Campaign against hanging of Jiten to intensify in AP

A committee of intellectuals, writers and cultural artists of Andhra Pradesh has decided to step up its campaign against the death sentence given to a tribal activist and artist of Jharkhand Jiten Marandi and his three associates.

The members of the committee representing various organisations met in Hyderabad on Tuesday and decided to organise a big rally in the city in December as part of their campaign for the release of Marandi, whom they described as an innocent person who had become a victim of a political conspiracy in Jharkhand.

The Gridiha sessions court had sentenced the four to death in connection with the death of 20 people including Anup Marandi, son of then Chief Minister Babulal Marandi in a Maoist attack in Chilkari.

The campaign in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere was being intensified at a time when the Ranchi High Court was going to take up the appeal of the convicts from Wednesday.

Varavara Rao, an activist of the Revolutionary Writers Association told a Press conference in Hyderabad that Jiten Marandi was implicated in the case by Jharkhand police because of political reasons as he had organised a demonstration in front of the residence of Chief Minister Babaulal Marandi against the displacement of tribals for the mining projects.

Varavara Rao and other writers pointed out that Jiten Marandi was a respected tribal rights activist and convener of committee for the release of political prisoners and committee against displacement as well as Jharkhand Abhyan.

He said the campaign was organised in Andhra Pradesh by the cultural activists as Marandi was also a popular artist in the State. As part of the campaign the committee decided to organise a rally in Hyderabad on December 1 marking 36th death anniversary of a revolutionary activist Kishtaiah Goud who was hanged on the day in 1975.

“We have decided to take up the issue in a big way because it is first time since India became a Republic that a tribal activist has been given death sentence,” Varavara Rao said.

He pointed out that the activists in Andhra Pradesh have organised the campaign against the death sentence awarded to many other people including Nagabhushan Patnaik and Chalpati Vijayvardhan Rao successfully. “Even the hanging of Saddam Hussain also evoked a strong reaction in Andhra Pradesh and we have brought four books against that. We have a strong democratic tradition against the death sentence,” he said.

The meeting was attended by Gitanjali of Revolutionary Writers Organisation, Roshni of Democratic Women’s Writers Association, Dappu Ramesh of Praja Kala Mandali and K Pratap Rao of Indian People’s Theatre Association and Koti, secretary Praja Kala Mandali.