The KKM was formed by a Pune activist, Amarnath Chandaliya, after the Gujarat riots in 2002 for promoting unity.
An alleged operative of the banned CPI-Maoist, Santosh Vasant Shelar alias Vishwa alias Painter, who went missing from Pune in November 2010, returned home over a week ago in bad health.
… The KKM was among the outfits that organised Elgaar Parishad at Shaniwar Wada in Pune on December 31, 2017, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Koregaon Bhima, fought between Peshwas and Britishers on January 1, 1818. Read more
Calling UAPA ‘undemocratic’, the human rights activist says the State is leaning towards implementing more oppressive and repressive laws
“A person suffers in jail for three to four years and then gets acquitted after the prosecution fails to prove his guilt. This is happening in many cases now. About 97 percent of the arrests were made without any evidence, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) cases,” said G. Haragopal, human rights activists and retired professor from the University of Hyderabad. Read more
‘For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit’, an anthology of prison poems, testifies to the coercive nature of the state and society – yet its under-representation of regional poets speaks of wider exclusions.
My dangerous personality
That you do not understand:
The secret is poetry.
‘Poetry’ by Varavara Rao, 30 December 1987. Translated by N Venugopal
What is it about poetry that states and governments in power find difficult to accept? Varavara Rao, a well-known revolutionary poet and long-time detainee of the Indian government, writes in ‘Poetry’ about the enduring resilience and power of verse to voice people’s concerns in the face of surveillance and propaganda. He expands on the poet’s “dangerous personality”:
You go on about surveillance
Poetry gets ignited and continues to fire.
You go on about governance
Poetry talks about people even in sleep.
The civil rights coalition, Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), even as condemning the “intensifying harassment” of activist, writer, lawyer and intellectual Ajay Kumar and is family by India’s investigative agencies, has said that “the arrest of Ajay Kumar under fabricated charges is imminent”, and may happen in the “similar vein” to that of his former associates like Prof GN Saibaba, activist Rona Wilson, late Father Stan Swamy, trade unionist Sudha Bharadwaj, others. Read more/full statement
Stifling of right to protest, freedom: Open letter to CJI Chandrachud
03/01/2024
SabrangIndia / by SabrangIndia
The open letter has alleged that peaceful protests were met with fake encounters, abductions and demolition of houses belonging to the protesters by police and other government instrumentalities
… Text of the Open Letter:
To D.Y. Chandrachud,
The Chief Justice of India,
Supreme Court of India
2nd January 2024
Dear Justice Chandrachud,
We write this letter to you as a members of democratic-minded civil society and activists who are working on issues concerning democratic ethos of the people and the protection of their civic, democratic, and constitutional rights. Read more / full letter
Open letter from civil rights activists to CJI Chandrachud on freedom curbs
03/01/2024
The Telegraph online / by R. Balaji
The letter alleged that peaceful protests were met with fake encounters, abductions and demolition of houses belonging to the protesters by police and other government instrumentalities
A group of civil rights activists and organisations on Tuesday wrote an “open letter” to Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on the alleged suppression of free speech, peaceful protests and rallies by police, leading to the stifling of democratic dissent in the country. Read more
Open Letter to CJI Chandrachud highlights Concerns Over Erosion of Democratic Rights
03/01/2024
The Mooknayak / by The Mooknayak English
The letter questions India’s commitment to being the world’s largest democracy and refers to the words of jurist John Rawls, stressing the importance of justice and the need to reform or abolish unjust laws and institutions. The plea is for the judiciary to uphold equal liberties and protect rights secured by justice, emphasizing that such rights should not be subject to political bargaining or social interests. Read more
Koregaon Bhima Battle Anniversary: Images of Indian Constitution, Ambedkar adorn Jaystambh
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
Immediately withdraw pending pathalgadi cases, including on late Stan Swamy: JJM
02/01/2024
Countercurrents / by Representative
According to a recent RTI reply by the Superintendent of Police of Khunti, five pathalgadi cases of Khunti are yet to be withdrawn. It also includes the case registered against 20 activists and intellectuals, including Stan Swamy. Also, according to the RTI reply, another pathalgadi related case was registered in Khunti in March 2020 under the current Hemant Soren government. Of the total 21 cases registered by the Raghubar Das government in Khunti, 16 have been withdrawn. Read more
4 Years After Announcement, Govt Yet to Withdraw Cases Pending Against Pathalgadi Movement
30/12/2023
The Wire / by The Wire Staff
The pending cases name Stan Swamy along with 20 other activists and intellectuals associated with the movement. On 29 December 2019, Hemant Soren soon after taking the oath as chief minister had announced the withdrawal of all Pathalgadi cases.
Five cases registered in connection with the Pathalgadi movement in Jharkhand’s Kunti district are still pending to be withdrawn. Four years ago, in December 2019, when Jharkhand’s current chief minister Hemant Soren took over, he vowed to withdraw all cases in connection with the movement, filed under his predecessor Raghubar Das’s government. Read more
Damning new forensic investigation reveals repeated use of Pegasus spyware to target high-profile journalists
28/12/2023
Amnesty.org / by Amnesty International
Amnesty International, in partnership with The Washington Post, has unearthed shocking new details about the continued use of NSO Group’s highly invasive spyware Pegasus to target prominent journalists in India, including one who had previously been a victim of an attack using the same spyware. Read more
Amnesty International Letter to the Technical Committee appointed by the Supreme Court of India
15/02/2022
Amnesty.org / by Amnesty International
In this letter, dated 15 February 2022, Amnesty International responds to the questions posed by the Technical Committee appointed by the Supreme Court of India to investigate the use of Pegasus in India, received by email on 7 February 2022. Read / download letter
Human Rights Defenders Targeted by a Coordinated Spyware Operation
15/06/2020
Amnesty.org / by Amnesty International
Nine human rights defenders, most of whom have been fighting for the release of the Bhima Koregaon 11 through litigation, research, or activism, were unlawfully targeted with a spyware attack 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
A retrospective glance at 2023: Have courts effectively safeguarded the diminishing right to liberty for Indian citizens?
“The right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause is an essential element of an enlightened criminal justice system”
Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundaresh, Supreme Court July 11, 2022
India follows a reformative form of justice system. Our criminal system is founded on the belief of not curtailing the rights of a prisoner and under trial. The system, thus far, also empowers constitutional courts to protect the fundamental rights guaranteed to every citizen of our country. Read more
