Saibaba–‘Anda Cell’ failed to destroy His Spirit

Amit Bhattacharya

My acquaintance with Prof G N Saibaba is of nearly three decades, as far as I can remember. It was at an International Seminar on the Nationality Question held in New Delhi during 16-19 February 1996 that I first saw him. It was attended by delegates from different countries; including Prof NgugiwaThiongo’s from Kenya, who had been in exile in the USA. There on the Presidium I saw a man who was unable to stand on his feet as his both legs were affected by polio and who simply crawled on his hands to proceed to the chair nearest to his reach on the Presidium.

My father, too, was unable to walk because of polio from his childhood days. Later, he was able to walk slowly, but as a lame man with a stick as support. A stick in hand, he travelled by trams and buses to reach and teach in colleges. However, Saibaba’s difficulties were far more intense than his.

Prof Saibaba could surmount all hurdles with determination and courage. Never did he talk about his physical disability. There was a time when he acted as the Warden inside the Delhi University campus and stayed at the Warden’s Quarter. That abode was open for everyone. The hospitality we received from him and Vasanta, his life partner, is still vivid in my memory.

Prof Saibaba had all along been fighting for the rights of the oppressed people, stood against state repression, against draconian repressive acts such as TADA, POTA and the UAPA, joined and organised People’s Conventions in support of the unconditional release of political prisoners. He played an active role in the formation of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) in the LTG auditorium, New Delhi held during March 31-April 1, 2008.

He was attracted to Communist ideology, to Naxalbari struggle. His selfless work, modesty, honesty of purpose, dedication to the ideology he believed in, and love for the common people endeared himself to his friends, colleagues and students alike.

Prof Saibaba was a voracious reader interested in different subjects. Nothing related to the masses was alien to him. However, his thinking, writing and activities earned him the wrath of the State. He was arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) on the charge of sedition—an act under which it is virtually impossible to get bail. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by Nagpur court. An appeal was made in the court against the verdict.

It had been a prolonged legal battle, with the state doing everything in power to keep him in life-long captivity. Ultimately, the Bombay High Court quashed the sentence as ‘violation of the rule of law’ and set him free. By then, Prof Saibaba had already spent ten years in prison. He breathed his last a few months after his release while undergoing surgery on 12 October 2024.

The despicable condition under which he had to pass his days in prison beggars description. Political prisoners of our generation are acquainted with the adverse environment and the loneliness under which they had to pass their days in solitary cells. Prison memoirs written by the Naxalite prisoners in the 1970s are full of horrific accounts of their days in prison. But the conditions prevailing in the Anda Cells of Nagpur jail surpass them all in brutality and dehumanisation. The specific purpose behind the creation of the Anda Cell is to slowly send the ‘dangerous’ prisoners to their doom every day, every hour. Prof Saibaba himself has related his day-today experience after coming out of the dungeons. The living condition in those dungeons is really difficult for even normal prisoners. But for prisoners with major physical disabilities, it is really impossible to remain alive.

But Saibaba could transform what is impossible into possible. His indomitable courage, his never-say-die attitude and his undying will to live raised his mental strength to unbelievable heights.

Stan Swami, the Roman Catholic Churchman, also arrested under the UAPA, unable to cope with the situation, appealed to the judges with folded hands begging for release. But none paid heed to his appeal, He was not allowed to live, but forced to die. Prof.Saibaba’s will to live lifted his mental strength to epic heights. He will continue to live in the struggles of the people.

Let me pay my homage to the departed soul and condolence to Vasanta, Mandira and Saibaba’s other near and dear ones.

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Vol 57, No. 20, Nov 10 - 16, 2024