Civil Society’s Call for Immediate Cessation of Hostilities and Dialogue

We, the undersigned, welcome the public statement of Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Congress Party, that the extreme neglect of the tribal areas is at the root of the present crisis in those regions. We hope that this appreciation of the need to go deeper into the question would lead to initiatives for immediate cessation of hostilities and dialogue so that the process of people-oriented development can be made feasible.

Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, former Judge, Supreme Court of India; Justice P.B. Sawant, former Judge, Supreme Court of India, erstwhile Chairman, Press Council of India; Shankha Ghosh, poet; Amit Bhaduri, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Mahasweta Devi, writer; Romila Thapar, historian, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Arundhati Roy, writer; B.D. Sharma, former Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; Bibhas Chakravarty, playwright; D. Bandyopadhyay, former Secretary, Revenue and former Secretary, Rural Development, Government of India; G.N. Saibaba, Assistant Professor, University of Delhi; Joy Goswami, poet; Madhu Bhaduri, former Indian Ambassador to Portugal; Amit Bhattacharya, Professor of History, Jadavpur University, Kolkata; P.K. Vijayan, Assistant Professor, University of Delhi; Prashant Bhushan, Advocate, Supreme Court of India; Randhir Singh, Professor of Political Science (retd), University of Delhi; Rona Wilson, Committee for Release of Political Prisoners; Tarun Sanyal, poet and President, Forum of Artistes, Cultural Activists and Intellectuals, Kolkata; Sujato Bhadra, democratic rights activist; Vijay Singh, Member, Academic Council, University of Delhi; S.A.R. Geelani, Assistant Professor, University of Delhi, Committee for Release of Political Prisoners; Arjumand Ara, Member, Academic Council, University of Delhi; Ravinder Goel, Assistant Professor, University of Delhi; Sumit Chakravartty, Editor, Mainstream.