Who is a ‘Naxal’?
The Leaflet / by Justice K. Chandru (Retd.)
The home minister’s accusation against vice-presidential candidate Justice Sudarshan Reddy should make us reflect deeply on how certain terms have been weaponised to invalidate the lifeworks of public intellectuals, and how the higher judiciary itself has enabled this.
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Who is a Naxal?: The attack on public intellectuals and the judiciary’s silent complicity
Of late, supporters of the ruling regime have weaponised the label of ‘Naxal’ and ‘urban Naxal’ to name-call public intellectuals who have opposed them. We saw similar allegations being deployed against intellectuals and social activists who have been imprisoned under the notorious Unlawful Lawful Activities (Prevention) Act (‘UAPA’) in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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Also read:
▪ Don’t Distort SC’s Salwa Judum Ruling or Resort to Name Calling, Former Judges Tell Amit Shah (The Wire / Aug 2025)
▪ Fall of Democracy’s Last Bastion: Election Commission as the BJP’s Strategic Shield (The Wire | by Anand Teltumbde | Aug 2025)
▪ The Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill Perpetuates India’s Banning Regime (The Wire / Aug 2025)
▪ Insecurity By Law: A Critique of the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill in the Context of India’s Banning Regime (PUDR / Jul 2025)
▪ From ‘tukde tukde gang’ to ‘urban Naxal’: How media trials enable the government to stifle dissent (Scroll.in / Sep 2018)