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Author: Rani

Law and the Subversion of Justice in India

Law and the Subversion of Justice in India

Institute of Postcolonial Studies / by Yug Mohit Chaudhry

While purporting to investigate the Hindutva-fuelled riots of 1st January 2018 following the Elgaar Parishad commemoration of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, an iconic event in Dalit historiography, the state has imprisoned some highly respected intellectuals, scholars and social activists…
Many of these sixteen are role models and heroes of our times: they have sacrificed themselves for the weak and the poor, deepened democracy, and given dignity and meaning to those surviving on the margins of existence ignored by successive governments. If at all they erred, it was in excess of love for those they served.
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Sign Petition: Land Rights Activist Mahesh Raut Needs to be Free

Sign Petition: Land Rights Activist Mahesh Raut Needs to be Free


Poster: Solidarity campaign, June 2019

Gauri Lankesh News / by Gauri Lankesh News Desk

On 6th June 2018, Mahesh Raut, a land and adivasi rights activist, was arrested in relation to the Elgar Parishad case through the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The police charged Mahesh just as he was filing a petition to protect citizens whose lands are mined against their will. Members of Socialist Party (India) recently released a petition seeking signatories in support of Mahesh in the name of freedom of speech.
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Sign Petition “Mahesh Raut Needs To Be Free” here

Concern over Arnab’s Health in Jail. What about Activists Like Varavara Rao and Stan Swamy?

Concern over Arnab’s Health in Jail. What about Activists Like Varavara Rao and Stan Swamy?

Concern over Arnab’s Health in Jail. What about Activists Like Varavara Rao and Stan Swamy?

09/11/2020

ARRÉ / by ARRÉ BENCH

Jailed poet Varavara Rao is suspected to have dementia; he also suffers from multiple ailments including neurological disorders. Activist Stan Swamy, also in jail, has Parkinsons. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari is concerned about the health of Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami.
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Was it freedom of expression when Arnab Goswami called activists anti-national?

06/11/2020

Counterview / by Vidya Bhushan Rawat

India’s prime time ‘hyper entertainer’, Arnab Goswami, was arrested by the Maharashtra police for charges of ‘abetment of suicide’ of an architect and his mother, who has worked for the so-called ‘number one’ channel, but did not get paid …
In fact, Fadnavis should face an independent commission for upturning the entire Bhima Koregaon violence case into a conspiracy theory and then putting so many intellectuals in jail.
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Arnab Goswami arrest does not set India down a slippery slope – it’s been sliding down one for years

05/11/2020

Scroll.in / by Shoaib Daniyal

Dramatic scenes flashed on India’s TV screens on Wednesday morning as Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of the Republic TV network, was arrested from his home in Mumbai.
Goswami has played a big part in changing India’s media landscape, pioneering a loud, jingoistic brand of journalism that does not shy away from flaunting its leanings towards the Bharatiya Janata Party…
Sudha Bharadwaj, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, has explicitly blamed Goswami for making “false, malicious and defamatory allegations” against her by sharing a “fabricated letter”.
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The Maharashtra Police Is Getting Dangerously Politicised and Partisan

05/11/2020

The Wire / by Ashish Khetan

The police has shown no compunctions in going after the critics of the political outfit in power – be it the left-leaning academics under the BJP’s rule or a rightwing media head under the present Shiv Sena-led coalition…
Param Bir Singh, the current police commissioner, has a troubling track record of leading investigations that suit the political party in power. In August 2018, while he was serving as the additional director general of police (law and order) under the BJP-Shiv Sena government, Singh held the infamous press conference in which he released the ‘conclusive evidence’ against the human rights activists and academics accused in the Bhima Koregaon case of waging war against the nation, even as the matter was being heard by the Supreme Court.
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From Kashmir to Gujarat, Journalists Continue to Get Arrested. But It Hasn’t Angered Our Netas Like Arnab’s Arrest

04/11/2020

ARRÉ / by ARRÉ BENCH

The arrest of Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami has been condemned by ministers, many calling it an attack of press freedom. But will they continue their outrage when the next journalist is assaulted in Delhi or arrested in Gujarat?
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Guwahati candlelight vigil for Stan Swamy aborted

Guwahati candlelight vigil for Stan Swamy aborted

The Telegraph / by Umanand Jaiswal

A candlelight vigil in the city on Sunday seeking the release of Father Stan Swamy and the 15 other rights activists arrested in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case had to be called off after the police denied permission.
Northeast Solidarity (NES) had on Thursday sought permission to hold the vigil at Dighali Pukhuri from 4.30pm to 5.30pm on Sunday, demanding the release of the 16 accused “falsely implicated under the UAPA” in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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Father Stan Swamy has to go to court for a straw – NIA Asks 20 Days To Respond

Father Stan Swamy has to go to court for a straw – NIA Asks 20 Days To Respond

Father Stan Swamy has to go to court for a straw

08/11/2020

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent, Sanjay K. Jha

The court, whose permission is required for materials to be sent in from outside jail premises, set the next hearing for November 26.
When Father Stan Swamy, the 83-year-old tribal rights activist, was arrested in haste in Ranchi in the Bhima Koregaon case and taken to Mumbai last month, he had carried a bag with him.
In the bag was a sipper with a straw, which he needs to consume liquids. Father Stan suffers from several age-related ailments apart from Parkinson’s, which has left him unable to hold any open liquid container like a cup or a mug without spilling the contents.
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Arrested Activist, 83, Requests Straw Citing Parkinson’s. NIA Wants Time

07/11/2020

NDTV / by Arvind Gunasekar

Father Stan Swamy, the 83-year-old tribal rights activist arrested last month over his alleged involvement in the Bhima-Koregaon case, has moved the special court in Mumbai for permission to use a straw and sipper cup while drinking.
The NIA (National Investigation Agency), which arrested Mr Swamy – who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease – from his residence in Ranchi on October 8, has sought 20 days time to respond.
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Stan Swamy files plea to allow use of straw, sipper in Taloja jail

06/11/2020

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

83-year-old accused in Bhima-Koregaon case, suffers from Parkinson’s.
Father Stan Swamy, 83, on Friday filed an application before the special court seeking that he be allowed the use of a straw and sipper in Taloja Central Jail where he has been lodged as he cannot hold a glass due to Parkinson’s disease.
The prosecution has sought time 20 days to file a reply to this application and the matter will be heard on November 26.
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Mahesh Raut Needs To Be Free – He ‘fought’ mining on tribal land

Mahesh Raut Needs To Be Free – He ‘fought’ mining on tribal land

Counterview / by Surabhi Agarwal, Sandeep Pandey

A compassionate human being, always popular among his friends and colleagues because of his friendly nature and human sensitivity, 33-year-old Mahesh Raut, champion of the democratic rights of the marginalised Adivasi people of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, has been in prison for over two years now.
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NIA gears up to fight left wing terror harder

NIA gears up to fight left wing terror harder


Solidarity poster, Nov 2020

Oneindia / by Vicky Nanjappa

On Thursday, the National Investigation Agency set up a new office in Ranchi, Jharkhand. This was an important move considering the rising number of cases in the state, which is hit by naxalites in particular…
Very recently the NIA arrested Stan Swamy a Jesuit said to be close to the naxalites.
Officials tell OneIndia that Stan Swamy is a member of the CPI (Maoist). He is actively involved in its activities. He is the convenor of the PPSC, which is a frontal organisation of the CPI (Maoist). He is alleged to have received funds through an associate to further the activities of the CPI (Maoist).
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United Forum for Adivasi Rights protest demanding immediate release of Father Stan Swamy

United Forum for Adivasi Rights protest demanding immediate release of Father Stan Swamy

United Forum for Adivasi Rights protest demanding immediate release of Father Stan Swamy

06/11/2020

Siliguri Times / by Silguri Times

The Adivasi Samaj staged a movement to demand the immediate release of Father Stan Swamy. Furthermore, United Forum for Adivasi Rights staged a rally on Friday.
The members of the organization said that the rights of the Adivasi community are being curtailed. Father Stan Swamy is said to be the one who constantly fought for the rights of the Adivasi community. And the people condemned the central government for putting him behind the bars.
A protest rally was staged today demanding his immediate release. Also, a memorandum was handed over to the SDO addressing the CM mentioning the same.


An Adivasi Crusader Under Trial: A Blot On Indian Democracy – OpEd

05/11/2020

Eurasia Review / by Dr. Paul Newman

The state of Jharkhand is one of the most backward states of India… The three resources that are close to the heart of any tribal in the area is Jal (Water), Jungle (forest) an Jameen (Land), which they own but often lose to the vested interest aided by the state forces… This is an area where a number of missionaries have contributed a great deal to the development of the place in terms of providing quality education, health care and other basis necessities… It is in this context that an eighty three years old, Fr. Stanislaus Lourduswamy, popularly called as Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest from Jamshedpur Jesuit Province was arrested by the National Investigation Agency on the 8th of October 2020 at 7.30 P.M under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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Navlakha, Parvez part of a larger conspiracy to defame India: NIA

Navlakha, Parvez part of a larger conspiracy to defame India: NIA

The New Indian Express / by Express News Service

The NIA, in its Elgar Parishad charge sheet, alleged that Navlakha was working as a link between Pakistan’s ISI and the CPI-Maoist.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) believes are links between Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez and activist Gautam Navlakha, who was chargesheeted in the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregaon case, sources said on Wednesday.
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Asian Bishops back Jailed Jesuit / Forum demands release of activist Fr. Stan Swamy

Asian Bishops back Jailed Jesuit / Forum demands release of activist Fr. Stan Swamy

Asian Bishops back Jailed Jesuit

05/11/2020

Church Militant / by Fabian Gomes

Asia’s bishops are calling for the release of an 83-year-old Jesuit priest jailed in India.
The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) is supporting Fr. Stan Swamy S.J., the oldest person to ever be accused of terrorism in India. The president of FABC, Cdl. Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar, condemned the arrest in a statement issued on Monday.
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Forum demands release of activist Fr. Stan Swamy

05/11/2020

The Hindu / by Staff Reporter

Condemning the arrest of 83-year-old priest Fr. Stan Swamy in Jharkhand, members of the Karnataka United Christian Forum and Human Rights sought the Union government’s intervention to ensure the immediate release of the activist.
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