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Koregaon Bhima panel hearings to resume from Nov 15, Rashmi Shukla summoned

Koregaon Bhima panel hearings to resume from Nov 15, Rashmi Shukla summoned

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

As per the schedule, IPS officer Rashmi Shukla, who was a former Pune Police Commissioner, has been summoned to appear before the panel as a witness on November 18.
After receiving a nod from the state government regarding availability of a bigger venue in Mumbai for the purpose, the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Monday released its schedule for conducting the next set of hearings in the case.
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Was Stan Swamy a Maoist or a martyr? A new book considers the question

Was Stan Swamy a Maoist or a martyr? A new book considers the question

Scroll.in / by Gladson Dungdung

Since the death of the 84-year-old renowned human rights activist Fr. Stan Swamy (trained as a Jesuit priest), in judicial custody on July 5th, 2021, which was actually an institutional murder orchestrated by the Indian state, a billion-dollar question has arisen in the minds of millions in India and abroad. Was Fr. Stan Swamy a martyr or a traitor?
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Also read:
● How the system broke Stan Swamy: A cell mate recalls the activist’s last days in prison (Scroll.in / Aug 2021)
● Framed to Die – The Case of Stan Swamy (45 pages, PUDR / Aug 2021)

Sudha Bharadwaj is a true patriot and heir of the Ghadar movement

Sudha Bharadwaj is a true patriot and heir of the Ghadar movement

Countercurrents / by Gurpreet Singh

Currently incarcerated under trumped up charges in the world’s so called largest democracy, Sudha Bharadwaj is one of the dozens of scholars and activists locked up in the Indian jails.
Bharadwaj, who turned 60 on November 1, is a lawyer who has been advocating for the rights of the poor and marginalized, especially Adivasis or the Indigenous peoples of India who are being evicted from their traditional mineral-rich lands by the extraction industry with the backing of the government.
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Also read:
● As Sudha Bharadwaj Spends 4th Birthday in Jail, a Reminder That UAPA Enables Her Incarceration (The Wire / Nov 1, 2021)

Explained: Bhima Koregaon Commission

Explained: Bhima Koregaon Commission

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

The panel set up to inquire into the 2018 violence has suspended work till provision of suitable accommodation.
On January 1, 1818, a battle between the Peshwas and the British resulted in the overthrow of the Peshwas. To honour the valour of the soldiers, a Vijay Stambh, a war memorial was built Bhima Koregaon village. In 1921, on January 1, Dr B.R. Ambedkar visited the site which resulted in the initiation of an annual tradition to commemorate the occasion. Thereafter every year on January 1, large numbers of Bahujan gather at the Vijay Stambh to pay tribute to Dalits.
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Also read:
● Bhima Koregaon Judicial Commission Suspends Hearing After Maharashtra Govt Fails to Provide Accommodation In Mumbai (Live Law / Nov 2, 2021)
● Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati, March 2018)

As Sudha Bharadwaj Spends 4th Birthday in Jail, a Reminder That UAPA Enables Her Incarceration

As Sudha Bharadwaj Spends 4th Birthday in Jail, a Reminder That UAPA Enables Her Incarceration


Chhattisgarh, Nov 1, 2021

The Wire / by Mahtab Alam

In addition to her legal battles, Sudha Bharadwaj also fought to seek justice for the marginalised in Chhattisgarh.
On Monday, November 1, Chhattisgarh celebrated 21 years of its statehood. On November 1, 2000, the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh. It was a result of longstanding demand and sustained struggles of local organisations and the population. One of the organisations which played a key role in the formation of the new state is Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM) or Chhattisgarh Liberation Front. The CMM was formed in the early 1980s under the charismatic leadership of trade union leader Shankar Guha Niyogi. He was murdered in September 1991. And one of those who decided to carry forward the unfinished work of Niyogi is his fellow comrade from early years of activism – Sudha Bharadwaj, a trade union activist, lawyer and teacher.
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A new imagination in Dalit-Bahujan politics – social differences and economic inequalities

A new imagination in Dalit-Bahujan politics – social differences and economic inequalities

The Telegraph / by Ajay Gudavarthy

… The Dalit intellectual and activist, Anand Teltumbde, had lamented for long that reservation has benefited about 6 per cent of Dalits, leaving the rest in abject poverty. One of the consequences of this is that this privileged minority among Dalits begins to be characterized more by its new-found class mobility rather than by caste-based concerns. It is not surprising that Anand’s incarceration has not mobilized Dalit-Bahujan organizations; most of them believe that articulating such ‘abstract’ structural issues brings no concrete benefits to the Dalit-Bahujan cause.
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Also read:
● Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati, March 2018)

Home dept offers room to Bhima Koregaon panel / Panel suspends hearing until govt provides suitable premises

Home dept offers room to Bhima Koregaon panel / Panel suspends hearing until govt provides suitable premises

Home dept offers room to Bhima Koregaon panel at Sahyadri guest house

02/11/2021

Hindustan Times / by By Nadeem Inamdar

A day after the Bhima Koregaon Commission announced suspension of its functioning due to a lack of space, the state home department informed the panel that one room would be made available in Mumbai to conduct the hearings.
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Bhima Koregaon Judicial Commission Suspends Hearing After Maharashtra Govt Fails to Provide Accommodation In Mumbai

02/11/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The two-member judicial commission appointed by the Maharashtra Government to probe the caste-based violence at Koregaon-Bhima on January 1, 2018, has indefinitely suspended its function due to the State government’s apathy to provide proper accommodation for proceedings.
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Koregaon-Bhima probe panel suspends hearing until Maha govt provides suitable premises

01/11/2021

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

The Koregaon-Bhima Inquiry Commission, probing the January 2018 violence near a memorial in Maharashtra’s Pune district, has told the state government that it is suspending all scheduled hearings till the government does not provide it a “suitable accommodation” in Mumbai to conduct the probe into the case.
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Rally for the release of Gautam Navlakha held in Canada

Rally for the release of Gautam Navlakha held in Canada

Rally for the release of Gautam Navlakha held in Canada

01/11/2021

Countercurrents.org / by Radical Desi

On the 37th anniversary of the 1984 Sikh Genocide, South Asian activists gathered in Surrey to raise their voices for a jailed Indian scholar, who was behind documenting the tragedy and exposing those involved.
Gautam Navlakha was arrested on trumped up charges in April 2020, and is currently lodged in jail near Mumbai. His only crime is daring to question the powerful, and always standing up for the minorities and the oppressed.
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Man behind early authentic field report on Sikh Genocide is in jail; will the world take notice?

24/10/2021

Straight.com / by Gurpeet Singh

Gautam Navlakha has consistently spoken out on behalf of people being persecuted in India.
As we approach the first week of November, marking the 37th anniversary of the Sikh massacre in India, a scholar who helped document the tragedy is struggling for his release from an Indian jail.
Gautam Navlakha, who was arrested in April 2020 on trumped-up charges along with other prominent scholars and social-justice activists, is currently lodged in prison near Mumbai. His only crime is that he dared to question the powerful and has always stood up for minorities and the oppressed.
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We salute Sudha Bharadwaj and her fight for Justice (various statements)

We salute Sudha Bharadwaj and her fight for Justice (various statements)

PUCL salutes Sudha Bharadwaj and her fight for Justice!

01/11/2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

Click to enlarge

Chhattisgarh, Nov 1, 2021


Video (3min): Song by CMM comrades


Watch video 1

Video (1:30min): Slogans by PCSS comrades


Watch video 2

#ReleaseSudhaBharadwak (Nov 1)

by Indira Jaising

by Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA) Raipur
When the government doesn’t have an answer to the storm of questions raised against it, it resorts to arresting those speaking the truth fearlessly. Shame! #ReleaseSudhaBhardwaj #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #RepealUAPA

by Tribal Army
We demand human rights activist sudha Bhardwaj to be released.
Happy Birthday Madam

by NAPM India
#SudhaBharadwaj is one of the finest trade unionists & public spirited lawyers who has always taken on unjust & powerful forces. We wish Sudha real liberation on her 60th. #3years of her incarceration & that of all political prisoners is a shame, a huge loss & unforgivable crime.

by Meera Sanghamitra
Working silently, yet resiliently for over three decades amidst adivasis, workers & oppressed sections in #Chhattisgarh, #Sudha has inspired an entire generation to understand the combined value of legal activism & on-ground unionizing. Happy birthday, Comrade. You are a star.

by Meena Kanasamy
History will remember her as a fierce lioness who stood up to this regime.

Chitrangada
It’s her 60th birthday tday & she is spending it in prison, where she has been since 3+ yrs, without bail or trial.
The Bombay HC finished hearing her last bail plea on 4th Aug. Still no ruling.

by AISA Delhi Universtity

Sudha Bharadwaj goes through her 4th birthday in Jail for fighting for the rights of people! While Criminals like Anurag Thakura and Kapil Mishra are not only Roaming free but are being awarded Ministries by the Government! #ReleaseAllPoliticalPrisoners #releaseBK16 #RepealUAPA

by CIVICUS

Today human rights lawyer & activist Sudha Bharadwaj will celebrate her 60th birthday in prison She was arrested on fabricated charges 3 years ago and has been denied bail. Call on the govt to #FreeSudhaBharadwaj immediately: https://web.civicus.org/India1121 | #StandAsMyWitness

… #ReleaseSudhaBharadwaj

Release All Political Prisoners & Revoke UAPA

29/10/2021

By TribalSpaces

Click to enlarge
No bail, no trial: Sudha Bharadwaj turns 60 in jail / Another birthday in detention

No bail, no trial: Sudha Bharadwaj turns 60 in jail / Another birthday in detention

No bail, no trial: Sudha Bharadwaj turns 60 in jail!

01/11/2021

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

The human rights defender has been accused of waging a war against the government and booked under terror charges in the Bhima Koregaon case
Trade Unionist, lawyer, professor, writer, Sudha Bharadwaj was arrested on August 28, 2018 and has been lodged in Byculla jail since then. She has been accused of criminal conspiracy, sedition under the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act charges of funding a terrorist activity, conspiracy, being a member of terrorist gang or organisation, and supporting a terrorist organisation.
Born on November 1, 1961, Bharadwaj has turned 60 today. This is the fourth birthday she has had to spend behind bars.
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Human rights defender Sudha Bharadwaj spends another birthday in detention

01/11/2021

By CIVICUS

Human rights defender and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj will be spending her 60th birthday in detention today, more than three years after she was arrested on baseless charges under a draconian anti-terror law. Global civil society alliance CIVICUS calls on the Indian government to halt the ongoing persecution against her and release Bharadwaj immediately and unconditionally.
Read full statement

‘If You Try to Be Safe and in the Middle, You Will Never Succeed’

01/11/2021

The Wire / by Monobina Gupta

Note: This article was originally published on July 18, 2018, and was republished on November 1, 2021, Sudha Bharadwaj’s 60th birthday.

Sudha Bharadwaj has spent nearly three decades working with the most marginalised sections of people in the conflict-ridden state of Chhattisgarh. Away from the media glare, her ear firmly to the ground, the trade union activist and lawyer has been up against powerful corporates and state administrations headed both by the present BJP dispensation and before that, the Congress party.
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