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Suppressing Dissent / Who is Really the Enemy of the People?

Suppressing Dissent / Who is Really the Enemy of the People?

Suppressing Dissent

20/10/2020

Medium.com / by Arun Simon

Dissent is rarely welcomed in any society. As power increases, appreciation of dissent decreases. Innumerable examples can be seen with dictators or absolute powers. It is also possible in religion, culture, and other domains… My country India, with all its high democratic values, is no different. The officially declared emergency(1975) may be the worst period in that line. But there are many unofficial competitors for the same today. The recent arrest of many social activists (latest in that line being Fr. Stan Swamy, a tribal activist) under a draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with many contemporary events raises serious questions.
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Who is Really the Enemy of the People?

20/10/2020

NewsClick / by Suhit K Sen

India will have to look to forces within the country to steer back towards political processes that incorporate opposition, dissent and diversity.
Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, was arrested in Ranchi on 9 October. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which carried out the arrest, claimed he was a member of the CPI (Maoist) organisation. It appears that anyone who works for Dalit rights, or is not in full agreement with the toxic ideology of the Sangh parivar, must be a Maoist.
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Case against activist Sudha Bharadwaj – Why SC turned down her bail plea

Case against activist Sudha Bharadwaj – Why SC turned down her bail plea

The Indian Express/ by Sadaf Modak

On Thursday, the Supreme Court turned down activist Sudha Bharadwaj’s application for interim bail. The court said that since the plea was on medical grounds, it will not be able to entertain it as the medical report did not back her claims. It, however, said Bharadwaj has a “good case on merits”.
What is the case in which Sudha Bharadwaj and 14 others are arrested?
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+++ Correction: Letters implicating Sudha Bharadwaj were found on the computer of Rona Wilson. The Caravan conducted a cyber-forensic examination of the contents of Wilson’s hard disk, a copy of the disk that was presented in court by the Pune Police and supplied to all the accused. Our investigation revealed that the disk contained malware that can be used to remotely access the computer and plant files. We also found several other discrepancies, pointing towards manipulation of evidence in the case. +++

‘This government has tamed everyone’ – Interview with Rao´s Lawyer

‘This government has tamed everyone’ – Interview with Rao´s Lawyer

Rediff.com /by Vaihayasi Pande Daniel

‘The entire systems they are trying to change.’
Telugu poet, activist, critic and teacher Pendyala Varavara Rao, 79, has a new advocate.
Sudeep Ratnamberdutt Pasbola, who has represented/represents accused like activist Arun Ferreira, politician Rahul Gandhi, gangster Abu Salem, HR consultant Indrani Mukerjea, gangster Arun Gawli, 1993 and 2006 Mumbai blast accused, amongst many others, took on Professor Rao’s case in July… Pasbola spoke to Rediff.com’s Vaihayasi Pande Daniel about Professor Rao’s case and why bail is no longer being granted by courts for certain types of accused.
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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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Dr Jenny Rowena On Prof Hany Babu’s Arrest, House Raids And Casteism

Dr Jenny Rowena On Prof Hany Babu’s Arrest, House Raids And Casteism


Solidarity poster by @bakeryprasad

Huffpost / by Betwa Sharma

Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil is the 12th person to be arrested in the Elgaar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case.
New Delhi – “Day in and day out we are reminded that there is no justice in this country. And there is no peace without justice,” Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil, an associate professor of English at Delhi University tweeted one day in July this year. Babu is a vocal and influential voice against India’s discriminatory caste system.
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Video: N Venugaopal Rao on VV Rao´s health and bail plea, and the conspiracy surrounding his arrest

Video: N Venugaopal Rao on VV Rao´s health and bail plea, and the conspiracy surrounding his arrest


en | 33:00 min | 2020

News Loundry / Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande with N Venugaopal Rao

„The whole case is a lot of lies, fabrications and cooked up things.“
N Venugopal Rao is a writer and the nephew of Varavara Rao, the poet who has been arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. Varavara was arrested two years ago along with 12 other activists. He has been repeatedly denied bail and has been in poor health for the past month, testing positive for Covid on July 16.
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Who Is DU Professor Hany Babu M.T. Arrested Unexpectedly During Witness Summon?

Who Is DU Professor Hany Babu M.T. Arrested Unexpectedly During Witness Summon?

Edimes.in / by Aditi Gupta

Co-operate and get arrested!
Hany Babu M.T., Associate Professor of English at the University of Delhi, Major in Language Ideology, Politics and Policy, Linguistic Identity, Marginalised Languages and Social Justice, was arrested by NIA (National Investigation Agency) on, Tuesday, July 28, for connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. A total of 12 people – all activists, lawyers, and academics – have been arrested in the case.
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When the State Fears a Poet: Varsha speaks up for her uncle

When the State Fears a Poet: Varsha speaks up for her uncle

Boston Review / by Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla

On Saturday, I checked my phone and saw that we’d heard from my uncle, currently a political prisoner in India. “I’m alright,” he said. But he wasn’t alright. His voice was weak and feeble, and his words, disjointed, slipped into Hindi instead of his beloved Telugu. For over six decades, Varavara Rao, the revolutionary poet, captivated generations with his critical poetry and prose. That he was anything less than articulate, let alone incoherent, was a gut punch. The goal of Narendra Modi’s administration has been to silence those like my uncle. Had they succeeded?
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Press Note from Vara Vara Rao’s Family

Press Note from Vara Vara Rao’s Family


VV Rao’s daughter Pavana and wife Hemalatha in May 2020

By Vara Vara Rao’s Family

DON’T KILL VARA VARA RAO IN JAIL !!
We, the family members of Varavara Rao, world-renowned Telugu revolutionary poet and public intellectual, who is incarcerated in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja Jail, are very much worried about his deteriorating health. His health condition has been scary for over six weeks now, ever since he was shifted in an unconscious state to JJ Hospital from Taloja Jail on May 28, 2020. Even as he was discharged from the hospital and sent back to jail three days later, there has been no improvement in his health and he is still in need of emergency heathcare. …

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