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Category: Repression

Varavara Rao’s Family Awaits News On His Health, Writes Jailed Poet’s Nephew

Varavara Rao’s Family Awaits News On His Health, Writes Jailed Poet’s Nephew

Outlook / by N Venugopal

It has been eleven days since Varavara Rao’s family saw the physically weak and psychologically suffering poet on video conference and there is still no news from anywhere – hospital or jail.
It’s exactly one month since Varavara Rao’s family felt disturbed with his incoherent talk and began emergency efforts to bring the dreadful condition of his health to people’s notice, to appeal to all the systems of governance and to move judiciary seeking an immediate remedy to the risk to his life.
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A test case – Detainees during the pandemic

A test case – Detainees during the pandemic

The Telegraph / by Prabhat Patnaik

It is a common practice all over the world that when those incarcerated face a threat to life, the authorities send them home…
It is a sign of the times that our present Central government does not feel the need to follow this practice of releasing prisoners even when their lives are at risk. Varavara Rao, a 79-year-old accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, has been in jail for two years, where his health had broken down even before the pandemic; matters are worse now because he has tested positive for Covid-19. Yet the government has made no announcement till date about his release after he is discharged from hospital; and this is so notwithstanding the fact that he is merely awaiting trial and has not been convicted of any crime.
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With Hany Babu’s arrest, 4 academics now in custody in Bhima Koregaon violence case

With Hany Babu’s arrest, 4 academics now in custody in Bhima Koregaon violence case

The Print / by Sravasti Dasgupta

Hany Babu & 11 others are accused of attending the Elgar Parishad, which allegedly triggered violence in Bhima Koregaon on 1 January 2018 …
Babu is the fourth academic arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case — all four have been trenchant critics of the Modi government.
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Another Curve Fails to Flatten: BJP’s Use of Sedition Law

Another Curve Fails to Flatten: BJP’s Use of Sedition Law

Newsclick / by Suhit K Sen

Hany Babu has been charged with a colonial-era law that was invoked 233 times between 2014 and 2018.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Delhi University associate professor of English Hany Babu MT on 28 July in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. He is the 12th person to be held in this connection.
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The Ever Looming Darkness Of Law Of Sedition

04/08/2020

Live Law / by Pulkit Malhotra

An honest omission was ratified, albeit, realized after a decade. With the enactment of the Indian Penal Code Amendment Act, 1870, the law of sedition took birth and in came, the darkest days for the most cherished right- the right to express. The dystopian society, with the kind blessings of the ‘government’ in power back then, was burdened with a draconian law, which unfortunately still finds a place in our society, with no checks and balances, leaving several people destitute … Lately, there are several eminent personalities such as Mr. Vinod Dua, Mrs. Sudha Bharadwaj, Mr. Varavara Rao and Mr. Gautam Navlakha, who have been booked under the outdated law, which law, in my opinion, requires immediate attention of the Government in order to protect free speech, which is granted by our Constitution.
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How VV Rao & revolutionary poetry influenced each other over six decades

How VV Rao & revolutionary poetry influenced each other over six decades

Firstpost / by Sai Priya Kodidala

Varavara Rao’s poetry, which evolved over six decades, reflects and critiques modern social history, balancing it with a consistent and hopeful quest for freedom.
*
When crime becomes authority
And hunts down people branding them criminals
Everyone with a voice who keeps silent
Becomes a criminal.
`Whose side are you on?´
*
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The harassment of Sudha Bharadwaj – A People’s Advocate

The harassment of Sudha Bharadwaj – A People’s Advocate

Counter Currents / by Atul and Sandeep Pandey

Professor Sudha Bharadwaj has been in jail since August 2018. She was taken into police custody on 26 August 2018 on suspicion of being involved in Maoist terror activities after Republic TV claimed that she had allegedly written a letter to Maoists and was conspiring to create public disorder and unrest in India. The channel felt no shame in broadcasting that the elderly Professor was planning to murder the Prime-Minister of India. The police arrested her subsequently and she has been kept in jail continuously since then.
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Varavara Rao’s Family Asks NHRC to Intervene

Varavara Rao’s Family Asks NHRC to Intervene

The NIA Is Using The Pandemic to Punish My Father: Pendyala Pavana

25/07/2020

By Amnesty India

Varavara Rao’s daughter, Pendyala Pavana tells Amnesty International India that the National Investigative Agency is being vindictive and cruel to her father.
Listen to interview

Varavara Rao’s Family Asks NHRC to Intervene

24/07/2020

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

24/07/2020

Other than a confirmation about his positive COVID-19 test, Rao’s family says in the letter, they have received no information whatsoever about his health.
New Delhi: Unable to access information about Varavara Rao’s health from hospital authorities, his family has written to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Rao, who tested positive for COVID-19 and has several co-morbidities, is currently at Mumbai’s Nanavati Hospital.
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Authorities Still Keeping Us In The Dark About His Condition & Treatment’: Varvara Rao’s Family

24/07/2020

Live Law / by Nitish Kashyap

The family of jailed Telugu poet and literary critic Varavara Rao, who recently tested positive for Covid-19 and is currently undergoing treatment at Nanavati Hospital, have written to the National Human Rights Commission seeking their urgent intervention and directions to hospital and jail authorities to provide regular official health updates to them.
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Refusal of bail to Sudha Bharadwaj is based on inadmissible evidence

Refusal of bail to Sudha Bharadwaj is based on inadmissible evidence

The following article refers to the bail dismissal of Oct 15, 2019. The ongoing bail hearings are in the context of medical bail.

It is unjust that refusal of bail to Sudha Bharadwaj is based on inadmissible evidence

The Indian Express / by Colin Gonsalves

The observation of the Court in Bharadwaj’s case that the decision as to whether a document is admissible in evidence or not will have to wait for the trial stage is unbelievable. Courts routinely exclude inadmissible documents or statements (such as hearsay) from consideration while deciding bail applications.
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Telugu journalist Tekula Kranti asked to appear before NIA

Telugu journalist Tekula Kranti asked to appear before NIA

The News Minute / by Mitun MK

Kranti was one of the two journalists and eight activists across the country whose residence was raided by the Maharashtra police on August 28 2018.
Telugu journalist Tekula Kranti, a member of Revolutionary Writers Association has been issued a notice by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Elgar Parishad- Maoist link case. The NIA has asked the journalist to appear for questioning at the Mumbai office on July 24.
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