Statements

On the public statement of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi

Press Statement, 17 May 2010

We the undersigned welcome the public statement of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Congress Party that the extreme neglect of the tribal areas is at the root of the present crisis in those regions. We hope that this appreciation of the need to go deeper into the question would lead to initiatives for immediate cessation of hostilities and dialogue so that the process of people-oriented development can be made feasible.

Signatories:

Justice V R Krishna Iyer, Judge (Retd)  Supreme Court of India

Justice P B Sawant, Judge (Retd)  Supreme Court of India, former Chairperson, Press Council of India

Shankar Ghosh, Poet

Amit Bhaduri, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Mahasweta Devi, writer

Romila Thapar, historian, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Arundhati Roy, Writer

B D Sharma, Former Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Tribes

Bibhas Chakraborty, Playwright

D Bandopadhyay, Former Secretary, Government of India

G N Saibaba, Asst. Professor, University of Delhi

Joy Goswami, Poet

Madhu Bhaduri, Former Indian Ambassador to Portugal

Amit Bhattacharyya,Professor of History, Jadavpur University, Kolkata

P K Vijayan, Asst. Professor, University of Delhi

Prashant Bhushan, Advocate, Supreme Court

Randhir Singh, Professor (retd.), Depart. of Political Science, University of Delhi

Rona Wilson, Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners

Tarun Sanyal, Poet & President of Writers Association, West Bengal

Sujatho Bhadro, Democratic Rights Activist

Sumit Chakravarty, Editor, Mainstream, Weekly

Vijay Singh, Member, Academic Council, University of Delhi

SAR Geelani, Asst. Professor, University of Delhi & Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners

Arjumand Ara, Member, Academic Council, University of Delhi

Ravinder Goel, Asst. Professor, University of Delhi