson Professor of English, University ofPennsylvania, USA.63.Rochona MajumdarAssociate Professor and Interim Director of The NicholsonCenter for British Studies, University of Chicago, USA.64.Adam HochschildLecturer, Graduate School of Journalism, University of California,Berkeley, USA.65.Immanuel NessProfessor, Department of Political Science, Brooklyn College CityUniversity of New York, USA.66.Enzo TraversoSusan and Barton Winokur Professor in the Humanities, CornellUniversity, USA.67.Richard SennettChair, Council on Urban Initiatives, United Nations Habitat, andVisiting Professor, The Senseable Cities Lab, MIT, USA.68.Subir SinhaSenior Lecturer, Department of Development Studies, SOASUniversity of London, UK.69.Gilbert AchcarProfessor of Development Studies and International Relations,SOAS, University of London, UK.70.Yunas SamadEmeritus Professor, Bradford University, UK.71.Ruth MilkmanProfessor of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center, USA.72.Louise TillinReader in Politics, King’s India Institute, King’s College London,UK.73.Jamal J. EliasWalter H. Annenberg Professor of the Humanities, University ofPennsylvania, USA.74.Hal FosterTownsend Martin Professor of Art & Archaeology, PrincetonUniversity, USA.75.Paul Le BlancProfessor of History, La Roche University, Pittsburgh, USA.76.Greg AlboProfessor of Politics, York University, Toronto, Canada.77.Sital KalantryClinical Professor of Law, Cornell Law School, USA.78.Kathi WeeksProfessor of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies, DukeUniversity, USA.79.Brian SpoonerProfessor of Anthropology, Museum Curator for Near EasternEthnology, University of Pennsylvania, USA.80.Andrew SartoriProfessor of History, New York University, USA.81.Afsar MohammadAssociate Professor, University of Pennsylvania, USA.82.Radha D’SouzaReader, Westminster Law School, University of Westminster, UK.83.Gordon LaxerProfessor Emeritus, University of Alberta, Canada.84.Raju DasProfessor, Department of Geography, York University, Canada.85.Hira SinghAssociate Professor, Department of Sociology, York University,Canada.86.Radhika DesaiProfessor, Department of Political Studies, University ofManitoba, Canada.87.Salvatore Engel-DiMauroProfessor, Department of Geography, SUNY New Platz, USA.88.Amitava KumarProfessor of English on the Helen D. Lockwood Chair, VassarCollege, USA.89.Waquar AhmedAssociate Professor, Department of Geography. University ofNorth Texas, USA.90.Marcello MustoAssociate Professor of Sociological Theory, Department ofSociology, York University, Canada.91.Victor WallisProfessor, Liberal Arts Department, Berklee College of Music,Boston, USA.92.Sourayan MookerjeaDirector, Intermedia Research Studio, Department of Sociology University of Alberta, Canada.93.Murray E.G. SmithProfessor of Sociology, Brock University, Canada.94.Gerardo OteroProfessor, School for International Studies, Simon FraserUniversity, Canada.95.Pritam SinghVisiting Scholar, Wolfson College, University of Oxford, UK.96.Aijaz AhmadDistinguished Professor, Department of Comparative LiteratureSchool of Humanities, University of California, USA.97.Mary FainsodKatzensteinStephen and Evalyn Milman Professor of American Studies,Department of Government, Cornell University, USA.98.Paul BowlesProfessor, Economics and International Studies, University ofNorthern British Columbia, Canada.
