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Month: June 2018

Disinheriting Adivasis – The Gadchiroli Game Plan

Disinheriting Adivasis – The Gadchiroli Game Plan

KAFILA / By Vidhya A

In a statement issued on April 16 2018, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) claimed that the ‘National Policy and Action Plan’ to combat Left Wing Extremism (LWE) is ‘a multi-pronged strategy involving security and development related measures’[1]. This new policy, apparently in place since the NDA government came to power at the centre, claims to have ‘zero tolerance towards violence coupled with a big push to developmental activities so that benefits of development reached the poor and vulnerable in the affected areas’.
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about us

about us

We are a collective of individuals active in various groups, networks, movements and organizations within India and abroad. We unequivocally condemn the so called Bhima Koregaon case and interpret it as a manifestation of the deep-rooted political malaise of the Indian state. It exposes a crisis of politics, where right wing forces are gaining ground across India, in tune with the rise of right-wing forces across the world.
As a collective we want to express solidarity with the affected individuals and organisations. We aim to publish mainly reports, analyses, experiences and statements which take a side – the side of the people!
This is an ongoing effort which is completely voluntary and all help in this matter is much appreciated.


For website related inputs and queries, please contact: info@free-them-all.net

More solidarity collectives / networks / campaigns

– Campaign Against State Repression
– Mumbai Rises To Save Democracy
– India Civil Watch
– Free ALL Bhima Koregaon arrestees
– Kabir Kala Manch (KKM)
– Adv Surendra Gadling Defence Committee
– Release Prof. Shoma Sen
– Release The Poet
– Stand with Stan
– The Real Anand Teltumbde
– Mahesh Raut Defence Committee

For specific queries related to individuals and organisations, please contact the concerned organisations directly
– People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
– Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
– Kabir Kala Manch (KKM)
– Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations (CDRO)
– Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR)
– Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP)
– Indian Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL)
– Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS)

WSS: On The Arbitrary Arrests Of Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, and Mahesh Raut By The Maharashtra Police

WSS: On The Arbitrary Arrests Of Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, and Mahesh Raut By The Maharashtra Police

Statement by Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS)

Condemn the arbitrary arrests of Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, and Mahesh Raut by the Maharashtra Police!
Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS) is outraged at the arbitrary arrest of its valued member, Professor Shoma Sen along with other leading Dalit and human rights activists, in an alarming crackdown on civil liberties activists throughout the country.

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IAPL Condemns Arrest of Activists

IAPL Condemns Arrest of Activists

Press Release by IAPL

Today, Indian Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL) organised a press conference at the Press Club of India in New Delhi in relation to the recent arrests of Advocate Surendra Gadling, Prof. Shoma Sen , Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson and Mahesh Raut. The arrests took place on the 6th June, 2018, by Pune police at the early Hours of morning.

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Mining in Gadchiroli – Building A Castle of Injustice

Mining in Gadchiroli – Building A Castle of Injustice

First published: June 17, 2017

Countercurrents / By Neema Pathak Broome and Mahesh Raut

The world environment day came and went one more time on the 5th of June, many passionate statements were made about the environment and need for tree plantation drives. Many tree plantation drives were carried out across the country. Even as these celebrations and plantations were being carried out, thousands of local communities across the country were risking their lives to resist destruction of trees that already exist in some of the country’s finest forests.
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Indian journalist Sudhir Dhawale discusses his release from prison

Indian journalist Sudhir Dhawale discusses his release from prison

First published: Jun 3, 2014

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)/ By Sumit Galhotra

After languishing in jail for 40 months, Mumbai-based journalist and activist Sudhir Dhawale has walked free. Dhawale was the only journalist in jail in India in late 2013, according to CPJ’s annual prison census. With his release, there are currently no other journalists behind bars in the country for work-related reasons.
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Why activists like Sudhir Dhawale are seen as a threat by the BJP govt

Why activists like Sudhir Dhawale are seen as a threat by the BJP govt

Catchnews / By Rajeev Khanna

The arrest of Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Rona Wilson and Mahesh Raut in the Bhima-Koregaon case by Maharashtra Police under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, has stunned the civil society. They have been termed as ‘urban’ or just plain Naxalites for the ever gullible self-styled nationalists and their arrest would form a part of the political debates where nationalism is the flavour.
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Interview with Sudhir Dhawale: ‘No One Can Kill The Dream For Democracy’

Interview with Sudhir Dhawale: ‘No One Can Kill The Dream For Democracy’

First published: Jan 11, 2016

Sanhati / By Anjani Kumar

Already in 2011, Sudhir Dhawale was arrested under several sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and then spent nearly four years in jail. He was acquitted of all the charges filed against him in court. Over the four years that he spent in jail, he was denied nearly every basic human right. On the 23rd of May 2015, he spoke at the ‘Convention against Silencing Democracy & Criminalizing Dissent’ organized by the Committee for the Defence and Release of Dr. GN Saibaba in Delhi. Anjani Kumar spoke to him on the 24th of May on various issues.
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