Dissent and Repression in the US and India - Panel Discussion

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DISSENT AND REPRESSION IN THE US AND INDIA

February 10, 2011; 7-8.30 PM
445 Blegen Hall, U of M West Bank
269 19th Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55455

On September 24, 2010, FBI raided the homes of peace activists in Minneapolis and Chicago, seizing computers, phones and large amount of documents and personal items. Since then, 23 activists in both these cities have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. No one has been charged and lacking any material evidence, the United States government is clearly carrying out a campaign of intimidating people, who did little more than speak out for peace and justice.

On December 24, 2010, Dr. Binayak Sen, a renowned physician, public health and human rights activist, was sentenced to life in prison by a sessions court in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh on baseless charges of 'sedition' and 'conspiracy against the state'. This extreme action comes on top of the arrest and conviction of several political and human rights activists in different parts of India in the last few years.

Come find out more about these cases and the context in which these acts of repression and silencing of dissent are occurring in the US and in India!

Panelists
Michelle Gross, Communities United Against Police Brutality
Jess Sundin, Anti-War Committee
Lalit Batra, International Campaign to Free Binayak Sen

Moderator: Prof. Vinay Gidwani, Dept of Geography, University of Minnesota

(Snacks and drinks will be served after the discussion)

Contact: Lalit Batra (lalitbatra@gmail.com, 612-2293358) or Karthik Ramanathan (ramanath.karthik@gmail.com, 9789962292)