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Month: June 2020

After NIA Chargesheet Called it Criminal, Twitter Responds with #LalSalaamComrade

After NIA Chargesheet Called it Criminal, Twitter Responds with #LalSalaamComrade

Newsclick / by Newsclick Report

Registering their protest against an increasingly “authoritarian” state, users on social media in India used the hashtag #LalSalaamComrade on Twitter this evening. The hashtag also comes about days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) held that the use of “lal salam” and “comrade” meant that one is a Maoist.
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Selection of posters @ #LalSalaamComrade (click to enlarge)

NIA court adjourns bail plea hearing of Varavara Rao

NIA court adjourns bail plea hearing of Varavara Rao

Hindustan Times / by HT Correspondent

05/06/2020

The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Friday adjourned the plea hearing of Telugu poet P Varavara Rao to June 10, as prison authorities at Taloja jail have not submitted his medical reports.
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UPDATE (June 10): Poet Varavara Rao’s bail application hearing has been postponed to 12th of June due to unavailability of the judge today.

Video: Bhima Koregaon `Cover Up´

Video: Bhima Koregaon `Cover Up´


en | 10:34 min | 2020

By Pedesterian Pictures

Though there is a mountain of evidence to prove their innocence, the 9 activists arrested, allegedly for their role in the Bhima Koregaon violence still remain in jail. And the witch-hunt only continues, resulting in the arrests of Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde, also charged with UAPA for the same case. While it is very evident that the case against Anand Teltumbde is fabricated, he was asked to surrender amidst the deadly pandemic along with Gautam Navlakha.
We demand the immediate release of all the 11 activists.
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Delhi High Court Was Right to Call NIA to Account for Gautam Navlakha’s Hasty Removal

Delhi High Court Was Right to Call NIA to Account for Gautam Navlakha’s Hasty Removal


Solidarity poster by ABA, 2020

The Wire / by Anjana Prakash

By failing to uphold the sanctity of the high court’s order in a matter where the NIA’s conduct appears surreptitious and mala faide, the Supreme Court has undermined the majesty of the law.
A senior once told me that the best way to understand the law was to know the law. His advice confused me in the beginning, but I soon realised how profound it was. I recall this in the context of the case of Gautam Navlakha and others. I don’t hold their brief, but if I’ve chosen to speak, it is as a thinking person.
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We need groups organised to fight, they’re the ones who can make a dent – A profile of Sudha Bharadwaj

We need groups organised to fight, they’re the ones who can make a dent – A profile of Sudha Bharadwaj


CMM demands release of Sudha Bharadwaj, Chhattisgarh 2019

The Polis Project / by The Polis Project & maraa

PROFILES OF DISSENT | The profile spotlights the life and work of Sudha Bharadwaj a trade unionist, and a civil rights activist who had fought against land acquisition, and has worked and lived in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh for 29 years.
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AI India: Release The BK11 on bail on humanitarian grounds (video)

AI India: Release The BK11 on bail on humanitarian grounds (video)


en | 2:12 min | 2020

By Amnesty International India

Over the past 2 years, Sudha & 10 other activists have been repeatedly denied bail. In the wake of the #COVID19 pandemic, we at @AIIndia are concerned about their health. The Indian Government must immediately release the activists on bail on humanitarian grounds!
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Despite Court Order, Sudha Bharadwaj Denied Basic Right of Phone Calls in Jail

Despite Court Order, Sudha Bharadwaj Denied Basic Right of Phone Calls in Jail

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

While others who have been accused in the case have managed to stay in touch with their families and lawyers, Bharadwaj’s daughter and lawyers have not been able to do so despite multiple requests and a court order.
Mumbai: Maaysha saw her mother, Sudha Bharadwaj, last on February 22. It was a day after Maaysha’s birthday; she turned 23 this year. In the mulaqaat (meeting) at Yerwada prison in Pune, Bharadwaj – an academic and human rights activist – was barely given five minutes to talk to her daughter who had travelled from Delhi just for this meeting.
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UPDATE, June 10: After nearly 3 months, jail authorities allowed Sudha Bharadwaj to call her daughter & speak to her for 2 minutes.

Video: Tracking India’s crackdown on dissent

Video: Tracking India’s crackdown on dissent


en | 5:04 min | 2020

Peoples Dispatch / by Peoples Dispatch

June 6 marks the second anniversary of the arrest of activists in India as part of the Bhima Koregaon or Elgar Parishad case. This case has become a prime example of the targeting of those who are critical of India’s current far-right wing government led by prime minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In this video, we look at the case and those who are being targeted.
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Bhima Koregaon case: A comprehensive timeline

Bhima Koregaon case: A comprehensive timeline

Peoples Dispatch / by Peoples Dispatch

The case thoroughly exposes the oppressive right-wing domination of the Indian political and legal institutions, and highlights the looming threats to the constitution and human rights in the country.
June 6 marks the second anniversary of the arrest of activists as part of the Elgar Parishad case in India. The case has been a dangerous instance of how dissent is being persecuted by India’s current far-right wing government led by prime minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
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