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Lead/Introduction

Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba (1967) is a scholar in India who is currently imprisoned by the Maharastra State Police for “unlawful activities.” A professor in New Delhi, his work as both an intellectual and activist for indigenous and under-privileged peoples have granted him increased attention from non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and Scholars at Risk, and these groups assert his arrest has been political motivated. The Indian state, observers charge, has been cracking down on individuals deemed to be threatening to the regime’s legitimacy, accusing dissenters of espionage and terrorism. Saibaba in particular was arrested on the basis of questionable evidence, both electronic and hard copies of personal writings and academic essays, allegedly “proving” him to be linked to the Communist Party of India. The party was banned under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the same legal grounds for Saibaba’s arrest. Biography

Gokarakonda Naga, or GN Saibaba was born in Amalapuram, a small town in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, in 1967. He grew up in a rural community, and the family’s slim income came from farming rice on a small plot of land, but that was lost to lenders in his early years.

At the age of five, Saibaba was diagnosed with polio and subsequently became paralyzed in his legs. The later part of his childhood saw him forced to move by either crawling or being carried. Although he experienced poverty firsthand, Saibaba was able to consistently excel academically, which later resulted in scholarships and financial aid.

He met his wife, Vasantha, in grade 10, and the two bonded through exploring the public library in Amalapuram. After graduating, Saibaba attended Sri Konaseema Bhanoji Ramars (SKBR) College and graduated at the top of his class. From there, he traveled to Hyderabad to receive his master’s degree with the financial aid of Vasantha. During his postgraduate years, his political mind began to take shape, and he abandoned his pursuit of a PhD for such work. He staunchly advocated for groups like the Adivasis and other indigenous peoples in India.

Eventually, he completed his PhD after returning to Delhi in 2003. He took a short stint of teaching at Sri Venkateswara University and eventually ended at Ram Lal Anand College, a subsidiary of the University of Delhi, as a professor of English before his eventual arrest. Advocacy Work

The advocacy work of G. N. Saibaba starts with his childhood; growing up poor and afflicted with polio, Saibaba knew what it was like to be ostracized. Saibaba would travel to others countries giving lectures and speeches about minority groups that were traditionally disregarded. Saibaba’s latest focus centered on the Naxal indigenous group, a Maoist group that formed in the mid-twentieth century in Eastern Bengal; this is significant because the Maoist Party in is banned from holding office in India. The Naxal people inhabit land that is under siege by the Indian government for development purposes such as mining. Saibaba centered on the Indian government’s “Operation Green Hunt” which began in 2009. The operation has resulted in over 2,000 civilian deaths as part of extrajudicial killings carried out by Indian military forces, to which Saibaba spoke against. In 2014, Saibaba was arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act where the government can, in order to preserve the security of India, arrest those who assemble. This claim arose when the government believed that Saibaba was operating under different names, organizing efforts led by the Naxal people. Political Climate/Status in India

India is not unfamiliar with tension among its political groups, as India utilizes a caste system made up of eight major religions, 15 different spoken languages, 22 states, and 9 territories ( https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/ethnic-and-religious-conflicts-india ). The primary conflicts involving political and religious differences are the Assam/Punjab and Hindi/Muslim conflicts ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_India ).

The background of Indian politics comes primarily from the makeup of the country’s parliament and the construction of the Constitution. The major political parties within the Indian parliament are categorized into party alliances, as their parliament can not contain a majority without an alliance of smaller parties. The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) -led alliance, also known as the National Democratic Alliance or NDA currently controls the India government as of the election of 1999 ( https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/india/constitution-politics ). While the NDA won the 1999 election, an alliance led by the Indian National Congress called the United Progressive Alliance competed against the NDA to obtain a majority within the Indian parliament. With tension between the parties rising between the years of 2012 and 2014, the NDA won the election of 2014. The alliance then nominated and swore in the current Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi ( https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/india/constitution-politics )

The introduction of Modi as Prime Minister has brought tension into religious, and thus political, relationships within India. Modi, being inspired heavily by the teachings of Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda, and his pronounced Hindu background has inflamed tensions between some of India’s religious groups ( https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/narendra-modi-and-indias-new-climate-change-norms-53154/ )  Riots in Gujarat in 2002 and West Bengal in 2010 have put spot lights on the increased violence between Muslim and Hindu communities. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_India#Relationship_of_Muslims_with_non-Muslim_communities) This coupled with the lacking influence of Muslim-backed political parties contribute to discrimination and conflict between the two religious groups, and bring religious issues to a political stage.

Another contributing factor to political tensions in India is the widespread violation of human rights in association with aboriginal tribes in the area of Burma and Northeast India. Tribes occupying the land have been attacked, imprisoned, and killed by members of the Bangladesh Army ( https://www.iwgia.org/en/india/3355-forest-rights-in-india-under-attack ). Human rights violations have been documented by international agencies such as Amnesty International, Cultural Survival, International Working Group for Indigenous Peoples, Anti-Slavery Society, Survival International, International Fellowship of Reconciliation and others. The use of concentration camps, burning of lands, religious conversion, and detainment have also been well documented in these cases. ( https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/attacks-continue-indigenous-people-chittagong-hill-tracts ). The exclusion of tribes from their home lands is not the only attempt that the Bangladesh government has made to silence these groups. Intellectuals and academics speaking out against the treatment of indigenous people have been imprisoned and charged with terrorist activity following the eviction of over a million indigenous families and new discriminatory legislation ( https://www.iwgia.org/en/india/3355-forest-rights-in-india-under-attack ) Arrest/Imprisonment

GN Saibaba was arrested on May 9, 2014 by government officials who claimed that documents and papers linking Saibaba to the CPI (Maoist) were discovered (SAR). He was charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for allegedly contacting Maoist leader Ganapathy (Al Jazeera). This arrest came after years of Saibaba being a vocal critic against Indian government suppression and opposing Operation Green Hunt (Al Jazeera).

On March 7, 2017, GN Saibaba was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment under India’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. However, this sentence was based on lack of credible evidence linking Saibaba to the Maoist group. Since his sentencing, he has been imprisoned with basic medical necessities denied to him. Saibaba is afflicted with post-polio syndrome which prevents the use of his legs. In addition to his disability, he suffers from multiple health issues including acute pancreatitis, impacted gallbladder stones, and he has been placed in solitary confinement with no protection from the elements. His solitary confinement has worsened his medical conditions. According to reports, Saibaba has been mistreated, denied medical care, and handicap accessibility due to his disability and medical illnesses. Currently, Saibaba along with family and friends are appealing to have the sentence dismissed due to lack of evidence and for immediate medical care to be given to him.