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Why Sharad Pawar is called to depose as witness / Cop questioned about ‘provocative’ speech by Elgaar Parishad organiser

Why Sharad Pawar is called to depose as witness / Cop questioned about ‘provocative’ speech by Elgaar Parishad organiser

Why Sharad Pawar is called to depose as witness before Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry?

28/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The commission had earlier summoned Pawar to depose as a witness on February 23 and February 24. But on February 21, he sought adjournment of his hearing as he wanted more time for filing an additional affidavit with detailed information and it was granted.
… After the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, including the NCP, came to power in the state, Pawar held a press conference on February 18, 2020, and made allegations against right-wing leaders Milind Ekbote, Sambhahi Bhide and raised doubts about the role of the Pune city police in the investigation of Elgaar Parishad case.
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Repeal Section 124A of IPC; UAPA provisions sufficent: Sharad Pawar to Bhima Koregaon Commission

28/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Pawar also stated in his affidavit that responsible media can act as a bridge of communication between protesters and government/ police authorities and ease tensions and avoid misinformation.
Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalises sedition, should be repealed because provisions under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) are sufficient to deal with offences against the nation and national security, the Member of Rajya Sabha and Chief of Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar told Bhima Koregaon Inquiry Commission on Wednesday.
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Cop questioned about ‘provocative’ speech by Elgaar Parishad organiser in Aurangabad

27/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Dhawale is among the persons arrested by the Pune City Police for their alleged links with the banned CPI-Maoist in the Elgaar Parishad case. The case has been taken over by the NIA.
IPS officer Ravindra Sengaonkar, who earlier deposed as a witness before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, was cross-examined on Tuesday on various points including an alleged provocative speech made by activist Sudhir Dhawale in Aurangabad, a week before the Elgaar Parishad.
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Also read:
● Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan │ Dec 2020)
● Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati│ by Sudhir Dhawale │ March 2018)

US panel on religious freedom flags India as ‘country of particular concern’ for third time

US panel on religious freedom flags India as ‘country of particular concern’ for third time

‘Religious Freedom Worsened’: US Body Names India as ‘Country of Particular Concern’

26/04/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

This is the third consecutive year when United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has designated India as such.
… The latest report, in a section devoted to India, has accused the Narendra Modi government of muzzling dissenting voices, misusing UAPA and sedition laws, allowing illegal arrests of rights’ activists, carrying out violent attacks against Muslims and Christians and creating “hurdles” for NGOs to receive funds from abroad for charity work.
It has also prominently discussed the arrest and custodial death of Father Stan Swamy.
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US panel on religious freedom flags India as ‘country of particular concern’ for third time in a row

25/04/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Other countries recommended for this designation by the USCIRF in its annual report are Pakistan, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, among others.
… “The UAPA and sedition law have been invoked to create an increasing climate of intimidation and fear in an effort to silence anyone speaking out against the government,” it said.
The report specifically mentioned the treatment meted out to 84-year-old Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha is holding the state accountable

Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha is holding the state accountable

Youthkiawaaz / by Harsh

Established just a few months ago, Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha (JJSM) is currently acting as an umbrella for over two dozen provincial-local people’s organisations of Jharkhand to raise voices against injustice, exploitation, corruption and to resolve the public problems in the region …
“Father Stan Swamy, who was one of the founder members of Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan, lived for the Adivasi and moolnivasi communities of Jharkhand.
Taking inspiration from him, various people’s organisations have formed this front as a tribute to him to fulfil his dream of bringing all the movements of Jharkhand on one platform,” says Satyam, a social activist associated with the front.
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Also read
● Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents (Jacobinmag / April 2022)

Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents

Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents

Jacobinmag / by P.M. Tony & Lotika Singha

Radical priest Stan Swamy was one of India’s leading social activists. Modi’s government is to blame for his death while awaiting trial on bogus terror charges, but the clampdown won’t snuff out the inspiring legacy of Swamy’s work with Adivasi communities.
Under the rule of Narendra Modi, the Indian state has launched a sweeping authoritarian clampdown on political dissent. One of the manifestations of this onslaught has been the jailing of opponents on trumped-up charges of terrorism and conspiracy.
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Video: Songs of Defiance – A Short Documentary on Kabir Kala Manch

Video: Songs of Defiance – A Short Documentary on Kabir Kala Manch

Video: Dafachya Talavar (Songs of Defiance)

Hindi, Marthi (subtitles: English) | 24:01min | 2022

This short documentary tries to trace the personal and collective journeys of artists of Kabir Kala Manch, a People’s cultural troupe consisting of youth from marginalized backgrounds, who sing songs of resistance in the Vidrohi Shahiri tradition. This film profiles these artists and their lived experiences in the context of an unjust and hostile system they are struggling against.

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Video Statement by Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor (Sep 5, 2020)


hindi/ english subtitles | 2:20min | 2020
Kabir Kala Manch activists Sagar Gorkhe & Ramesh Gaichor have alleged that they’re being forced by the NIA to give confessional statements, claiming they are a part of Maoist organization. The two refused, and were arrested in The Bhima Koregaon case today. Their statement was recorded on Sep 5, 2020.
Watch their video statement

Who are the three Kabir Kala Manch artistes arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case?

12/09/2020

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The National Investigation Agency arrested Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap from Pune on Monday and Tuesday.
In 2002, as a 19-year-old student in Pune’s Wadia College, Ramesh Gaichor was disturbed by the deadly communal violence in Gujarat that had claimed over 1,000 lives. Passionate about poetry and theatre, he soon found an outlet for expressing his anxieties: the Kabir Kala Manch, a cultural organisation founded by artiste Amarnath Chautaliya in response to the Gujarat riots.
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Also read:
● Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression (ritimo / April 2022)

US Departments 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

US Departments 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

US Department’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

13/04/2022

US Department of State / by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

… Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police and prison officials; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention by government authorities; political prisoners or detainees; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; restrictions on free expression and media, including violence, threats of violence, or unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists …
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US government report says Indian Muslims are vulnerable to communal violence, discrimination

13/04/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The report also flagged extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests and detentions by government authorities.
… The report specifically mentioned the treatment meted out to 84-year-old Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. The case pertains to caste violence in a village near Pune in 2018. Sixteen people were arrested for allegedly plotting the violence.
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Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression

Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression

ritimo / by Gurlhosur Geetanjali

Kabir Kala Manch founded in early 2000s has been at the receiving end of the state. As it grew in popularity its members faced incarceration for long years and continued oppression under successive governments.
“I remember it was a rainy day. I was about 23 then. When I heard the group performing in our basti (informal urban cluster), I had goosebumps! I had never heard songs that spoke of the struggles of women, Dalits and the poor. I was enthralled.”
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The Bhima Koregaon Arrests and the Resistance in India

The Bhima Koregaon Arrests and the Resistance in India

Monthly Review / by Saroj Giri

It often happens: A murder takes place, an utterly foul one. But there is little outcry, no lasting sense of wrong in public memory. Deep down, everyone is aware of the gross violation that has taken place in their midst. Everyone is affected and silently appalled that there is no redress, no justice. Yet normal life and routine democracy continues—at the expense of a deep scar in the inner recess of society, unseen and perhaps illegible, best described as a void. Like an abyss that stares back, will this void come to haunt everyone later, in some possibly unrecognizable form?
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‘Corporate is supporting communal agenda’: Sudha Bharadwaj

‘Corporate is supporting communal agenda’: Sudha Bharadwaj


hindi | 48:02min | 2022

By Satya Hindi

Was the corporate world the reason for the arrest of Sudha Bharadwaj, a social worker who fought for the underprivileged? Was there a conspiracy to implicate him in the Bhima Koregaon case? How was her experience during his three years in prison? How does she view the current times for socio-economic movements? Does she expect times to change? Dr. Mukesh Kumar talking to Sudha Bhardwaj.
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