Republic TV’s hounding of rights activist shows ‘urban Naxal’ is convenient label to crush dissent
Scroll.in / By Raksha Kumar
The phrase is deliberately vague to cover a wide array of dissidents, human rights defenders say.
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Video: „There Is an Attempt to Silence Lawyers Who Defend the Marginalised“
en | 12:20 min | 2018
The Wire / Jahnavi Sen interviews Sudha Bharadwaj
Bharadwaj, a human rights lawyer, has rubbished allegations made by Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV that she took money from and was corresponding with Maoists.
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Why my friend Mahesh Raut – accused in Bhima Koregaon violence – is not an ‘urban Maoist’
Dayliyo.in / By Sohini Shoaib
I have known Mahesh Raut since my days at the university and for me, he has always been a source of great strength, learning and encouragement. His calm and gentle presence was grounding to many and resulted in him being hugely popular in college. Most of my memories of Mahesh involve him being surrounded by people – of him strategising over how to postpone an assignment submission, planning a college festival or counselling younger batches of students who were struggling with homesickness, workload or something else.
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State of Maharashtra opposes request for cot, commode, books on Vivekananda by Bhima-Koregaon arrestees
The Leaflet / By The Leaflet
Had there been a provision in the prison manual for such circumstances, this would not have arisen, says lawyer-activist from Nagpur.
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Dalit activists among five arrested for ‘inciting’ Bhima Koregaon violence
The Print / by PTI
Police in Pune have accused the activists of having Maoist links. They had earlier booked a duo with Hindutva affiliations.
Pune: The Pune Police today arrested five people allegedly having close Maoist links, including prominent Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale, from Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence on January 1.
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Video: Arun Ferreira – Life in an Indian Prison
en | 12:51 min | 2014
youtoube / produced by Faiza Khan
Arun Ferreira was arrested in May 2007 on fabricated charges under the Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act (UAPA). As soon as he was acquitted in a case, a new one would be conjured up. Finally out on bail in January 2012, Arun talks about life in prison and torture they were subjected to, through his sketches.
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Maharashtra cops have detained the Bhima-Koregaon arrestees over ‘lecture planned at JNU’
The Leaflet / By The Leaflet
The defence lawyers for the activists argued that organising lecture series in JNU had nothing to do with the Elgaar Parishad and the Koregaon Bhima Shaurya Prernadin Abhiyan.
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Why Sudhir Dhawale’s acquittal in a 2014 case of Naxal involvement is relevant to the Bhima Koregaon arrests
The Caravan Magazine / By Arshu John
On 6 June, in a joint operation across Delhi, Nagpur and Mumbai, the Pune Police arrested five individuals for allegedly being “top urban Maoist operatives” who incited the violence in Bhima Koregaon—a town in Maharashtra—this January. Sudhir Dhawale, one of the five accused, is a prominent Mumbai-based activist who has worked extensively on Dalit rights. He has previously been arrested, and subsequently acquitted, in another case of alleged involvement with Maoist rebels.
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From Naxal Links to Modi Assassination Plot, Pune Police’s Theories Branch Out
The Wire / By Varsha Torgalkar
The five activists who have been arrested are to be held in police custody for seven days even as questions arise over a letter containing all the details of several plots that allegedly ties them to the banned CPI (Maoist) group.
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Interview with Sudhir Dhawale: ‘No One Can Kill The Dream For Democracy’
First published: Jan 11, 2016
Sanhati / By Anjani Kumar
Already in 2011, Sudhir Dhawale was arrested under several sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and then spent nearly four years in jail. He was acquitted of all the charges filed against him in court. Over the four years that he spent in jail, he was denied nearly every basic human right. On the 23rd of May 2015, he spoke at the ‘Convention against Silencing Democracy & Criminalizing Dissent’ organized by the Committee for the Defence and Release of Dr. GN Saibaba in Delhi. Anjani Kumar spoke to him on the 24th of May on various issues.
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