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Category: Solidarity

Was Stan Swamy a Maoist or a martyr? A new book considers the question

Was Stan Swamy a Maoist or a martyr? A new book considers the question

Scroll.in / by Gladson Dungdung

Since the death of the 84-year-old renowned human rights activist Fr. Stan Swamy (trained as a Jesuit priest), in judicial custody on July 5th, 2021, which was actually an institutional murder orchestrated by the Indian state, a billion-dollar question has arisen in the minds of millions in India and abroad. Was Fr. Stan Swamy a martyr or a traitor?
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Also read:
● How the system broke Stan Swamy: A cell mate recalls the activist’s last days in prison (Scroll.in / Aug 2021)
● Framed to Die – The Case of Stan Swamy (45 pages, PUDR / Aug 2021)

Sudha Bharadwaj is a true patriot and heir of the Ghadar movement

Sudha Bharadwaj is a true patriot and heir of the Ghadar movement

Countercurrents / by Gurpreet Singh

Currently incarcerated under trumped up charges in the world’s so called largest democracy, Sudha Bharadwaj is one of the dozens of scholars and activists locked up in the Indian jails.
Bharadwaj, who turned 60 on November 1, is a lawyer who has been advocating for the rights of the poor and marginalized, especially Adivasis or the Indigenous peoples of India who are being evicted from their traditional mineral-rich lands by the extraction industry with the backing of the government.
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Also read:
● As Sudha Bharadwaj Spends 4th Birthday in Jail, a Reminder That UAPA Enables Her Incarceration (The Wire / Nov 1, 2021)

As Sudha Bharadwaj Spends 4th Birthday in Jail, a Reminder That UAPA Enables Her Incarceration

As Sudha Bharadwaj Spends 4th Birthday in Jail, a Reminder That UAPA Enables Her Incarceration


Chhattisgarh, Nov 1, 2021

The Wire / by Mahtab Alam

In addition to her legal battles, Sudha Bharadwaj also fought to seek justice for the marginalised in Chhattisgarh.
On Monday, November 1, Chhattisgarh celebrated 21 years of its statehood. On November 1, 2000, the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh. It was a result of longstanding demand and sustained struggles of local organisations and the population. One of the organisations which played a key role in the formation of the new state is Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM) or Chhattisgarh Liberation Front. The CMM was formed in the early 1980s under the charismatic leadership of trade union leader Shankar Guha Niyogi. He was murdered in September 1991. And one of those who decided to carry forward the unfinished work of Niyogi is his fellow comrade from early years of activism – Sudha Bharadwaj, a trade union activist, lawyer and teacher.
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Rally for the release of Gautam Navlakha held in Canada

Rally for the release of Gautam Navlakha held in Canada

Rally for the release of Gautam Navlakha held in Canada

01/11/2021

Countercurrents.org / by Radical Desi

On the 37th anniversary of the 1984 Sikh Genocide, South Asian activists gathered in Surrey to raise their voices for a jailed Indian scholar, who was behind documenting the tragedy and exposing those involved.
Gautam Navlakha was arrested on trumped up charges in April 2020, and is currently lodged in jail near Mumbai. His only crime is daring to question the powerful, and always standing up for the minorities and the oppressed.
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Man behind early authentic field report on Sikh Genocide is in jail; will the world take notice?

24/10/2021

Straight.com / by Gurpeet Singh

Gautam Navlakha has consistently spoken out on behalf of people being persecuted in India.
As we approach the first week of November, marking the 37th anniversary of the Sikh massacre in India, a scholar who helped document the tragedy is struggling for his release from an Indian jail.
Gautam Navlakha, who was arrested in April 2020 on trumped-up charges along with other prominent scholars and social-justice activists, is currently lodged in prison near Mumbai. His only crime is that he dared to question the powerful and has always stood up for minorities and the oppressed.
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We salute Sudha Bharadwaj and her fight for Justice (various statements)

We salute Sudha Bharadwaj and her fight for Justice (various statements)

PUCL salutes Sudha Bharadwaj and her fight for Justice!

01/11/2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

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Chhattisgarh, Nov 1, 2021


Video (3min): Song by CMM comrades


Watch video 1

Video (1:30min): Slogans by PCSS comrades


Watch video 2

#ReleaseSudhaBharadwak (Nov 1)

by Indira Jaising

by Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA) Raipur
When the government doesn’t have an answer to the storm of questions raised against it, it resorts to arresting those speaking the truth fearlessly. Shame! #ReleaseSudhaBhardwaj #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #RepealUAPA

by Tribal Army
We demand human rights activist sudha Bhardwaj to be released.
Happy Birthday Madam

by NAPM India
#SudhaBharadwaj is one of the finest trade unionists & public spirited lawyers who has always taken on unjust & powerful forces. We wish Sudha real liberation on her 60th. #3years of her incarceration & that of all political prisoners is a shame, a huge loss & unforgivable crime.

by Meera Sanghamitra
Working silently, yet resiliently for over three decades amidst adivasis, workers & oppressed sections in #Chhattisgarh, #Sudha has inspired an entire generation to understand the combined value of legal activism & on-ground unionizing. Happy birthday, Comrade. You are a star.

by Meena Kanasamy
History will remember her as a fierce lioness who stood up to this regime.

Chitrangada
It’s her 60th birthday tday & she is spending it in prison, where she has been since 3+ yrs, without bail or trial.
The Bombay HC finished hearing her last bail plea on 4th Aug. Still no ruling.

by AISA Delhi Universtity

Sudha Bharadwaj goes through her 4th birthday in Jail for fighting for the rights of people! While Criminals like Anurag Thakura and Kapil Mishra are not only Roaming free but are being awarded Ministries by the Government! #ReleaseAllPoliticalPrisoners #releaseBK16 #RepealUAPA

by CIVICUS

Today human rights lawyer & activist Sudha Bharadwaj will celebrate her 60th birthday in prison She was arrested on fabricated charges 3 years ago and has been denied bail. Call on the govt to #FreeSudhaBharadwaj immediately: https://web.civicus.org/India1121 | #StandAsMyWitness

… #ReleaseSudhaBharadwaj

Release All Political Prisoners & Revoke UAPA

29/10/2021

By TribalSpaces

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No bail, no trial: Sudha Bharadwaj turns 60 in jail / Another birthday in detention

No bail, no trial: Sudha Bharadwaj turns 60 in jail / Another birthday in detention

No bail, no trial: Sudha Bharadwaj turns 60 in jail!

01/11/2021

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

The human rights defender has been accused of waging a war against the government and booked under terror charges in the Bhima Koregaon case
Trade Unionist, lawyer, professor, writer, Sudha Bharadwaj was arrested on August 28, 2018 and has been lodged in Byculla jail since then. She has been accused of criminal conspiracy, sedition under the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act charges of funding a terrorist activity, conspiracy, being a member of terrorist gang or organisation, and supporting a terrorist organisation.
Born on November 1, 1961, Bharadwaj has turned 60 today. This is the fourth birthday she has had to spend behind bars.
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Human rights defender Sudha Bharadwaj spends another birthday in detention

01/11/2021

By CIVICUS

Human rights defender and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj will be spending her 60th birthday in detention today, more than three years after she was arrested on baseless charges under a draconian anti-terror law. Global civil society alliance CIVICUS calls on the Indian government to halt the ongoing persecution against her and release Bharadwaj immediately and unconditionally.
Read full statement

‘If You Try to Be Safe and in the Middle, You Will Never Succeed’

01/11/2021

The Wire / by Monobina Gupta

Note: This article was originally published on July 18, 2018, and was republished on November 1, 2021, Sudha Bharadwaj’s 60th birthday.

Sudha Bharadwaj has spent nearly three decades working with the most marginalised sections of people in the conflict-ridden state of Chhattisgarh. Away from the media glare, her ear firmly to the ground, the trade union activist and lawyer has been up against powerful corporates and state administrations headed both by the present BJP dispensation and before that, the Congress party.
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Condemn The Solitary Confinement Of The Bhima Koregaon Accused!

Condemn The Solitary Confinement Of The Bhima Koregaon Accused!

By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)

CONDEMN THE SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AND CONTINUING HARASSMENT OF THE BHIMA KOREGAON ACCUSED BY TALOJA CENTRAL JAIL AUTHORITIES!
STOP PUNISHING POLITICAL PRISONERS FOR THEIR BELIEFS!

The high handedness of the Taloja Central Jail administration was evident in the events leading to the death of the octogenarian Bhima Koregaon undertrail, Stan Swamy on July 5, 2021. Almost immediately, the remaining BK undertrials protested the arbitrary jail conditions imposed by the then Superintendent, Kaustabh Kurlekar by observing a one-day hunger strike. However, far from bringing such persecution to an end, a new repressive regime has been installed by Superintendent UT Pawar. Its latest manifestation is the transfer of Vernon Gonsalves, Sagar Gokhale, Ramesh Gaichor, Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale and most recently on 12 October 2021 Gautam Navlakha to the ‘anda’ circle, the high security prison area in Taloja Jail. Imprisonment in the anda cell is a form of solitary confinement which is blatantly illegal in the case of undertrial prisoners.
Read full statement

Allow phone calls with prisoners, say kin of Elgar Parishad accused

Allow phone calls with prisoners, say kin of Elgar Parishad accused

Allow phone calls with prisoners, say kin of Elgar Parishad accused

26/10/2021

Times of India / by Shishir Arya

Relatives of the Elgar Parishad case accused lodged in jail have demanded that the special facility of allowing phone calls by prisoners started during the Covid pandemic should not be discontinued. The facility has been demanded for all the prisoners, irrespective of the cases under which they have been held.
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Kin of jailed activists write to authorities to not discontinue telephone calls

25/10/2021

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

Since prisons are all set to resume physical mulaqats, the authorities have informed the families that weekly calls will no longer be functional.
The family members of the accused undertrials in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, have written to the Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) and Special Inspector General of Police (Prisons) to continue the weekly phone calls with them.
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Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

The Wire / by Rajshree Chandra

‘Trial by process’ is the political and organisational logic of the UAPA.
An 84-year-old Jesuit Father, Stan Swamy, charged for inciting violence in Bhima Koregaon (BK), died inside the panoptic walls of the Taloja jail on July 5. Despite his age, despite his Parkinson’s-ravaged body, despite his tremors, despite his Covid infection, despite all his frailties, he had been denied bail repeatedly. Rather than his ailing, failing body becoming a ground for bail and appropriate medical care, his body became yet another ground on which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) waged its vicious war.
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Gautam Navlakha’s health has worsened in jail, not being allowed phone calls, says his partner

Gautam Navlakha’s health has worsened in jail, not being allowed phone calls, says his partner

Phone calls, daily walks in jail’s green area stopped, says Navlakha’s partner

24/10/2021

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

His fragile health and well-being will be further jeopardised by these actions, says Sahba Husain.
Activist and journalist Gautam Navlakha, who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case in 2020, has recently been shifted to a high-security section of the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai and not allowed to call his family and lawyers, said his partner, Sahba Husain, in a statement on Sunday.
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Gautam Navlakha’s health has worsened in jail, not being allowed phone calls, says his partner

24/10/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The health condition of activist Gautam Navlakha deteriorated after he was shifted to the high-security barrack called the “Anda circle” in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja Jail, his partner Sahba Husain said on Sunday.
In a statement, Husain also said that the Bhima Koregaon case accused was not being allowed to make phone calls to his family members and lawyers.
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Full Statement by Sabha Husain

Clickt to enlarge