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A Defender Of The Deprived Faces Terror Charges / Swamy’s Arrest Stirs Unprecedented Protests

A Defender Of The Deprived Faces Terror Charges / Swamy’s Arrest Stirs Unprecedented Protests

Why An Aged Defender Of The Deprived Faces Terror Charges

04/11/2020

Article 14 / by Chitrangada Coudhury

After more than half a century of deploying constitutional rights to assist Adivasis, Dalits and undertrials, 83-year-old Jharkhand Jesuit activist and former director of the Indian Social Institute Stan Swamy is the NIA’s 16th, and oldest, arrest in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
On 24 June 2008, Damodar Turi, a Jharkhand land-rights activist and a Dalit was arrested by the Ranchi police and accused of sedition and waging war against India… While he faced these allegations, Turi recalled, among the people who stood by him were Father Stan Swamy, an 83-year-old Jesuit priest and one of Jharkhand’s most prominent human-rights activists.
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Elderly Priest’s Arrest Stirs Unprecedented Protests in India

04/11/2020

The National Catholic Register / by Anto Akkara

Father Stanilaus Lourduswamy, along with 15 others, allegedly conspired with Maoist rebels to destabilize the federal government in what critics have called ‘absurd.’
Few arrests in Indian history have evoked such widespread protests as that of Jesuit Father Stanislaus Lourduswamy on Oct. 8. Better known as Father Stan Swamy, this 83-year-old is a renowned crusader for the exploited and impoverished indigenous people of eastern Jharkhand state.
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Happy Birthday Sudha Bharadwaj – Various Solidarity Statements

Happy Birthday Sudha Bharadwaj – Various Solidarity Statements

Happy Birthday greetings from Chhattisgarh

By Ajay T.G.

Video: Happy Birthday Sudha didi

en / hindi | 2:09 min | 2020


Watch video

By Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh (PCSS)

Video: Happy Birthday Sudhaji, from Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh

hindi | 1:30min | 2020

Some of the tweets of today

Radhika: #SudhaBharadwaj is a ray of hope and light for thousands of workers and adivasis, who face oppression day in and out. She is an inspiration to all young people who want to work for justice and take forward Babasaheb’s ideas. Happy birthday Sister Sudha. #FreeSudhaNow #FreeBK16

***

Meera Sanghamitra: As I wish our dear Sudha a very happy birthday, I also imagine what a loss it is that a gem of a person has been deprived of working with all women, workers & adivasis closest to her heart for almost #800days now!
The World Salutes you Comrade.
#FreeSudhaBharadwaj #FreeBK16

***

Medha Patkar: sudha bhardwaj is behind the bars on her birthday for the 3rd time….her advocacy and commitment to the causes of the poor and courage to face the fascist forces … only to save the country…is a celebration of dedication…with heartfelt wishes Sudhaji.

***

Suchitra Vijayan: “We need groups organized to fight; they’re the ones who can make a dent.” It’s Sudha Bharadwaj’s birthday today; she’s has spent over two years in prison with no evidence. Read about her remarkable life and work. #FreeSudhaBharadwaj #FreeBK16

***

Chitrangada: “Contract workers like us could not dream of going up against such big companies in court if not for her standing by us.” “If not for her, hum aadivasiyon ko company paani mein bahaa deta.” On #SudhaBharadwaj ‘s birthday, a reminder of what her clients say

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Joy: Sudha Bharadwaj. Born in US, Schooling in Cambridge. Gave up US Citizenship. IIT Kanpur Alumnus. Left top Job. Studied Law and practiced in High Court to protect rights of Poor. Now she is in Jail for over 2 Years as she crossed path of Government from exploiting the Poor.

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Pranesh Prakash: Sudha Bharadwaj is one of the many courageous prisoners of conscience that the Indian state has jailed while under trial over trumped up charges. At the same time @amnesty, which was originally set up to campaign for prisoners of conscience has effectively been banned in India.

***

Neha Swetambari: It will be a movie script. IITian… left US passport. professor of law …was offered judge post in HC.single mom. yet worked tirelessly for underprivileged. As of now, she needs to be out though #SudhaBharadwaj especially if no evidence is presented till date.

***

Srinivas Kodali: Is 800 days good enough time to be imprisoned without trail with no evidence for an imaginary conspiracy plot in a democracy? #FreeSudhaBharadwaj

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Jhuma: This is how the state rewards lawyers who care. #SudhaBharadwaj in prison for 2 years now without a trial.

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iStandWithFarmers: @PMOIndia if you are back from the photoshoot at the zoo, pl know that it has been more than 800 days since #SudhaBharadwaj had been jailed with no trial. All she was doing was strengthening the democracy at the grassroots, the same democracy which you were elected to represent

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Gautam Bhatia: On Sudha Ji’s third birthday in jail, re-reading this piece about her: “The Sudha Bharadwaj the government doesn’t want you to know.”

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Sabrang: On occasion of activist Sudha Bharadwaj’s birthday, watch our video where activist Teesta Setalvad talks about her work, the undemocratic nature of her arrest and the conditions of women activists nationwide and globally. #HappyBirthdaySudha

***

The Wire: “Since they cannot fight her in court, they are calling her a Maoist. “They don’t have evidence, so they are converting the process itself into punishment,” wrote Smita Gupta, 2 years after Sudha Bharadwaj was arrested in Bhima Koregaon case.

***

Indias Tribals~Adivasi: Sudha Bharadwaj gave up her US citizenship to work for #tribal rights in Chhattisgarh. On occasion of Sudha Bharadwaj’s birthday today, take a look at her article on the #Adivasi people that she wrote back in 2015.

dialecticsoupy: release sudha bharadwaj. release all political prisoners.
artwork by sarah_modak

BEING SUDHA BHARADWAJ

By Release the Poet

Her 59th birthday.
And 3rd birthday in Jail!
What did she do to deserve this?
Sudha Bharadwaj threw off a cushy comfortable life that she could pursue easily being born and grown up to illustrious parents. At the age of 18 she denounced her US citizenship. Being an IIT graduate, she still could have chosen a less risky and easier life. But she opted for walking with the people, stand by the people in their rightful fight.
Read more

‘He’s A Torchbearer Of The Constitution’ Say Father Stan Swamy’s Peers

‘He’s A Torchbearer Of The Constitution’ Say Father Stan Swamy’s Peers

‘He’s A Torchbearer Of The Constitution’ Say Father Stan Swamy’s Peers

01/11/2020

mid-day.com / by Jane Borges

A warrior for Jharkhand’s adivasis, Father Stan Swamy, arrested for his alleged role in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, is remembered by peers as someone who worked to uplift the marginalised despite his struggle with Parkinson’s disease.
For Father Stanislaus Lourduswamy, true religion is standing for justice, humanity and truth. His ideas made many within the Church uncomfortable. To them, he was a radical of sorts. But, this was his life’s mission, and many activists, including myself, were inspired by his journey,” says Tony PM, a freelance researcher and social activist in Ranchi, who has been associated with the 83-year-old Jesuit priest since 1993.
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#StandWithStan: It’s about Constitution, democracy and freedom of expression

31/10/2020

Counterview / by Fr Cedric Prakash SJ

It is more than three weeks now: On the night of October 8, 2020, the 83-year-old Jesuit Fr Stan Swamy was taken into custody by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) from his residence in Ranchi to an undisclosed destination. According to his colleagues, the NIA did not serve a warrant on Fr. Stan and that their behaviour was absolutely arrogant and rude…
We must stand with Fr Stan Swamy now for several significant reasons.
Read more

Solidarity with Sudha Bharadwaj on her 3rd Birthday in Jail – Statements & Calls

Solidarity with Sudha Bharadwaj on her 3rd Birthday in Jail – Statements & Calls


Poster by Release Sudha Bharadwaj Campaign

Video: Stand with Sudha Bharadwaj on her 3rd Birthday in Jail

31/10/2020

Video statement by Prashand Bhushan


Tomorrow Sudha Bharadwaj is spending her 3rd Birthday in Jail on an absurd charges under UAPA. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur, a Professor of NLS, she gave up her US citizenship to work for tribals in Chhattisgarh. We hope she will soon be out to resume her exemplary work there.
Watch video statement (1:42min) here

Call: Stand with Sudha Bharadwaj on her 3rd Birthday in Jail

31/10/2020

By Sudha’s Friends and Family support group

You might be already aware of the infamous Bhima-Koregaon conspiracy case. One of the (now sixteen) activists arrested in the case is Sudha Bharadwaj, a lawyer and trade unionist from Chhattisgarh. On Sunday, 1st November, she will be spending her third birthday in jail, as we, Sudha’s Friends and Family support group, watch in distress.
We stand in solidarity with her.
We were hoping that you could join us in sending her a birthday message – perhaps a short one-minute video on a social media account (Twitter/Facebook/Instagram), perhaps also in other ways you deem fit.
#HappyBirthdaySudha
#FreeBhimaKoregaon16
#FreeSudhaBharadwaj
Just in case you need it, here is a brief bio on her below.
Best regards
On behalf of Sudha’s Friends and Family support group

Brief Bio of Sudha Bharadwaj

Sudha was born in 1961 in the USA to economist parents (her mother founded Centre for Economics Studies and Planning at Jawaharlal Nehru University, her father is also an economist and an academic). She completed integrated MSc (Math) at IIT Kanpur in 1979, and was socially active in various groups on the campus. But – in her own words – her “coming of age” was in 1984 – the year of the Bhopal gas tragedy and the antiSikh riots. After finishing the program at IITK in 1984, she taught at DPS for a couple of years in Delhi where she got exposed to the migrant workers’ struggles during the 1982 Asiad Games.
But by 1986 she decided to relocate to Chhattisgarh, attracted by the inspiring collective of mine workers in Dalli-Rajhara – Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha – which had attracted youth like her from wide across. It was then led by Shaheed Shankar Guha Niyogi who was assassinated a few years after she had joined. Over the years, Sudha took a leading role in the union, and spent decades in the industrial belt of Bilaspur-Durg-Bhilai. She also earned her lawyers credentials along the way, developing a parallel and consequential legal practice.
At the time of her arrest on 28.08.2018, she was teaching at the National Law University in Delhi, was a recognised authority on Labour Law and Constitution Law, and was the National Secretary of the PUCL.

More information on her can be found in the links shared below
Wikipedia page
Release Sudha Bharadwaj blog
An article on Sudha on Article 14

Sudha Bharadwaj to spend birthday behind bars, third year in a row!

31/10/2020

Sabrang / by Sabrangindia

While no birthday in jail can ever be ‘happy’, here’s how you honour the human rights defender on her special day.
Trade Unionist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj was among the five activists and human rights defenders rounded up by a vindictive regime in August 2018, as a part of a crackdown on dissenting voices. She was picked up in a second wave of arrests due to her alleged “maoist links” that somehow, according to the police, meant that she was a part of the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy!
It is noteworthy that Bharadwaj was neither an organiser of nor present in Pune during the Elgaar Parishad! If it sounds preposterous, it is because it is indeed utterly ludicrous!
On November 1, Bharadwaj will be spending her birthday behind bars for the third straight year. Here’s what you can do to make it ‘happy-ish’.
Read more

Video: Sudha Bharadwaj celebrates another birthday in jail


On the occasion of, lawyer, activist and trade unionist, Sudha Bharadwaj’s birthday, watch this sabrangindia video where journalist and activist Teesta Setalvad talks about her work, the undemocratic nature of her arrest and the conditions of women activists in general, nationwide and globally.
Watch video (3:54min) here

An Excerpt from the phone call of Stan Swamy from Prison / Stand With Stan – A Musical Video

An Excerpt from the phone call of Stan Swamy from Prison / Stand With Stan – A Musical Video

An Excerpt from the phone call of Stan Swamy from the Prison

31/10/2020

Phone Message by Stan Swamy

Dear Friends,
Greetings from Taloja prison, Mumbai. I hope you are all keeping fine.
I want to share with you that I am keeping good health, despite some ailments.
A few fellow prisoners are very helpful to me. Considering my age and inability to adopt to prison conditions, I am given an assistant to help me to move around. I have been given a private cell with commode facility and simple special diet.
I have access to some journals and magazines.
I spend my time in reading, praying and interacting with fellow prisoners.
I have asked for some warm clothes as it is cold here. I hope the prison authorities will permit me to have them to protect me.
I am languishing in prison for some alleged offences, which I have not committed.
If this is God’s will, so be it.
I hope truth will win and I will be released soon on bail.
I received your greetings and prayers through one of my Jesuit colleagues, whom I called over phone on 25 October, Sunday morning.
I am allowed to make phone calls once in 15 days.
Continue to remember me and all my friends here in the prison.
Fr. Stan Swamy

Stand With Stan – A Musical Video

31/10/2020

By Kerala Jesuits, Jesuits Collaborators


en (subtitles) | 8:53min | 2020

JESUIT COMMUNICATIONS PRESENT
For the immediate release of Fr. Stan Lourde Swamy
SJ Music & Singing: Joy Thankey
Orchestration: Pious Alappuzha
Mixing: Jinto John (Geetham Studio, Kochi) Chorus – Jacob Alwin, Sophy, Aleena
Video editing: Akhil Anto
Lyrics: Fr. Paul Manayampilly, Vicar, Infant Jesus Church, Kidangoor
Special Thanks to Jesuits, Collaborators, and People of Goodwill
#FreeStan #StandwithStan #freestanswamy #BhimaKoregaon
Watch video

Father Swamy: Indian Jesuit priest-activist

Father Swamy: Indian Jesuit priest-activist

The Guardian / by Tony Afejuku

Very recently, I received the sad news of what is happening to a wonderful Jesuit priest who to boot is an activist, a solid defender of human rights in India that has since ceased to be the incredibly incredible India of my then years.
Its politicians especially of now have turned or better stated, are turning that mysteriously ancient country of civilisations into a Soviet/Russian Gulag where agents of the state carry out acts of terror against dissenters who they accuse of terrorism and its negative wonders of blemish.
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Yet again: Supreme Court refuses to send back Poet Varavara Rao to hospital!

Yet again: Supreme Court refuses to send back Poet Varavara Rao to hospital!

Statement by Release the Poet

This November 3rd Varavara Rao will turn 80. And coming November 17th it will be two years of him being taken to custody by the Pune Police for his alleged connection with Maoists in the fabricated Bhima Koregaon Case.

By now, we all are aware of his health conditions. Last July he was diagnosed with Covid-19 and was admitted to Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. …

Read More Read More

Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest / Webinar report: Stand With Stan

Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest / Webinar report: Stand With Stan

Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest

28/10/2020

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

Representatives of Christian and rights organisations hint at urgent need for the convergence against the current ‘fascist’ forces.
Christian organisations and human right groups have called for Dalits, tribal and minorities to join hands with other concerned citizens and protest attempts by the central government to silence voices of dissent by misusing the anti-terror law UAPA.
Read more

Bhima Koregaon Case: A Critical Appraisal: Our Call – Free them All

27/10/2020

Countercurrents / by Dr Prakash Louis

Background to Bhima Koregaon Event
The 1818 Battle of Koregaon is of importance for Dalits. On 1st January, 1818, 800 troops of the British Army, with large number of Mahars, Dalit Community of Maharashtra predominant among them, defeated a numerically superior force of the Peshwa Baji Rao II …
On 1st January, 2018, like every year, lakhs of Dalits poured into Bhima Koregaon. The commemoration has a record of being conducted peacefully and the village’s residents have a history of social harmony. But this year, tensions had begun to build in a neighbouring village over the question of which community had conducted the last rites of Maratha ruler Sambhaji – the Mahars or the Marathas.
Read more

Webinar report: Stand With Stan

27/10/2020

Countercurrents / by Indian Christians for Democracy

A webinar was organised with major initiative of Indian Christians for Democracy on 25th October, Sunday, 2020 from 11.00 to 1.00 pm …
The objectives of the webinar were 1) Keep pressure on for the release of all falsely accused and arrested; 2) False accusation, detention and arrest becomes a debating point and the government gives up this practice; 3) Nation-wide demand for the repeal of UAPA.
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Reading Anand Teltumbde in the wake of Hathras

Reading Anand Teltumbde in the wake of Hathras

Scroll.in / by Rahul Govind

In his books, the writer – now in jail – demonstrates how caste atrocities are the result of deep-rooted societal structures.
In grappling with the horrors of Hathras, the absence of Anand Teltumbde’s voice resounds. In the writings of Teltumbde, who is currently incarcerated in Taloja prison in the Bhima Koregaon case, the horrific singularity of caste atrocities are distilled as a precipitate of a long-enduring history and deep-rooted societal structures. Few public intellectuals in independent India have shown as much insight and courage in chronicling the cunning and cruelty of state and society.
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Asian bishops stand in solidarity with arrested Jesuit [read full statement]

Asian bishops stand in solidarity with arrested Jesuit [read full statement]

UCA News / by John Zaw, Mandalay

The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) has said it stands in solidarity with Indian Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy and all who support the rights of indigenous people.
“It is with great shock and agony the FABC heard of the arrest of the 84-year-old Father Swamy and his incarceration and we are surprised at the charges brought against him,” Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, president of the FABC, said in a statement.
Read more

Asian Bishops Call for Release of Fr. Stan Swamy

26/10/2020

ZENIT / by ZENIT Staff

The Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) has called for the release of Fr. Stan Swamy, who was arrested in his home in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand State in eastern India, on October 8th…

Following is the full letter
It is with great shock and agony, the FABC heard of the arrest of the 83-year-old Fr Stan Swamy and his incarceration. We are surprised at the charges brought against him. We stand in solidarity with Fr. Stan Swamy and all who support the rights of the indigenous people.
Read full statement


AICUF Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam unit and Parish Pastoral council St. Peter’s Cathedral, Arch Diocese of Visakhapatnam has organized a candle light rally @ 19:30hrs on Sunday 25.10.2020 at Gnanapuram for Fr. Stan.