Persecuted – Page 6 – free them all

PUDR: Remember Bhima Koregaon Case. Remember Shoma Sen. Release Shoma Sen.

06/01/2024 Asha

by Peoples Union for Democratic Rights @PUDR_Delhi (Jan 6):
#PeoplesUnionforDemocraticRights #PUDR #RepealUAPA
#StateOppression #democraticrights #BK16 #BhimaKoregaon16

Also read:
▪ Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing in SC Adjourned Yet Again, Until January 10 (NewsClick / Dec 2023)
▪ Supreme Court quotes Watali judgment in Shoma Sen’s bail application (The Leaflet / Dec 2023)
▪ “Hopefully waiting” writes Shoma Sen from prison (InSAF India / Jul 2023)

Excerpts from ‘From Phansi Yard: My Year with Women of Yerawada’ by Sudha Bharadwaj

26/12/2023 Asha

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

Sudha Bharadwaj’s recently published book ‘From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada’ is a tenderly written collection of her memories, through which one gets to witness her resilient spirit, and yet, her vulnerabilities. In the book, she observes, reflects and chronicles stories of women prisoners, prison conditions and her own journey.
… The book begins with an interview, in which she narrates her story, her memories of the beginning of her activism, her relationship with her daughter and the work she did with the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha. Here are some excerpts from the book, that illustrate the warmth and compassion with which she wrote about her fellow prisoners (whom she has numbered and left anonymous), and her unyielding courage with which she survived incarceration.
Read more

From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada

Author: Sudha Bhardwaj
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 216
Order

Also watch/read:

● Video – Book Release: Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj?

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Jan 2021en + hindi | 2h 53min | 2021

Topic: Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj?
A long interview conducted with Sudha over several days before she was arrested is now being published as an online book “Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks – A Life in Law and Activism”, and will be released at this webinar by the well-known writer, Nayantara Sahgal. Sudha’s daughter, Maaysha, her lawyer Yug Chaudhary, social activist Harsh Mandar, historian Uma Chakravarti amongst other coworkers & colleagues, will also share their experiences and memories of working with her.
Watch video @ PUCL Facebook (videos)

● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Paperback: 316 pages
Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

● Video: The Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails

By All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice – AILAJ | March 2022

en | 1:21:23 | 2022
The huge number of undertrials, the overcrowding, and the disproportional numbers of Dalit, Muslim and Adivasi prisoners are part of the prison problem in India.
We are joined by Adv. Sudha Bharadwaj for a discussion on the Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails.
Watch video

Sudha Bharadwaj: What I knew in the abstract I was now living, feeling and observing

17/12/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Freny Manecksha

In this interview, trade unionist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, who was jailed in the Bhima-Koregaon matter and has just produced a book on From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada, tells Freny Manecksha how prison changes one for the worse, but also for the better.

“But the irony is on the day they (Adivasis of Sarkeguda, Chhattisgarh) are vindicated, seven years after they began their fight, I, their first lawyer, am in jail 1,000 kilometers away! Yet it is a happy day.”
Read more

Also read:
● Prison Occupancy Rose In 2022, Despite Campaign To Release Undertrials. Three in four prisoners continue to be undertrials, a majority of whom belong to oppressed caste groups (Indiaspend.com | Shreehari Paliath | Dec 2023)

● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

NIA court gives temporary bail to Surendra Gadling to attend wedding in Nagpur

08/12/2023 Asha

NIA court gives temporary bail to Surendra Gadling to attend wedding in Nagpur

08/12/2023

Hindustan Times / by Rutuja Gaidhani

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday granted temporary bail to Surendra Gadling, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case 2017, from December 25 to January 2 of 2024, to attend a relative’s wedding in Nagpur.
While granting Gadling bail, special judge R J Katariya noted that the original wedding card of his relative was produced which proved the case. “The applicant (Gadling) shall not leave Nagpur city and there shall not be any prayer for extension of the period of bail in any circumstances,” said the court.
Read more

NIA Court Grants Temporary Bail To Surendra Gadling Held In Elgar Parishad Case To Attend Close Relative’s Wedding

07/12/2023

Free Press Journal / by Charul Shah Joshi

He has been asked not to leave the Nagpur city during the said period of one week and also not hamper the evidence and prosecution witnesses
The special NIA court on Thursday granted temporary bail to advocate Surendra Gadling, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, to attend the wedding of a close relative in the family for one week from December 25 till January 2.
Read more

Also read:
● Supreme Court issues notice in bail plea of Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet / Oct 2023)
● Video: The Second Song of Surendra Galding (Adv-Surendra-Gadling-Defence-Committee / lyrics by Sagar Gorkhe)

hindi | 8:43min | June 6, 2023
Five years back this day they took him away hoping to break his spirit.
1825 days so far behind bars and see who won?
During the short release he sang his heart.
Caged yet fearless.
U can jail him not his charisma.
This is the second of the songs.
Watch video / Listen to the song
● Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)
● Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling (The Wire / lyrics by Ramesh Gaychor)

hindi | 11min | 2021
51- year-old Gadling, a well-known criminal lawyer in Nagpur, was once a cultural activist, who sang songs of political resistance. The 11- minutes- long rendition tells you what it means to be incarcerated in Indian prisons. From food, water, to medical care, everything is a struggle, Gadling narrates. The song was recorded by one of Gadling’s colleagues and was made available to The Wire after obtaining his consent.
Watch video / Listen to the song

“Today If You’re Working With An NGO, You’re Either Anti-National Or Corrupt”

05/12/2023 Asha

Youth Ki Awaaz / by Surbhi Singh

It was a normal day for Malika Shah, a social worker working in Bal Raksha Bharat. She woke up with the feeling of doing something for the children, motivating herself by saying that nothing can stop her and her team from doing good. As she exited the house, her neighbors stared at her and called her anti-national.
… In 2018, several activists from human rights NGOs were arrested and accused of being associated with Maoists and working against the state.
Read more

Also read:
● Chronology Samajhiye: 5 Days, 4 Agencies Under Modi Govt Control Target Opposition, Journalists, Activists (The Wire | Soumashree Sarkar | Oct 6, 2023)
● Report: UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR (PUCL / Sep 2022) Download report
● Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents (Jacobinmag / April 2022)

Sudha Bharadwaj: ‘So Writing Was My Way Of Reaching Out To The Women I Saw’

02/12/2023 Asha

Free Press Journal / by Anushka Jagtiani

The lawyer and activist talks about her time in prison and From Phansi Yard, her currently released book
Sudha Bharadwaj chose to surrender her US passport and dedicate her life to fighting the battles of exploited labourers in Chhatisgarh. Her activism led to her arrest in 2018 in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case along with 15 others, and she spent three years in jail — in Pune and Mumbai. She is currently out on bail and therefore cannot comment on the case as an under trial.
She speaks about her time in jail, the unlikely friendships she made, and how she became ‘vakeel aunty’ to many poor inmates and even helped get some out on bail.
Read more

From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada

Author: Sudha Bhardwaj
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 216
Order

● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

‘Varavara Rao: A Life in Poetry’: Six decades of activism and courage bound in one collection

11/11/2023 Asha

‘Varavara Rao: A Life in Poetry’: Six decades of activism and courage bound in one collection

11/11/2023

Scroll.in / by Ila Manish

These poems seek to bring a truth to light, they are unafraid to challenge, to confront, to hope.
Meena Kandasamy introduces the poet-subject of Varavara Rao: A Life in Poetry with the epithet “India’s most-incarcerated poet”. She has co-edited the new collection published by Vintage Books with Telugu journalist, N Venugopal. The translations contained within speak volumes about the life of the man who wrote them. Each poem spurs the reader into restlessness, and takes them back into the contexts in which Rao was writing. And the contexts are many – as the helpful yet unobtrusive annotations that the editors have provided will tell you.
Read more

Brahmin by birth, Communist by disposition, Varavara’s poems reflect soul of oppressed

12/11/2023

Counterview / by Harsh Thakor

Varavara Rao was born in 1940 and became an established poet in his early teens. At the age of 17 years, he was published in the journal called “Telugu Swatantrata”, which gave him status as a modern poet. At 18, he wrote ‘Don’t Fear, Dawn Will Break’ which was considered one of his best poems. At 26, he started a journal called “Modern Literature in Telugu”. His first poetry collection came out in 1968. Since then, around 17 volumes of poetry have come out.
He is considered the leading twentieth-century poet of Telugu, spoken by approximately ninety-six million people.
Read more

Also read/watch:
● Tomorrow there won’t be any classes’: Activist Varavara Rao’s poems get an English translation (Scroll.in / by Varavara Rao, N Venugopal & Rohith / Jul 2023)

● Varavara Rao A Live in Poetry

By VIRASAM
Book Launch || Live Laamakan || 13-07-23 || VIRASAM

en / telugu | 2:16:35 | 2023
Watch video

From Phansi Yard: My Year With The Women Of Yerawada, by Sudha Bharadwaj (Book Excerpt) / Video

10/11/2023 Asha

From Phansi Yard: My Year With The Women Of Yerawada, by Sudha Bharadwaj (Excerpt)

14/11/2023

Artice 14 / by Samar Halarnkar | Sudha Bharadwaj

Arrested on 28 August 2018, human rights lawyer, teacher and IIT graduate Sudha Bharadwaj is among 16 accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967.
Bharadwaj was arrested from her house in Faridabad, where she had moved in 2017 to teach law at the National Law University Delhi.
…
In From Phansi Yard: My Year With The Women Of Yerawada, Bharadwaj paints a vivid picture of life behind bars, discussing overcrowding, menstruation, sanitation, fights, health niggles and more.
Read more

Video: Barkha Dutt speaks to Sudha Bharadwaj on her book ‘From Phansi Yard’

10/11/2023

en | 21:03min | 2023

By Mojo Story

Barkha Dutt speaks to Trade Unionist, activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj on her book ‘From Phansi Yard’. The book records stories of her time in jail. She is out on bail after 3 years in the 2018 Bhima-Koregaon violence case.
Sudha speaks about her days in jail and how her time in a women’s prison made her aware of the gender gap in legal aid. “Many women are jailed- because their husband committed some crime and are now absconding- they don’t even know about the crime,” she says.
Sudha further says that she lives in the house of a friend, as she “can’t afford rent”. Trade unions support her, she does legal cases for them, she says.
Watch video

From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada

Author: Sudha Bhardwaj
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 216
Order

● A Cage with a View: Under-trial life in an Indian jail

National Herald | by Sudha Bharadwaj | Oct 2023
The jottings that make up this book were my way of coping with incarceration. Some prisoners pray, some weep, some just put their heads down and work themselves weary. Some fight defiantly every inch of the way, some are inveterate grumblers, some spew gossip. Some read the newspaper from cover to cover, some shower love on children, some laugh at themselves and at others.
I watched through the bars, and I wrote.
Read more

● Video: The Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails

● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Sudha Bharadwaj | ‘A lot of democratic space has been lost’ / ‘Social contradiction get magnified inside prisons’

02/11/2023 Asha

Sudha Bharadwaj: ‘A lot of democratic space has been lost’

02/11/2023

Frontline / by Shreevatsa Nevatia

The human rights lawyer and activist says that while in jail, she saw the human cost of a dysfunctional justice system.
The lawyer and activist, spent three years and three months in jail following her arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on August 28, 2018. Her book From Phansi Yard isabout her days in Pune’s Yerawada Jail.
As a trade unionist, Bharadwaj has seen police heavy-handedness up close, but she did “not envisage the kind of thing” that happened to her. The charges against Bharadwaj, one of the 16 accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, include a plot to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But the 62-year-old is confident she will be acquitted; her bail conditions disallow her from saying anything more.
Read more

Video: Sudha Bharadwaj: ‘A lot of democratic space has been lost’

By Frontline

en | 1:05:41 | 2023
Watch video

Video: Sudha Bharadwaj interview: ‘Social contradiction get magnified inside prisons’

By The Federal

en | 37:33 | 2023
Sudha Bhardwaj (62), trade-unionist, human rights activist and lawyer, lived and worked in Chhattisgarh for over three decades. On August 28, 2018, she was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, and was released on bail in December 2021. Her book, From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada (Juggernaut Books), is an account of women prisoners (their suffering as well as the solidarities they have forged behind bars) in Pune’s Jail, where she was incarcerated in a high-security wing called Phansi Yard from November 2018 to February 2020. In this interview to The Federal, Bhardwaj, whose bail conditions do not allow her to talk about the case, and leave Mumbai, recounts her journey, and what gives her hope after a lifetime of struggle.
Watch video

Video: Sudha Bharadwaj on life in jail, importance of being a dissent and her hopes for justice

By Times of India

en | 4:20min | 2023

Sudha Bharadwaj was born in 1961 in the US and spent the first 10 years of her life on the University of Cambridge campus in England. After her parents returned to India, she grew up on the then newly created Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus and then spent decades working as trade unionist and human rights lawyer in Chhattisgarh. Bharadwaj is among the 16 persons arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. She and the others were arrested for allegedly having links with Maoists, and for allegedly plotting to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They are accused of conspiring to spark caste-based violence that erupted at the Bhima Koregaon memorial in Maharashtra in 2018. Between 2018 and 2021, she was housed in the Yerawada and Byculla jails in the state. In this interview with TOI+, Bharadwaj who is out on bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, talks about her experience of being an undertrial, how it inspired a book and why democracy needs dissidents.
Watch video

From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada

Author: Sudha Bhardwaj
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 216
Order

● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

The first of a multi-part interview: ‘The 36 days in jail made Varavara Rao a star’

01/11/2023 Asha

Rediff.com / by Neeta Kolhatkar

‘I asked him why were he and other writers being targeted.’
‘I saw his point of view, that he and others being writers, their work was popular and well-appreciated by people, especially the youth.’
‘This made the State fear them.’

P Hemalatha, 74, is more comfortable speaking in Telugu and can converse in simple Hindi.
She met Neeta Kolhatkar outdoors, while we were on a video-call with N Venugopal, her younger brother and the nephew of Telugu poet Professor Varavara Rao, also called as VV.
Read more

Also watch:

● Book Release: Varavara Rao – A Live in Poetry

By VIRASAM
Book Launch || Live Laamakan || 13-07-23 || VIRASAM

en / telugu | 2:16:35 | 2023
Watch video