A poem in solidarity with the struggle of Teesta Setalvad against the criminal charges. Written by Ella Wheeler in 1914. Protest - Poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox `To sin by silence, when we should protest, Makes cowards out of men. The human race Has climbed on protest. Had no voice been raised Against injustice, ignorance and lust, The Inquisition yet would serve the law, And guillotines decide our least disputes. The few who dare, must speak and speak again To right the wrongs of many. Speech, thank God, No vested power in this great day and land Can gag or throttle. Press and voice may cry Loud disapproval of existing ills, May criticise oppression and condemn The lawlessness of wealth-protecting laws That let the children and child-bearers toil To purchase ease for idle millionaires.
Therefore do I protest against the boast Of independence in this mighty land. Call no chain strong which holds one rusted link, Call no land free that holds one fettered slave. Until the manacled, slim wrists of babes Are loosed to toss in childish sport and glee, Until the Mother bears no burden save The precious one beneath her heart, until God's soil is rescued from the clutch of greed And given back to labor, let no man Call this the land of freedom.' (Thank you, Leo Saldanha) On Sat, Feb 4, 2017 at 12:07 PM, KP Sasi <[email protected]> wrote: > Today’s Times of India (Mumbai) has reported that CBI has filed criminal > charges against the well known human rights activist Teesta Setalvad and > her husband Javed Anand. As per the statement of Teesta, refuting all > claims of violation of FCRA norms by the CBI, the financial support she has > received is after the deduction of TDS. And even if any mistake has > happened in the process, the normal process is to fine for such mistakes. > There is absolutely no need for issuing criminal charges. Placing Teesta > Setalvad as a criminal, exhibits the decadency of CBI as a puppet of > Narendra Modi in their support for vindictiveness of Modi against Teesta > Setalvad, for raising the responsibility of his role as a Chief Minister in > Gujarat genocide. As a Prime Minister of this country, if Narendra Modi has > any problem with Teesta Setalvad, he should place all those criticisms > under the Indian Constitution and not use CBI to do the dirty job for him. > CBI officials should also realise that by doing such dirty jobs, the > credibility of CBI as an institution is under question mark, among the > public with independent minds. The need for the hour is for all secular > groups, parties and individuals, all human rights organisations and > minority groups, womens' groups and all civil society groups to defend the > human rights violation of a human rights defender called Teesta Setalvad. > If the civil society cannot defend the human rights of a human rights > defender, then fascism is the only answer for this country. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
