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Arrests in Bhima Koregaon case frame a transformation in India’s polity and police force

Arrests in Bhima Koregaon case frame a transformation in India’s polity and police force


Watch music video: Wake Up Call

The Indian Express / by Christophe Jaffrelot

The current usage of the expression “urban Naxal” owes much to Bollywood film director Vivek Agnihotri, who defines an “urban Naxal as an intellectual, influencer or activist who is an invisible enemy of India”. The idea of such a conspiracy was propagated, however, by the Sangh Parivar.
In October, Stan Swamy, an 83-year old Jesuit priest, was sent to judicial custody in the Bhima Koregaon case. His is the latest arrest in a case that illustrates a significant transformation in India’s polity and the country’s police force.
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NIA is acting as another ‘caged parrot’ like CB

NIA is acting as another ‘caged parrot’ like CB

National Herald / by Arun Srivastava/IPA

The NIA, constituted by an Act of Parliament, is also being used by the Modi government to serve its political interest.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which in recent times has suffered a severe crisis of credibility and faith in the eyes of the people has suffered yet another shattering blow with the Maharashtra government withdrawing general consent for operations within its territory…
The NIA can take up a case dealing with its scheduled offences in India without the consent of the state government in question.
But unfortunately, the NIA is also being used by the Modi government to serve its political interest. The Bhima Koregaon case is worth mentioning.
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Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest / Webinar report: Stand With Stan

Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest / Webinar report: Stand With Stan

Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest

28/10/2020

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

Representatives of Christian and rights organisations hint at urgent need for the convergence against the current ‘fascist’ forces.
Christian organisations and human right groups have called for Dalits, tribal and minorities to join hands with other concerned citizens and protest attempts by the central government to silence voices of dissent by misusing the anti-terror law UAPA.
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Bhima Koregaon Case: A Critical Appraisal: Our Call – Free them All

27/10/2020

Countercurrents / by Dr Prakash Louis

Background to Bhima Koregaon Event
The 1818 Battle of Koregaon is of importance for Dalits. On 1st January, 1818, 800 troops of the British Army, with large number of Mahars, Dalit Community of Maharashtra predominant among them, defeated a numerically superior force of the Peshwa Baji Rao II …
On 1st January, 2018, like every year, lakhs of Dalits poured into Bhima Koregaon. The commemoration has a record of being conducted peacefully and the village’s residents have a history of social harmony. But this year, tensions had begun to build in a neighbouring village over the question of which community had conducted the last rites of Maratha ruler Sambhaji – the Mahars or the Marathas.
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Webinar report: Stand With Stan

27/10/2020

Countercurrents / by Indian Christians for Democracy

A webinar was organised with major initiative of Indian Christians for Democracy on 25th October, Sunday, 2020 from 11.00 to 1.00 pm …
The objectives of the webinar were 1) Keep pressure on for the release of all falsely accused and arrested; 2) False accusation, detention and arrest becomes a debating point and the government gives up this practice; 3) Nation-wide demand for the repeal of UAPA.
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Asian bishops stand in solidarity with arrested Jesuit [read full statement]

Asian bishops stand in solidarity with arrested Jesuit [read full statement]

UCA News / by John Zaw, Mandalay

The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) has said it stands in solidarity with Indian Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy and all who support the rights of indigenous people.
“It is with great shock and agony the FABC heard of the arrest of the 84-year-old Father Swamy and his incarceration and we are surprised at the charges brought against him,” Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, president of the FABC, said in a statement.
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Asian Bishops Call for Release of Fr. Stan Swamy

26/10/2020

ZENIT / by ZENIT Staff

The Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) has called for the release of Fr. Stan Swamy, who was arrested in his home in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand State in eastern India, on October 8th…

Following is the full letter
It is with great shock and agony, the FABC heard of the arrest of the 83-year-old Fr Stan Swamy and his incarceration. We are surprised at the charges brought against him. We stand in solidarity with Fr. Stan Swamy and all who support the rights of the indigenous people.
Read full statement


AICUF Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam unit and Parish Pastoral council St. Peter’s Cathedral, Arch Diocese of Visakhapatnam has organized a candle light rally @ 19:30hrs on Sunday 25.10.2020 at Gnanapuram for Fr. Stan.

One of the Accused in the Bhima Koregaon case: A profile of Mahesh Raut

One of the Accused in the Bhima Koregaon case: A profile of Mahesh Raut

The Polis Project / by The Polis Project and maara

Mahesh Raut is a land rights activist working with Gram Sabhas in the mining areas of Gadhchiroli. He is a former Prime Minister Rural Development (PMRD) Fellow. As part of his work, he visited local villages and interacted with local communities. In addition to being one of the conveners of Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vilas Andolan, a national organization that fights the displacement of marginalized communities, Raut is also a member of Bharat Jan Andolan, a human rights NGO.
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Arrested accused wanted to mobilise youth through photo exhibitions, says NIA

Arrested accused wanted to mobilise youth through photo exhibitions, says NIA

Book / Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

Ahead of the Bhima Koregaon incident in January 2018, one of the accused – Arun Ferreira – had suggested holding photo exhibitions for students on the subjects of mob lynching and Hindu militant uprising. According to a charge sheet filed earlier this month by the National Investigative Agency (NIA), this was to mobilise the youth.
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Stan Swamy’s Crime Is His Solidarity with the Marginalised

Stan Swamy’s Crime Is His Solidarity with the Marginalised

The Leaflet / by Annie Domini

In light of the state’s attack on eminent activists who fight for the right of marginalised and oppressed, those who express solidarity must raise their voices loudly and actively writes Annie Domini.
If you look at the body politic of the country without saffron-tinted glasses, if you truly see, you will find a very very sick organism indeed. An organism that’s cannibalising on its own heart, brain and lungs to feed a massive belly of unrestrained State power.
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Arrested Indian Jesuit’s detention extended /Court Rejects Stan Swamy’s Interim Bail Plea

Arrested Indian Jesuit’s detention extended /Court Rejects Stan Swamy’s Interim Bail Plea

Arrested Indian Jesuit’s detention extended

25/10/2020

UCA News / by UCA News reporter

A special court in India’s business capital Mumbai extended the judicial custody of an octogenarian Indian Jesuit for another two more weeks on Oct. 23, rejecting his plea for an interim-bail considering his advanced age and poor health.
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Court Rejects Stan Swamy’s Interim Bail Plea in Elgar Parishad Case

23/10/2020

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Swamy had filed an interim bail application on medical grounds, given his age, pre-existing conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
A special court on Thursday rejected the interim bail plea filed by 83-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, arrested in the Elgar Parishad case.
Swamy was arrested on October 8 from Ranchi, Jharkhand by the National Investigation Agency and taken to Mumbai the day after. He had filed an interim bail application on medical grounds, given his age, pre-existing conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
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NIA court rejects Father Stan Swamy’s plea for interim bail

22/10/2020

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

The special National Investigating Agency (NIA) court on Thursday rejected the interim bail plea filed by 83-year-old activist Father Stan Swamy…
His lawyer, Sharif Shaikh, had moved a plea for interim bail claiming, “The applicant is 83-years old, suffering from various ailments like hearing loss from both ears, arms injury. He has undergone two hernia operations, and still is suffering from abdomen pain. He suffers intense pain from lumbar spondylosis i.e. the tear and wear of the lumbar disc and tremors in both hands due to Parkinson’s disease.”
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On trail for thoughts – What is stopping the Elgaar Parishad activists from getting bail?

On trail for thoughts – What is stopping the Elgaar Parishad activists from getting bail?

Millenium Post / by Abhinay Lakshman

With three chargesheet now filed against them, what is stopping the Elgaar Parishad activists from getting bail? With evidence of their “provocative” speeches vague and questions being raised on the veracity of other evidence, is this what being tried for one’s thoughts feels like?
Some of the country’s pioneering rights activists, professors, lawyers and human rights advocates have been languishing in jail for years now by precisely this modus operandi – and their trial is yet to even begin.
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Father Stan Swamy’s Jesuit Associates Condemn ‘Fabricated’ Charges Against Him

Father Stan Swamy’s Jesuit Associates Condemn ‘Fabricated’ Charges Against Him

The Wire / by Abhish K. Bose

“The NIA knows that he was voicing views against the government and corporate groups, and hence he was framed in the case.”
Kottayam: The Jesuit congregation is hopeful that the case against 83-year-old priest Father Stan Swamy, a member of the Jamshedpur province of the Society of Jesus congregation, arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), will be shattered in the court, as there is no evidence to establish that he was in some way connected with the violence against Dalits at Bhima Koregaon. The imprisoned priest’s close associate, Father Joseph Xavier, alleges that Swamy hasn’t visited Pune for the last 15 years.
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+++ Tweet by Indian Social Institute: On 23 Oct’20, ISIB UTC, Archdiocese of Bengaluru, PUCL-K, CRI, NGOs and CSOs jointly organized a program on Stand in Solidarity with Fr. Stan Swamy SJ.120 people participated representing various religious congregations, NGOs, CSOs, Teachers, Students and Activists. +++