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Suppressing Dissent / Who is Really the Enemy of the People?

Suppressing Dissent / Who is Really the Enemy of the People?

Suppressing Dissent

20/10/2020

Medium.com / by Arun Simon

Dissent is rarely welcomed in any society. As power increases, appreciation of dissent decreases. Innumerable examples can be seen with dictators or absolute powers. It is also possible in religion, culture, and other domains… My country India, with all its high democratic values, is no different. The officially declared emergency(1975) may be the worst period in that line. But there are many unofficial competitors for the same today. The recent arrest of many social activists (latest in that line being Fr. Stan Swamy, a tribal activist) under a draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with many contemporary events raises serious questions.
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Who is Really the Enemy of the People?

20/10/2020

NewsClick / by Suhit K Sen

India will have to look to forces within the country to steer back towards political processes that incorporate opposition, dissent and diversity.
Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, was arrested in Ranchi on 9 October. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which carried out the arrest, claimed he was a member of the CPI (Maoist) organisation. It appears that anyone who works for Dalit rights, or is not in full agreement with the toxic ideology of the Sangh parivar, must be a Maoist.
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How the Right Is Starting a Psychological War by Targeting the Old and Ageing

How the Right Is Starting a Psychological War by Targeting the Old and Ageing

How the Right Is Starting a Psychological War by Targeting the Old and Ageing

13/10/2020

The Wire / by Ajay Gudavarthy

The right seems to believe that given the cultural codes of Hindu way of life, dispensing with the old will meet less protest and resistance from the society – creating a scope for more fear and less resistance.
… It began with the murders of Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar and Kalburgi – all of them into their 70s, and more recently the arrest of Varavara Rao, and now Stan Swamy, both into their 80s.
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There is an environment of fear in India. The State must renew the commitment to rights

12/10/2020

Hindustan Times / by Hindustan Times

The action against a range of intellectuals and activists and journalists – Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Stan Swamy, Apoorvanand, Harsh Mander are among the better-known examples – indicates that the space for free expression and dissent is jeopardised.
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NCRB 2019 data shows 165% jump in sedition cases, 33% jump in UAPA cases under Modi govt

12/10/2020

The Print / by Leah Verghese

In recent years, sedition and UAPA have been weaponised against critics of the govt. National Crime Records Bureau’s recently-released data confirms this.
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The Indomitable Spirit of Father Stan Swamy

The Indomitable Spirit of Father Stan Swamy

The Wire / by Mari Marcel Thekaekara

Stan Swamy and the adivasis he supports in an impossible battle for their own ancestral lands are pawns pitted against mammoth mining companies. Falsely branding activists as Maoists is the easiest way to condemn to enable vested interests to finish them off.
“No, it’s not possible,” were my first thoughts when I heard that Father Stan Swamy, an 83-year-old Jesuit priest and activist had been arrested – for the second time. His crime? He defended the rights of adivasis being exploited in their homeland Jharkhand.
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Arundhati Roy: Two conspiracies and a cremation

Arundhati Roy: Two conspiracies and a cremation

Scroll.in / by Arundhati Roy

As Diwali approaches and Hindus prepare to celebrate the triumphant return of Lord Ram to his Kingdom (and the spanking new temple that is being built for him in Ayodhya), the rest of us must be content to celebrate this season of serial triumphs for Indian Democracy…
The real purpose of the absurd police-manufactured 2020 Delhi conspiracy, and equally absurd 2018 Bhima-Koregaon conspiracy (the absurdity is part of the threat and the humiliation) is to imprison and pin down activists, students, lawyers, writers, poets, professors, trade-unionists and noncompliant NGOs.
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The Only Institution Capable of Stopping the Death of Democracy Is Aiding it

The Only Institution Capable of Stopping the Death of Democracy Is Aiding it

The Wire / by A.P. Shah

The Supreme Court seems to have lost its way.
I speak here today of what I believe is one of the most troubling developments of our time: the decline of the Indian Supreme Court. As a former judge, at the very least I believe it is my duty to ring some warning bells…
This abuse of the UAPA and constant rejection of bail applications of accused as a means of silencing opposing voices can be seen most in the Bhima Koregaon cases, where mere thought has been elevated to a crime.
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UAPA – Governments Avoid Due Process by Declaring Groups as ‘Front Organisations’

UAPA – Governments Avoid Due Process by Declaring Groups as ‘Front Organisations’


Jharkhand, Sep 5, 2020

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Legal experts say loopholes in UAPA allow enforcement agencies to misuse the law to target dissenters by branding them as ‘fronts’ for banned organisations.
KKM – a 20-year-old cultural troupe with an anti-caste legacy – was first named in a criminal case in 2011, when the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested several individuals for their alleged link with the banned Maoist group… In the nine years since KKM was first criminalised, neither the state government nor the Centre have made any efforts to notify the organisation as either a banned organisation or an unlawful association, a process laid down in the UAPA.
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Video: Revisiting the Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy Case

Video: Revisiting the Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy Case

TWO YEARS AND COUNTING…
Revisiting the Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy Case

SESSSIONS AND SPEAKERS
Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy Case: Mihir Desai • Vrinda Grover
Views from the Movements • Dr. Ravikumar • Aruna Roy • Nikhil Dey • Ulka Mahajan
Crushing Dissent Through Laws: Rebecca John • Prashant Bhushan
Cultural Performance: Relaa • Yalgaar
REMEMBRANCES
Family Members and Colleagues of: Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Arun Ferriera, Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale, Vernon Gonsalves, Hany Babu, Rona Wilson, Varavara Rao.

Video

hindi + en | 4h | 2020
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Movement Lawyering As A Tool To Articulate Feminist Values And Goals

Movement Lawyering As A Tool To Articulate Feminist Values And Goals

Click to enlarge posters above

Feminism India / By One Future Collective

As the world witnesses agitation from various minority communities, using existing formal legal processes to bolster their movements has been a major challenge. As a concept, movement lawyering is akin to the tool of public or social interest litigation in India. It envisions a close and harmonious relationship between the legal and activist circles who bring their individual expertise to fulfill a common objective – justice. India has been witness to the works of several noteworthy lawyers but some of their practice is an embodiment of movement lawyering.
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Manufacturing Evidence: How the Police is framing and arresting constitutional rights defenders in India

Manufacturing Evidence: How the Police is framing and arresting constitutional rights defenders in India

By The Polis Project

An international coalition of human rights defenders, with evidence gathered by activists on the ground, compiled „Manufacturing Evidence: How the Police is framing and arresting constitutional rights defenders in India“ – a report that once again exposes the communal bias of the Indian Police.
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Police officers probing Delhi violence, Bhima Koregaon cases get home minister’s excellence medal

Police officers probing Delhi violence, Bhima Koregaon cases get home minister’s excellence medal

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Rajesh Deo and Vikram Khalate, Superintendent of Police, NIA, were among the 121 recipients of the award.
A senior Delhi Police officer probing the communal violence that broke out in the city in February and a National Investigation Agency officer leading the Bhima Koregaon case inquiry are among those who received the Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation on Wednesday.
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ACP, who probed Elgar Parishad case, awarded by Union home ministry

12/08/2020

Hindustan Times / by Jogesh Joshi

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Shivaji Pawar, who probed the Elgar Parishad case, has been awarded with the Union home minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation for the year 2020… “I am happy that all my efforts have been rewarded. The award is being given to me for the Elgar Parishad investigation,” said Pawar.
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