Binayak Sen is a pediatrician, public health specialist and national Vice-President of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). He is currently on bail on controversial charges laid by the state of Chhattisgarh.
Binayak Sen is noted for extending health care to the poorest people, monitoring the health and nutrition status of the people of Chhattisgarh, and as an activist defending the human rights of tribal and other poor people. In May 2007, he was detained for allegedly violating the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 (CSPSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967. His detention was declared in breach of international law by Amnesty International. Despite being accused of non-bailable offences, the special laws he has been booked under don’t affect his bail rights. Sen first applied for bail before the Raipur Sessions Court and then the Chhattisgarh High Court in July 2007, soon after his arrest, but only granted bail by Supreme Court of India on 25 May 2009.
His trial commenced on 30 April 2008. On 21 October 2008 he made a public appeal and proposal for peace in South Bastar.
Binayak Sen helped to set up the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha's Shaheed Hospital, which is owned and operated by a workers' organization. Sen and his wife, Ilina Sen, are the founders of Rupantar, a community-based nongovernmental organization that has trained, deployed and monitored the work of community health workers spread throughout 20 villages. Rupantar's activities include initiatives to counter alcohol abuse and violence against women and to promote food security. Sen is an advisor to Jan Swasthya Sahyog, a health care organization committed to developing a low-cost, effective, community health programme in the tribal and rural areas of Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. Binayak Sen was also a member of the state advisory committee set up to pilot the community based health worker programme across Chhattisgarh, later known as the Mitanin programme. Binayak Sen contributes to a weekly clinic in a tribal community. Doctors across India have started holding free clinics for the poor in tribute to Sen and to peacefully campaign for his release.
Binayak Sen was the recipient in 2004 of the Paul Harrison award for a lifetime of service to the rural poor. This award is given annually by the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India to its alumni.
Binayak Sen was awarded the R.R. Keithan Gold Medal by The Indian Academy of Social Sciences (ISSA) on 31 December 2007. The citation describes him as "one of the most eminent scientists" of India. "The award is for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of science of Nature-Man-Society and his honest and sincere application for the improvement of quality of life of the poor, the downtrodden and the oppressed people of Chhattisgarh." His "suffering and personal risk" would inspire scientists as well as the general public for a very long time, according to the citation.
Binayak Sen was selected for the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights in 2008. The Global Health Council issued a public statement, "Dr. Sen's accomplishments speak volumes about what can be achieved in very poor areas when health practitioners are also committed community leaders. He staffed a hospital created by and funded by impoverished mine workers, and he has spent his lifetime educating people about health practices and civil liberties—providing information that has saved lives and improved conditions for thousands of people. His good works need to be recognized as a major contribution to India and to global health; they are certainly not a threat to state security."
source:wikipedia
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