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Category: Timeline of events

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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With no new evidence, NIA relies on Pune police case to oppose bail to Bhima-Koregaon accused

With no new evidence, NIA relies on Pune police case to oppose bail to Bhima-Koregaon accused

The Print / by Bhardra Sinha

NIA affidavits opposing the bail petitions of rights activists Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao and Shoma Sen had content similar to Pune Police’s findings in 2018 & 2019.
New Delhi: Six months after the National Investigative Agency (NIA) took over the probe in the Bhima-Koregaon violence, it does not seem to have made much headway in its investigation
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Another Birthday In Jail For Youngest Bhima-Koregaon Accused

Another Birthday In Jail For Youngest Bhima-Koregaon Accused

Article 14 / by Chitrangada Choudhury

Adivasi rights defender, a former fellow of a prestigious prime ministerial programme, and son of a police official, Mahesh Raut is the youngest of the ‘Bhima-Koregaon 11’, accused of spreading Maoist ideology and encouraging ‘unlawful activities’. He’s been in jail without trial for two years.
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When Jail, not Bail, rules in a Pandemic

When Jail, not Bail, rules in a Pandemic

The Lefaflet / by Nilima Dutta & Susan Abraham

The pandemic is worse showcased in the treatment meted to undertrials in our prisons. Despite guidelines directing granting of bail to undertrials with medical conditions and seniority in age, the courts have refused to grant bail to the accused in Bhima Koregaon activists. The authors here note the glaring blindness in the orders of the court denying bail, the dangers to Mr Varavara Rao and Ms Shoma Sen’s health in prison, and the blatant disregard for established principles of law.
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Video: Bhima Koregaon `Cover Up´

Video: Bhima Koregaon `Cover Up´


en | 10:34 min | 2020

By Pedesterian Pictures

Though there is a mountain of evidence to prove their innocence, the 9 activists arrested, allegedly for their role in the Bhima Koregaon violence still remain in jail. And the witch-hunt only continues, resulting in the arrests of Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde, also charged with UAPA for the same case. While it is very evident that the case against Anand Teltumbde is fabricated, he was asked to surrender amidst the deadly pandemic along with Gautam Navlakha.
We demand the immediate release of all the 11 activists.
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Video: Tracking India’s crackdown on dissent

Video: Tracking India’s crackdown on dissent


en | 5:04 min | 2020

Peoples Dispatch / by Peoples Dispatch

June 6 marks the second anniversary of the arrest of activists in India as part of the Bhima Koregaon or Elgar Parishad case. This case has become a prime example of the targeting of those who are critical of India’s current far-right wing government led by prime minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In this video, we look at the case and those who are being targeted.
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Bhima Koregaon case: A comprehensive timeline

Bhima Koregaon case: A comprehensive timeline

Peoples Dispatch / by Peoples Dispatch

The case thoroughly exposes the oppressive right-wing domination of the Indian political and legal institutions, and highlights the looming threats to the constitution and human rights in the country.
June 6 marks the second anniversary of the arrest of activists as part of the Elgar Parishad case in India. The case has been a dangerous instance of how dissent is being persecuted by India’s current far-right wing government led by prime minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
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Bhima Koregaon Case: A glaring example of Hindutva lies

Bhima Koregaon Case: A glaring example of Hindutva lies

Siasat.com / by N Venugopal

New Delhi: Hindutva – the official guiding principle of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and all the members in its parivar – is an embodiment of lies, fabrication, distortion, deception, obfuscation, hatred and unleashing violence. If one thought that this characterization is an ideological subjective opinion, it is better to look at this glaring example of Bhima Koregaon violence case, a subject of gross obfuscation of facts and inhuman incarceration of public-spirited individuals over the last two years.
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