Full text: The letter Aruna Roy, Noam Chomsky wrote to PM

A group of academicians, scientists and social activists, including National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy and professor Noam Chomsky, have written to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention against the West Bengal government’s high handedness in dealing with scientist Dr Partho Sarothi and Jadavpur university professor Ambikesh Mahapatra. “This, in our opinion, constitutes a clear violation of freedom of speech and all conceivable rights of an individual due to illegal action by the state police. The state administration has issued public statements in both print and electronic media in support of this barbaric act,” said the letter written by Roy and signed by 55 academicians based out of India and abroad. [caption id=“attachment_279489” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Mamata Banerjee’s government has been accused of high handedness in dealing with the two cases. AFP”] [/caption] Sarothi was arrested while participating in a rally opposing the eviction of slum dwellers while Mahapatra was detained for making a cartoon showing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The letter seeks that all charges be dropped against both of them. “We also urge that all the dubious charges placed against Dr. Ray, Prof. Mahapatra and the other protestors be dropped and an impartial enquiry by a central agency be conducted into these matters to prevent any further violation of human rights,” the letter stated. Banerjee’s government has drawn flak from various quarters, including the Opposition, for curtailing freedom of speech and expression. The academicians have also not spared the state government in their letter. “We are extremely perturbed by such use of State force in cracking down on human rights activists, and citizens attempting to raise issues of concern related to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people of our country or for actions such as forwarding cartoons (which had already been put earlier on popular internet websites such as Facebook),” they said. Partho Sarothi, a molecular biologist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohanpur, was arrested on April 8 while participating in a peaceful demonstration against the eviction of slum dwellers of Nonadanga area of East Kolkata. Police booked Dr. Ray under section 353 (assault on public servant), section 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to public servant), section 141 (unlawful assembly), section 143 (punishment) and section 149 (common objective of disruption) of the IPC. He wil be produced before a Kolkata court on April 26. Scientists said in the letter that the relation of these charges with the peaceful demonstrations has not been made clear at all. Professor Ambikash Mahapatra, a faculty in Chemistry department, Jadavpur University, faced the Trinamool Congress’ wrath for forwarding a cartoon featuring Mamata Banerjee. Mahapatra spent a night in the police station lockup and was released on bail the next day. Read the complete letter here: Letter to Dr Manmohan Singh Regarding Arrest and Illegal Den Tension of Prof Partho Ray and Others