A tribute and condolence gathering for late human rights activist, poet & former Delhi University (DU) Professor GN Saibaba took place in Hyderabad today, October 14.
The condolence meeting, which took place at his brother’s residence in Moula Ali, was visited by members of student groups, human rights organisations, civil rights groups, writers’, poets’ and artist collectives, and Left-leaning organisations, who all paid their tributes to the deceased professor.
Prominent writers and activists including writers Rivera and N Venugopal, Prof Sujatha Surepally and others were in attendance. Student groups present at the gathering included the Disha Students’ Organisation and Fraternity Movement.
In addition, leaders from the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Dalit rights organisations were also present.
A student activist from Disha Students’ Organisation, Telangana who was present at the gathering, told EdexLive that even though the crowd was fleeting, about 300 people were present at the meeting, offering their respects to Prof Saibaba at any given point in time.
Later during the day, a procession of over 200 activists, leaders from Left parties, and civil rights groups took a procession from the main gate of the Gandhi Hospital to the Gandhi Medical College, where his body was donated to science, reports Newsminute.
To recall, Prof Saibaba, who taught English at Delhi University’s Ram Lal Anand College and acted as a prominent voice against Operation Green Hunt, was incarcerated in 2014 by the Gadchiroli Police in Maharashtra under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, on charges of being a member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Despite being 90 per cent disabled due to polio and wheelchair-bound, Prof Saibaba was kept locked in the infamous “Anda cell”, shaped like an egg, in the Nagpur Central Jail, where his health deteriorated. He alleged facing torture and medical neglect by the prison authorities throughout his decade-long incarceration — and was even afflicted with COVID-19 while in prison.
In March 2024, Prof Saibaba was acquitted of all charges against him by a Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court after the prosecution could not provide sufficient evidence against him, and he was finally a free man.
However, this freedom would be short-lived, as his ordeal during his decade-long incarceration would haunt him in the form of failing organs and health complications. He breathed his last on October 12 — barely eight months since his acquittal — when his heart stopped while he was undergoing treatment for kidney stones at the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad.
Several activists, student leaders, and student organisations posted about his demise on X, condemning it as an institutional murder.
The late professor is survived by his wife, Vasantha and daughter, Manjeera.