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Guwahati candlelight vigil for Stan Swamy aborted

Guwahati candlelight vigil for Stan Swamy aborted

The Telegraph / by Umanand Jaiswal

A candlelight vigil in the city on Sunday seeking the release of Father Stan Swamy and the 15 other rights activists arrested in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case had to be called off after the police denied permission.
Northeast Solidarity (NES) had on Thursday sought permission to hold the vigil at Dighali Pukhuri from 4.30pm to 5.30pm on Sunday, demanding the release of the 16 accused “falsely implicated under the UAPA” in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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NIA gears up to fight left wing terror harder

NIA gears up to fight left wing terror harder


Solidarity poster, Nov 2020

Oneindia / by Vicky Nanjappa

On Thursday, the National Investigation Agency set up a new office in Ranchi, Jharkhand. This was an important move considering the rising number of cases in the state, which is hit by naxalites in particular…
Very recently the NIA arrested Stan Swamy a Jesuit said to be close to the naxalites.
Officials tell OneIndia that Stan Swamy is a member of the CPI (Maoist). He is actively involved in its activities. He is the convenor of the PPSC, which is a frontal organisation of the CPI (Maoist). He is alleged to have received funds through an associate to further the activities of the CPI (Maoist).
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United Forum for Adivasi Rights protest demanding immediate release of Father Stan Swamy

United Forum for Adivasi Rights protest demanding immediate release of Father Stan Swamy

United Forum for Adivasi Rights protest demanding immediate release of Father Stan Swamy

06/11/2020

Siliguri Times / by Silguri Times

The Adivasi Samaj staged a movement to demand the immediate release of Father Stan Swamy. Furthermore, United Forum for Adivasi Rights staged a rally on Friday.
The members of the organization said that the rights of the Adivasi community are being curtailed. Father Stan Swamy is said to be the one who constantly fought for the rights of the Adivasi community. And the people condemned the central government for putting him behind the bars.
A protest rally was staged today demanding his immediate release. Also, a memorandum was handed over to the SDO addressing the CM mentioning the same.

An Adivasi Crusader Under Trial: A Blot On Indian Democracy – OpEd

05/11/2020

Eurasia Review / by Dr. Paul Newman

The state of Jharkhand is one of the most backward states of India… The three resources that are close to the heart of any tribal in the area is Jal (Water), Jungle (forest) an Jameen (Land), which they own but often lose to the vested interest aided by the state forces… This is an area where a number of missionaries have contributed a great deal to the development of the place in terms of providing quality education, health care and other basis necessities… It is in this context that an eighty three years old, Fr. Stanislaus Lourduswamy, popularly called as Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest from Jamshedpur Jesuit Province was arrested by the National Investigation Agency on the 8th of October 2020 at 7.30 P.M under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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A Defender Of The Deprived Faces Terror Charges / Swamy’s Arrest Stirs Unprecedented Protests

A Defender Of The Deprived Faces Terror Charges / Swamy’s Arrest Stirs Unprecedented Protests

Why An Aged Defender Of The Deprived Faces Terror Charges

04/11/2020

Article 14 / by Chitrangada Coudhury

After more than half a century of deploying constitutional rights to assist Adivasis, Dalits and undertrials, 83-year-old Jharkhand Jesuit activist and former director of the Indian Social Institute Stan Swamy is the NIA’s 16th, and oldest, arrest in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
On 24 June 2008, Damodar Turi, a Jharkhand land-rights activist and a Dalit was arrested by the Ranchi police and accused of sedition and waging war against India… While he faced these allegations, Turi recalled, among the people who stood by him were Father Stan Swamy, an 83-year-old Jesuit priest and one of Jharkhand’s most prominent human-rights activists.
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Elderly Priest’s Arrest Stirs Unprecedented Protests in India

04/11/2020

The National Catholic Register / by Anto Akkara

Father Stanilaus Lourduswamy, along with 15 others, allegedly conspired with Maoist rebels to destabilize the federal government in what critics have called ‘absurd.’
Few arrests in Indian history have evoked such widespread protests as that of Jesuit Father Stanislaus Lourduswamy on Oct. 8. Better known as Father Stan Swamy, this 83-year-old is a renowned crusader for the exploited and impoverished indigenous people of eastern Jharkhand state.
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2 years, 3 charge sheets & 16 arrests — Why Bhima Koregaon accused are still in jail

2 years, 3 charge sheets & 16 arrests — Why Bhima Koregaon accused are still in jail

The Print / by Apoorva Mandhani

Since 2018, stringent UAPA rules, SC’s Zahoor Watali order, NIA takeover and allegedly ‘inadmissible’ evidence has made sure that all accused remain in custody.
On 31 December 2017, a group of activists, political leaders and even retired judges came together at Shaniwar Wada in Pune.
Called the Elgar Parishad (Congress for Speaking Aloud), the organisers of this event included former Supreme Court judge, Justice P.B. Sawant, and former Bombay High Court judge, Justice B.G. Kolse-Patil. The event saw songs, street plays and speeches on various issues, including Dalit rights and criticism of the Narendra Modi government. 
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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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Reading Anand Teltumbde in the wake of Hathras

Reading Anand Teltumbde in the wake of Hathras

Scroll.in / by Rahul Govind

In his books, the writer – now in jail – demonstrates how caste atrocities are the result of deep-rooted societal structures.
In grappling with the horrors of Hathras, the absence of Anand Teltumbde’s voice resounds. In the writings of Teltumbde, who is currently incarcerated in Taloja prison in the Bhima Koregaon case, the horrific singularity of caste atrocities are distilled as a precipitate of a long-enduring history and deep-rooted societal structures. Few public intellectuals in independent India have shown as much insight and courage in chronicling the cunning and cruelty of state and society.
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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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