On the cusp of history
Torment of silver nights, a pain with no cure,
Heartache unanswered, the body's long cry of despair –
Only a few days, dear one, a few days more.
– Faiz Ahmed Faiz in A Few Days More, translated by Victor Kiernan
It has been two years since paediatrician and human-rights activist Binayak Sen was picked up in Chhattisgarh on charges of being a courier for the Naxalites. He has been held without trial ever since. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has given a reprieve to the hate-mongering Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi, directing the Mayawati-led Uttar Pradesh government to drop the charges filed against him under the National Security Act for spewing venom against Muslims. The Gandhi youth has managed to become a parliamentarian, and the courts know where to draw the line when it comes to cases related to rightist militants.