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Author: Rani

Joginder Ugrahan says ‘Naxal’ tag is only to divide farmers

Joginder Ugrahan says ‘Naxal’ tag is only to divide farmers

The Print / by Fatima Khan

Joginder Ugrahan, 75, has been stationed at Tikri border since 28 November. His union’s protest demanding activists’ release created a row, but he says his words will be his legacy.
… On 10 December, the union marked the international human rights’ day by holding up posters of activists and scholars who have been arrested under stringent laws such as the UAPA in the last few years – Sudha Bhardwaj, Varavara Rao, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, among others.
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Academic freedom is under attack in Modi’s India

Academic freedom is under attack in Modi’s India

Aljazeera / by Aman Abhishek

The ongoing unlawful imprisonment of Professor Anand Teltumbde and numerous other dissident scholars is a clear reflection of the bleak state of academic freedom in India.
Last year I had the opportunity to listen to the prominent Indian intellectual and author, Anand Teltumbde, speak at an academic conference in Delhi. At one point in his speech, he got teary-eyed and told the audience that he has lost all hope because India’s transformation into a “Hindu nation” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears complete.
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Varavara Rao in Prison: Maoists and Other Enemies of the Indian State

Varavara Rao in Prison: Maoists and Other Enemies of the Indian State

VERSO / by Aditya Bahl

Aditya Bahl protests against the continued imprisonment of the Marxist poet, Varavara Rao, and examines how the current cycle of rightwing repression is part of a much longer political history, shaped by the changing relationship between the Indian state and capitalism.
In Captive Imagination, a collection of essays written in the prison during the late 1980s, Varavara Rao, the Telugu poet and a leading Maoist ideologue in India, narrates a rather uncanny state of affairs.
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VV’s Update from Hospital / Varavara Rao to remain at Nanavati hospital till Dec 21

VV’s Update from Hospital / Varavara Rao to remain at Nanavati hospital till Dec 21

VV’s Update from Hospital

16/12/2020

Release the Poet / by N Venugopal

Prisoned Peoples’ Poet Varavara Rao is doing far better now. Hospital care, nursing, regular check-ups, medication have helped a lot. Meeting his own people everyday, even if for an hour a day, reading Telugu after two years added strength. Still physical weakness persists; post-covid issues are there. Sending back to jail might aggravate this again.
We have to see what happens on Dec 21 court hearing…


Varavara Rao’s health better, hospital stay to continue till Bombay HC decides on bail plea

16/12/2020

India Today / by Vidya

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told the Bombay High Court that jailed activist Varavara Rao is fit enough to be sent back to jail. Varavara Rao was moved to a hospital over his ailing health.
During the hearing, Varavara Rao’s lawyers sought bail for him… While trying to emphasise that granting bail to Varavara Rao would not mean that he would run away from the trial, Anand Grover said, “He has been tried for 24 cases in his lifetime which is not a joke for anyone and he has been acquitted in all of them. He has been chargesheeted and acquitted. He never absconded and has stood trial and he will stand trial here as well and that should be considered while granting him bail.”
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Varavara Rao to remain at Nanavati hospital till Dec 21: Bombay HC

15/12/2020

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Varavara Rao, who is lodged at Taloja Central Jail, was shifted to the private hospital following a court order on November 18.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday allowed Telugu writer-poet Varavara Rao, arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Elgaar Parishad case, to remain at Nanavati hospital in Mumbai till the next hearing on December 21.
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Bombay HC extends Varavara Rao’s hospital stay, NIA says he is fit to go back to jail

15/12/2020

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

During the hearing, Rao’s counsels pleaded that he be permitted to go back to his home in Hyderabad for treatment.
The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday told the Bombay High Court that Telugu poet and activist Varavara Rao, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, was “fit enough” to be shifted back to the Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai from a private hospital where he is currently admitted, PTI reported.
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Jesuit priests voice active support for jailed senior Fr Stan Swamy / NGO urges ‘Star for Stan’

Jesuit priests voice active support for jailed senior Fr Stan Swamy / NGO urges ‘Star for Stan’

Jesuit priests voice active support for jailed senior Fr Stan Swamy

16/12/2020

The Times of India / by Bella Jaisinghani

Mumbai: The Society of Jesus, which runs prominent schools and colleges in the city, has expressed solidarity with their jailed senior colleague Fr Stan Swamy and decried the “abuse” of the UAPA law. The ailing 83-year-old priest remains in Taloja Jail facing UAPA charges in the Bhima Koregaon case, and had to battle for basic amenities like straw and sipper.
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NGO urges ‘Star for Stan’ with straws and sippers, or banners

16/12/2020

Times of India / by TNN

A unit of NGO, Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS), affiliated to St Peter’s Church, Bandra, urged citizens to signal support for jailed activists, including the elderly Fr Stan Swamy through their Christmas Star.
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Elderly Indian Jesuit’s bail hearing postponed again

16/12/2020

UCA News / by Saji Thomas

Federal probe agency opposes Father Swamy’s bail after claiming it has serious evidence against him.
An elderly Indian Jesuit priest remains in jail after a special court deferred hearing his bail plea for a fourth time following opposition from the federal probe agency that arrested him two months ago on charges of sedition and links to Maoist rebels.
The bail application of 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy came up for hearing on Dec. 14 before the special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) based in Mumbai, capital of western India’s Maharashtra state.
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Also Read: NIA OPPOSES BAIL PLEA OF STAN SWAMY / STAN SWAMY LIKELY TO BE SHIFTED TO ARTHUR ROAD JAIL (Dec 15)

Should Gautam Navlakha’s House Arrest In 2018 Be Included For Computing Period For Default Bail?

Should Gautam Navlakha’s House Arrest In 2018 Be Included For Computing Period For Default Bail?

Live Law / by Live Law News Network

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday reserved judgment on the appeal filed by Gautam Navlakha, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, challenging the order of NIA court granting extension of time under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act( UAPA) for filing chargesheet.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Navlakha, submitted that the extension application under Section 43D(2) of UAPA was filed by the NIA on the the 110th day of his custody. Since the application was filed beyond the period of 90 days, Navlakha was entitled to get default bail, Sibal submitted.
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NIA opposes bail plea of Stan Swamy / Stan Swamy likely to be shifted to Arthur Road Jail

NIA opposes bail plea of Stan Swamy / Stan Swamy likely to be shifted to Arthur Road Jail

NIA opposes Stan Swamy’s bail plea, claims he was part of ‘deep-rooted conspiracy’

15/12/2020

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The central agency said Swamy cannot be given bail as it was yet to complete investigating emails and other digital evidence gathered at the time of his arrest.
The National Investigation Agency on Monday opposed the bail plea filed by tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, and alleged that the 83-year-old was part of the alleged conspiracy to instigate violence in 2017, PTI reported.
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NIA opposes bail plea of Stan Swamy

15/12/2020

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Father Stan Swamy had moved a plea seeking opportunity to be heard if a decision is taken to transfer him to any other prison. Swamy has been lodged in Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai since his arrest in October…
The court was also informed about the application by co-accused Gautam Navlakha seeking from jail authorities to provide him five books per month in Taloja prison. After hearing submissions, the court granted NIA to respond to the pleas and posted further hearings on December 21.
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Stan Swamy likely to be shifted to Arthur Road Jail

15/12/2020

Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter

Swamy’s advocate had made a plea on December 4, seeking that Swamy not be shifted from Taloja Jail without their being heard.
Octogenarian tribal rights activist Stan Swamy may be shifted out of the Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai to Arthur Road Jail in the city. The Taloja jail superintendent, in a report, informed the court on Monday that while the jail authorities did not plan to shift him presently, considering his age and ailments, they were likely to move him to Arthur Road Jail, which had government hospitals nearby.
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NIA Cites Kabir Kala Manch’s Songs That Parody Modi, BJP to Oppose Bail to Arrested Singers

NIA Cites Kabir Kala Manch’s Songs That Parody Modi, BJP to Oppose Bail to Arrested Singers

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Along with the songs, the agency has also relied upon evidence from 2011 and 2012 and has claimed that the activists were in touch with absconding Naxal leader Milind Teltumbde.
Singing parodical songs against the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been presented as one of the grounds for arresting singers and activists of the cultural troupe Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) in the Elgar Parishad case. In its response filed in the Bombay high court against the bail application moved by the vocalists of KKM, Sagar Gorkhe (32) and Ramesh Gaichor (38), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has cited their songs which critique Narendra Modi and certain BJP policies as one of the grounds for arrest.
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Farmers’ Union Explains Why it is Demanding Jailed Activists’ Release / Ugrahan rights rally hurt cause

Farmers’ Union Explains Why it is Demanding Jailed Activists’ Release / Ugrahan rights rally hurt cause

Ugrahan rights rally hurt cause, admit 32 groups, underline repeal demand

14/12/2020

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Carefully calibrating their distancing from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), the joint resolution said: “The function organised by BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) has no relation with the farmers’ struggle. Their action has harmed the farmers’ struggle.”
With union ministers attributing ideological opposition to the farm protests and equating some of them with “Left and Naxal elements,” as many as 32 farmer unions passed a resolution Saturday making it clear that their only issue is the repeal of farm laws and nothing else.
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Won’t Pursue Narrow Interests: Farmers’ Union Explains Why it is Demanding Jailed Activists’ Release

12/12/2020

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

‘It is important to build solidarities around people who are the target of sectarian and communal state policies.’
A section of mainstream media had been quick to brand the demand a “hijacking” of the farmers’ movement by Leftist intellectuals. The following statement, released by the BKU (Ugrahan), offers an idea as to why the protesters decided to add another cause to their agenda.
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It’s Time We Speak up For Each Other: Farmers’ Group Supports Political Prisoners

11/12/2020

The Wire / by Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

“We are confronting a prime minister who is behaving like an exploitative king. All these activists and intellectuals have been arrested on false charges merely because they highlighted the plight of the poor,” said the head of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan).
A day after farmers’ unions rejected an elaborate proposal by the Union government to address multiple concerns related to the three contentious farm laws, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan), the biggest group among the 32 organisations, marked Human Rights Day by demanding the release of several democratic rights activists and intellectuals who are lodged in prison.
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Bharti Kisan Union – Ekta Ugrahan

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Posters demanding release of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Elgar Parishad activists seen at farmers’ protest

10/12/2020

Free Press Journal / by FPJ Web Desk

Lawyer and coordinator of the BKU N K Jeet said the release of these activists has been part of their demands from the very first day.
As the farmers’ agitation in the national capital entered Day 15 on Thursday, the ongoing protest against the Centre’s three new farm laws also turned political with a farmer union body–Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan)–demanding the release of writers, intellectuals, rationalists mainly arrested in Elgar Parishad and Delhi Riots case.
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BKU (Ugrahan) to seek release of ‘rights activists’, Delhi riots accused

10/12/2020

The Indian Express / by Kamaldeep Singh Brar

Pictures of more than 20 accused, including Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, booked under the stringent UAPA, will be installed on a stage near the Tikri border.
Despite the farmer unions’ decision to keep their ongoing protest in Delhi against the farm laws “apolitical”, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) plans to use this platform to demand the release of several accused booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for allegedly having links with Naxals, on Human Rights Day, to be observed Thursday.
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Farmers hit back at Union minister’s ‘protest backed by Pakistan’ allegations

10/12/2020

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The farmers’ protest against the agricultural legislations entered the 15th day on Thursday…
Live updates

2.18 pm: Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan observe human rights day at Tikri border, demanding release of writers, rationalists and intellectuals, mainly arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, including Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde, Sudha Bhardwaj, Varvara Rao and others, reports The Times of India.
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When saints are in prison: Custody as a form of torture

When saints are in prison: Custody as a form of torture

The Quint / by Kaleeswaram Raj

Incarceration is not mere curtailment of freedom. It is a diminution of human dignity. And today, one is forced to think that individual dignity in India is in deep crisis.
It is amazing to watch the Supreme Court building that symbolises a wonderful architectural tradition. It is more so when one looks at the flock of birds that fly over the court’s tomb, epitomising universal liberty, a theme that the Constitution tried to imbibe. It contains provisions for certain fundamental rights even for non-citizens. Article 21 promises right to life and personal liberty to ‘any person’. The court has interpreted life to always mean dignified life.
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