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Journalism of Courage
As Binayak Sen spent a lonely day in jail on Tuesday,his friends and well-wishers in Delhi and his hometown Kalyani in West Bengal celebrated his 61st birthday by feeding homeless people and protesting his conviction.
In Delhi,doctors and health activists launched the India chapter of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) while other friends and supporters launched a public campaign to feed the homeless.
The initiative (of feeding homeless) is part of a larger campaign calling for his immediate release. It is also meant to bring public attention on the issue of malnutrition which Sen has been highlighting, Indu Prakash Singh,an activist,said at a press conference.
PHR India also offered honorary chairmanship of the India chapter of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) to Binayak Sen.
In Sens hometown Kalyani,hundreds of residents,including childhood friends of Sen,gathered under the banner of Binayak Lovers of Kalyani, to celebrate his birthday at his ancestral house.
This was the only way to show our solidarity towards him and his family and to voice our protest against the unreasonable verdict, said Dr Ashok Bakshi,an old friend of Sen.
Sens mother Anasua said: I did not prepare anything special. I am not in a mental state to cook anything which he liked. My son is wallowing in jail in far away Bilaspur. I am waiting for him.
The two-hour programme started with Anasua Sen singing a song and ended with a chorus We shall overcome.
