Challenging Caste reads the violence at Bhima Koregaon as a clash between two worldviews — one striving to flatten the social hierarchy, the other justifying and perpetuating it. This book rips apart the Maoist conspiracy theory and the Urban Naxal narrative. It points out the ironies underlying the State’s charges against the sixteen, and the flimsiness of the evidence that is said to have been planted on their hacked computers. The conspiracy against the sixteen that inflicted untold miseries on their families is retold here in their voices.
Author: Ajaz Ashraf
Publisher: AuthorsUpFront
Publishing Date: June 2024
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Pages: 496
What does the death of a jailed Jesuit priest say about India’s democracy under Modi?
02/06/2024
npr / by Lauren Frayer
MUMBAI, India — Two days before police finally came to arrest him, the Rev. Stan Swamy recorded a video of himself speaking directly into the camera.
“They want to put me out of the way,” the ailing 83-year-old Jesuit priest said.
His voice sounded frail. But what he was saying was explosive.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, was targeting him in retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Indigenous people in Indian jails. Read more / 33-Minute Listen
‘India’s Watergate’: A tale of political manipulation, disinformation and nationalism
29/05/2024
Npr / by Lauren Frayer
It started with a civil rights rally, and ended in riots. NPR investigates how 16 of India’s most famous human rights activists were jailed for an alleged terror plot. They say they were framed.
India is wrapping up elections this week. We’re going to take you back to the last Indian elections five years ago, to a scandal that some call India’s Watergate. It has not brought down Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. In fact, he is expected to win a third term. The scandal started with a civil rights campaign that led to hundreds of arrests, allegations of computer hacking and the death of an elderly priest behind bars. NPR’s Lauren Frayer has our story. Read more / 8-Minute Listen
Video | Modi’s India a modern Indian fascism: Alpa Shah / Book excerpt: The Incarcerations
Modi’s India a modern Indian fascism: Alpa Shah, Professor of Social Anthropology
19/04/2024
The Wire / by Karan Thapar
en | 44:51 | 2024 One of British academias most highly regarded anthropologists has said “we need to call Modi’s India a modern Indian fascism”. Alpa Shah says: “Indian fascism may not be of the classic kind, whatever that is, but it’s fascism nevertheless.”
In a 40-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, to mark the launch of her book, ‘The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon and the Search for Democracy in India’, Alpa Shah, who is presently Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics but has just been announced as the new Professor of Social Anthropology at Oxford University and a fellow of All Souls College, identified seven key characteristics of fascism each of which, it seems, applies almost fully to India under Narendra Modi. She, therefore, argues that terms like “majoritarianism or ethnic democracy or cultural nationalism” do not “convey the gravity of threat to democracy under way in India”. Watch video
The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon And The Search For Democracy In India by Alpa Shah
19/04/2024
Article14 / by Alpa Shah
… In The Incarcerations, professor of social anthropology at the London School of Economics Alpa Shah now tells the chilling story of the Bhima-Koregaon case that transformed the 16 human rights defenders who were professors, lawyers, journalists and poets into alleged Maoist terrorists accused of waging a war against the Indian state and plotting to kill prime minister Narendra Modi.
Book excerpt Only when the streets in Mumbai were deserted because of the Dalit protestors, did the conflict over the Bhima Koregaon British war memorial make it into international news, at The Guardian. In fact, the Indian broadsheets and mainstream TV mainly covered the events only when there was disruption in Mumbai, and then the focus of reporting was on mobs holding the city to ransom, not the casteist violence in Koregaon that they were protesting. Read more
A new book recounts how 16 activists were imprisoned as terrorists, without trial
27/03/2024
Scroll.in / by Alpa Shah
An excerpt from ‘The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon and the Search for Democracy in India’
Amnesty International India and Oxfam India released a joint response the day Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Varavara Rao were arrested. “The nationwide crackdown on activists, advocates and human rights defenders is disturbing and threatens core human rights values.” Read more
Koregaon Bhima inquiry commission gets 14th extension, told to submit final report by August 31
The Maharashtra government has granted yet another extension to the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry till August 31.
As per the order issued in this regard by the home department recently, the commission has been given an extension of another four months. This is the 14th time that an extension has been granted to the commission since it was formed. Read more
Alleging govt lawyers are diverting the probe, the VBA chief said the Commission is “helpless” without judicial powers
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar on Monday, 13 February, walked out of the witness box of the Bhima Koregaon Commission, announcing that he quit the cross-examination. Read more
Inquiry commission to cross-examine VBA chief and then Haveli SDO
The Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, which is investigating the Bhima Koregaon violence, has issued summons to Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar, Elgar Parishad organiser Harshali Potdar and Pune resident deputy collector Jyoti Kadam to appear for cross-examination. Read more
Commemorative events like the Bhima-Koregaon battle anniversary open a pathway for alternative cultural expressions. Such sites become spaces for new political aspirations.
On January 1, hundreds of thousands of people gathered at the Bhima-Koregaon monument to mark the 206th anniversary of the battle of Bhima-Koregaon. For about a decade and a half now, the memorial at Bhima-Koregaon near Pune in Maharashtra has become a noteworthy site of public attention, underlining the significance of an alternative reading of social and political histories. Read more
Pune: Blue flags flutter across Nagar Road
02/01/2024
PuneMirror Bureau / by Chaitraly Deshmukh
Bhim Sainiks converge at Vijay Stambh to pay obeisance on 206th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima
Amidst elaborate security arrangements, thousands of Bhim Sainiks assembled to pay homage at the historic Vijay Stambh (victory pillar) on Monday, marking the 206th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima. Read more
Koregaon Bhima Battle Anniversary: Images of Indian Constitution, Ambedkar adorn Jaystambh
01/01/2024
The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde
This year, the state government has decorated the ‘Jaystambh’ with images of the Constitution of India with the caption “Bhartiya Samvidhanache Amrut Mahotsavi Varsh” (platinum jubilee year of the Indian Constitution).
Preparations were in full swing for the programme to be held at the ‘Jaystambh’ at Perne village in Pune district on Monday to mark the 206th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima. Read more
Security stepped up for Koregaon Bhima battle anniversary at Perne
31/12/2023
Hindustan Times / by Nadeem Inamdar
Heavy security force has been deployed in and around Koregaon Bhima victory pillar Jaystambh at Perne village as the district administration expects around 20 lakh visitors to the historic memorial on January 1, 2024, for the anniversary of the battle of Koregaon Bhima. Read more
Koregaon Bhima battle anniversary: Security tightened at Jaystambh for Jan 1 event
30/12/2023
The Indian Express / by Express News Service
As a precaution, police have issued notices to a number of people including activists of different groups, local villagers and others, who were booked in different cases regarding the Koregaon Bhima violence, asking them to stay out of the region on the day of the event.
Heavy security is being deployed at the Jaystambh, which is expecting more visitors than 2023, for the January 1 programme in 2024, to mark the anniversary of the battle of Koregaon Bhima. Read more
Police monitor social media posts ahead of battle of Koregaon Bhima anniversary
26/12/2023
Hindustan Times / by Nadeem Inamdar
State home department instructs police authorities to monitor social media posts related to Koregaon Bhima anniversary events to ensure law and order
The Pune city and its rural counterpart under the directions from the district collectorate have begun security arrangements, surveillance and other safety measures ahead of the 206th anniversary of the battle of Koregaon Bhima at the village. Read more
Security measures intensified as Koregaon Bhima battle anniversary approaches
26/12/2023
Pune Mirror / by Prakhar Yadav
The state home department, in an effort to maintain law and order, has directed the police to closely monitor social media posts related to the upcoming festivities and events
As the 206th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima approaches, the district collectorate has instructed both Pune city and its rural counterpart to initiate comprehensive security plans, surveillance, and other safety measures. The state home department, in an effort to maintain law and order, has directed the police to closely monitor social media posts related to the upcoming festivities and events. Read more
Pune Crime Files: A look at charges against Hindutva leader Ekbote and court observations in 2018 Koregaon Bhima violence
26/12/2023
The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde
Widespread violence broke out in Koregaon Bhima area on January 1, 2018, when a few lakh people, mainly the Ambedkarites, had gathered to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle between the British Army and Peshwa forces.
Preparations are in full swing at the ‘Jaystambh’, a British war memorial at Pune’s Perne village, to mark the 206th anniversary of the battle of Koregaon Bhima that was fought between the British Army and Peshwa forces on January 1, 1818. Read more
6 years, 14 extensions later Koregaon Bhima Commission’s work still unfinished
26/12/2023
Hindustan Times / by Nadeem Inamdar, Yogesh Joshi
It has been six years since the caste conflict broke out at Koregaon Bhima and the work of the Commission to probe into the events that led to the clashes is yet to be completed after 14 extensions
As the 206th anniversary of the battle of Koregaon Bhima draws near, Pune district administration has teamed up with the law enforcing agencies to monitor social media to avoid any untoward incident. Read more
Pune Mirror / by By PuneMirror Bureau, Yashpal Sonkamble
The High Court has cleared the way for Shaurya Day to be celebrated in Koregaon-Bhima. The court has ordered removal of the sugarcane from the Vijay Pillar area and clear the place. Read more
Elgaar Parishad activist questioned about Mohsin Shaikh murder case
09/11/2023
The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde
Replying to advocate Hiray, Harshali Potdar said she was aware that the accused in the Shaikh murder case were acquitted. When Hiray asked whether she made any attempt to appeal against the judgment, Potdar said, “No”.
While cross-examining activist Harshali Potdar before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray on Thursday quizzed her about the 2014 Mohsin Shaikh murder case. Read more
Sambhaji Bhide: The BJP’s pet rabble-rouser in Maharashtra
30/09/2023
National Herald / by Sujata Anandan
Meet Manohar Kulkarni, alias Sambhaji Bhide, aka Guruji, who the BJP is banking on to deliver the Maratha vote in Maharashtra
After lying low for almost three years while Uddhav Thackeray was chief minister of Maharashtra, it is no coincidence that Manohar Kulkarni aka Sambhaji Bhide is back to stirring the communal pot with BJP-leaning Eknath Shinde in the driver’s seat. Read more
