The Battle for Justice: Jaipur Writers Festival

"One of the key themes at the Asia"

One of the key themes at the Asia’s largest writers’ festival in Jaipur was the quest for justice.
Jasvinder Seghal is at the festival for Asia Calling and has this report on the session—Colliding Worlds: the Quest for justice.

Dr. Binayak Sen is one of India's best-known public health specialists and human rights activists.

He is out on Bail after being sentence to life in prison.

He is accused of links with Maoist rebels in one of India's poorest states where the rebels have a strong presence.

He denies the charge. He talks about what justice means to him.
 
“Justice is where every body’s rights are equally respected. Everybody has rights and these rights are to be equally respected. Today we have situation where there are large sections of the population whose rights are not respected. And it’s a fact that there are significant forces in the society which are expropriating these rights. They are not allowing these rights to function.”

Q. You are known as Doctor of Poor and then also you are struggling in the Supreme Court. Are you getting justice?”
 
“I think there are major sources of injustice brought in society at every level. The fact that the reason we have poverty in our country and same time we have such major riches and such major sections of population who are rich and major sections of the population who are poor and the difference between them is expanding. This itself can only be explained by an increase in the violence that is inherent in the structure of the society today. This shows that there is huge force of violence which is brought in the society and this difference is maintained on the basis of violence, and those sources of injustice have to be fought on the basis of the strength of the people.”
 
Harsh Mander is another rights activist and a former civil servant.
He resigned from his government job accusing the state of failing to stop communal riots in Gujarat. 
Now he campaigns on behalf of the poor.

“Hunger persists for many reasons. Failures of Governments but also failures of empathy and caring with in people of privilege. And how larger change requires the state to be held more accountable but also people to hold them more accountable.”

Q: You were part of the state but you quit the state. What were the reasons?

“I quit the state at a particular point of time because I wanted to fight the people battles on sustaining the idea of communal harmony and justice. But I continue with the state as I believe in the state and engage with the state as no democracy can work without it.”

During the festival, the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama also called on India to have a good relationship with China in order to teach China about democracy.”

“Genuine sort of friendship and good relation between China and India is very essential. The slogan of “Hindu-Chinese are brothers “ was made on the basis of mutual trust. China is the most populated nation while India is the  most populated democratic country. I think it can learn lot many things from India. I often tell to my Chinese friends --- look at India, East India, West India, South India and North India. Although they have different languages and different scripts but then also there is no separation. All should get equality and democracy.”

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