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Public Meeting at Press Club of India Demands Release of People’s Lawyer Surendra Gadling

Public Meeting at Press Club of India Demands Release of People’s Lawyer Surendra Gadling

March 12, 2026. Pic credit: CASR

Public Meeting at Press Club of India Demands Release of People’s Lawyer Surendra Gadling

13/03/2026

The Mooknayak English / by Campaign Against State Repression (CASR)

Activist Surendra Gadling is detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

Press Release by Campaign Against State Repression
New Delhi, 12 March

Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) organised a public meeting at the Press Club of India on 12 March demanding the immediate release of people’s lawyer Surendra Gadling, who has been incarcerated in the Bhima Koregaon case. Lawyers, journalists, and academics addressed the gathering, highlighting the implications of the case for democratic rights, civil liberties, and the independence of the legal profession.
Read the full press release


By Manish Azad (March 2, 2026:)
Join Public Meeting in Solidarity with People’s Advocate Surendra Gadling
Release Surendra Gadling immediately !!
Release All Political Prisoners !!


Also read:
CASR Condemns Abduction and Brutal Torture of Activists by Delhi Police Special Cell (Countercurrents.org / March 18, 2026)

Surendra Gadling and the justice that must be seen to be denied (Frontline / Feb 2026)
Explained: The 2016 Surjagarh arson case, the Elgaar link, and why the Supreme Court is intervening now (The Indian Express / Jan 2026)
6 yrs, no charges framed – Surendra Gadling stuck in trial limbo in 2016 Surajgarh arson case (The Print / Sep 2025)
In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
Gadling in jail. Reason? As lawyer-activist he has been ‘unpleasant’ to India’s topcops (Counterview / Dec 2020)

Iftar gathers families of political prisoners, calls for sustained solidarity

Iftar gathers families of political prisoners, calls for sustained solidarity

Iftar and Solidarity Meet for Political Prisoners Held in Kurla

02/03/2026

Muslim Mirror / by Muslim Mirror

An iftar, dua and public meeting in solidarity with political prisoners was held at CESA, Kurla (West), on February 28, organised by Innocence Network India. Now in its eighth year, the annual gathering drew former prisoners and their families which nearly made 80% of the audiences.

A message from Rona Wilson, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case who was unable to attend, was read out at the venue. In it, he said that when large numbers of people are subjected to incarceration and prolonged legal battles, such gatherings were necessary to renew solidarity and sustain the pursuit of justice.
Read more


Iftar gathers families of political prisoners, calls for sustained solidarity

02/03/2026

Maktoobmedia / by Maktoob Staff

An iftar, dua and public meeting in solidarity with political prisoners was held at the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CESA) in Kurla (West) on February 28. Organised by Innocence Network India, the annual gathering, now in its eighth year, drew former prisoners and their families, who organisers said made up nearly 80 per cent of the audience.
Read more


Also read:
Voices From Prison | A Legacy Of Detention: Weaponisation Of PDA, TADA, NSA And UAPA Laws Since Independence (Outlook / Jan 2026)
Incarceration As Politics: A Timeline Of Political Prisoners In Independent India (Outlook / Jan 2026)
Who Is a ‘Political Prisoner’? Rona Wilson Says Caste and Religion Are Key to the Answer (The Wire / Feb 2025)
Justice On Hold: How India’s Trial Courts Are Creating a New Class of Political Prisoners—Those Accused Of ‘Terrorism’ (article 14 / Dec 2025)
How The Indian Prison System Denies Basic Freedoms, Rights And Dignity To Political Prisoners (The Polis Project / Jun 2024)

New anthology stands in solidarity with Umar Khalid / Lecture on Umar Khalid Highlights UAPA’s Chilling Effect

New anthology stands in solidarity with Umar Khalid / Lecture on Umar Khalid Highlights UAPA’s Chilling Effect

“Widen the circle”: New anthology stands in solidarity with incarcerated activist Umar Khalid

19/02/2026

Maktoob / by Fida Fahima

Released on Tuesday at the Press Club of India in New Delhi, the book “Umar Khalid and His World: An Anthology” seeks to “widen the circle of companionship” around anti-CAA activist Umar Khalid and serve as a tribute to those jailed or targeted for speaking out against injustice, the organisers said.
… The book further accuses the regime of responding to dissent with a “brazen witch-hunt,” referencing cases such as Bhima Koregaon and the Delhi riots, and alleging that misinformation and media trials were deployed to incarcerate what it terms “foot soldiers of the Constitution.”
Read more


Mumbai Lecture on Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam Bail Denial Highlights UAPA’s Chilling Effect

15/02/2026

The Wire / by Nishtha Sood

Speakers at the ninth Shahid Azmi Memorial Lecture said the Supreme Court’s refusal to grant bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam under UAPA threatens the right to protest and deepens fears of institutional failure.
… Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Sudha Bharadwaj were among those in attendance.
Read more


When The Personal Became Political At Shahid Azmi Memorial Lecture

11/02/2026

Outlook India / by Pritha Vashisth

Organised by Innocence Network India, the Shahid Azmi Memorial Lecture focused this year on the prolonged denial of bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.
… Among those present were individuals out on bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, often referred to as the BK 16, including Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, and Hany Babu. There were also people who had faced incarceration in cases such as the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts before eventually being acquitted. Some sat quietly taking notes. Others listened with folded arms. A few wiped away tears.
Read more


Also read:
Incarceration As Politics: A Timeline Of Political Prisoners In Independent India (Outlook / Jan 2026)
Voices From Prison Series: Of Lives Stolen For Dissent (Outlook / Jan 2026)
Shadows of Judicial Indiscipline: On the Supreme Court’s bail denial to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam (The Leaflet / Jan 2026)

What Women’s Jail Diaries Reveal About Society / For many Indian women jail sets them free

What Women’s Jail Diaries Reveal About Society / For many Indian women jail sets them free

For many Indian women jail sets them free. ‘Home had become a prison’

13/02/2026

The Print / by Sakhi Mehra

Seema Azad’s Unsilenced and From Phansi Yard by activist-lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj were the topic of discussion at Delhi’s Press Club last week. Both books were born of incarceration.
In prison, for all its cruelty, one can still breathe—unlike many other spaces in society. That was the unsettling truth that became the centre of a book discussion at the Press Club of India on 7 February. Writers, activists, and scholars gathered to talk about incarceration as a lived reality.
Read more


Beyond Bars and Charges: What Women’s Jail Diaries Reveal About Society

09/02/2026

Outlook / by Mrinalini Dhyani

At a discussion on women’s prison writings, the conversation centred on memoirs by two women political prisoners, Unsilenced: The Jail Diary of an Activist by Seema Azad and Phansi Yard by Sudha Bharadwaj which brought together feminist historian Uma Chakravarti, activist-journalist Seema Azad, legal scholar Shailza Sharma, and researcher Mary, among others.
Incarceration in India is not an exception but a long-standing social reality, one that has shaped women’s lives across generations, from the years immediately after Independence to the present moment of prolonged undertrial detention. This was the central argument that emerged at a discussion on women’s prison writings held at the Press Club of India on Saturday evening.
Read more

▪ From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada

Author: Sudha Bhardwaj
Publishing Date: Oct 2023
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 216
Read more/order


Also read:
Book Excerpt | Unsilenced: The Jail Diary Of An Activist, By Seema Azad (Outlook / Jan 2026)

▪ The Cell and the Soul – A Prison Memoir

Author: Anand Teltumbde
Publishing Date: Sep 2025
Publisher: Bloomsbury India
Pages: 256
Read more/order

▪ The Feared – Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners

Author: Neeta Kolhatkar
Publishing Date: Dec 2024
Publisher: S&S India
Pages: 272
Read more/order

Reading The Marginal Spaces Of Prison: Incarceration And Women Political Prisoners (Feminism India / Nov 2024)

▪ How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? Voices of Indian Political Prisoners

Authors: Suchitra Vijayan and Francesca Recchia
Publishing Date: Aug 2023
Publisher: Pluto Press
Pages: 247
Read more / order

Book Launch | ‘Never Imagined I’d Be Qualified For Arrest, Let Alone Write a Prison Memoir’: Anand Teltumbde

Book Launch | ‘Never Imagined I’d Be Qualified For Arrest, Let Alone Write a Prison Memoir’: Anand Teltumbde

Anand Teltumbde’s Memoir ‘The Cell and the Soul’ is An Important Read to Understand Post-2014 India

03/11/2025

The Wire / by Apoorvanand

Prison mirrors society in its hierarchies. Its walls replicate the structures of caste, class, and privilege with cruel precision. This book joins a growing canon of India’s prison literature.
The history of the enterprise of language in Hindutva-dominated India after 2014 will surely reserve a significant, if dark, place for prison literature. By “prison literature,” we mean the books, essays, and poems written by those imprisoned – accounts born of the experience of incarceration.
Read more


‘Never Imagined I’d Be Qualified For Arrest, Let Alone Write a Prison Memoir’: Anand Teltumbde

02/11/2025

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Speaking at the launch of his new book ‘The Cell and the Soul’, Teltumbde said his incarceration “exposed the inversion of Ambedkar’s republic into one of repression”.
“I never imagined I would write a prison memoir,” scholar Anand Teltumbde said at the launch of his latest book The Cell and the Soul, adding: “I never thought I’d be qualified for arrest.”
Written during his 31-month stint of pre-trial imprisonment between April 2020 and November 2022, The Cell and the Soul is Teltumbde’s documentation of “a heartless state that criminalises dissent with political imprisonment, of the relentless grind of injustice and the profound cost of speaking truth to power”, per the website of its publisher Bloomsbury India.
Read more


No mosquito nets, no medicine—Teltumbde recounts life in prison in ‘The Cell and the Soul’

02/11/2025

The Print / by Cauvery Bhalla

The Bombay High Court granted him bail in November 2022, finding insufficient evidence of Teltumbde’s involvement; the Supreme Court upheld this decision, and he was released on November 26, 2022.
Civil rights activist and author Anand Teltumbde never thought he would ever be writing a prison memoir. He also never thought he would ever see the inside of a prison.
On Thursday, as Teltumbde spoke about his book, ‘The Cell and the Soul’, in his book launch at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh, he thanked the government for the opportunity, for the “unexpected reward”.
Read more


I never thought I’d qualify for arrest, says Teltumbde

01/11/2025

Hindustan Times / by Prateem Rohanekar

On Thursday, ‘The Cell and the Soul’ was launched, a prison memoir by scholar and human rights activist Dr Anand Teltumbde, written during his incarceration in the Taloja Central Jail under the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case
The haunting strains of Hum Dekhenge, Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s timeless song of resistance, filled the auditorium at the Marathi Patrakar Sangh on Thursday evening, setting the tone for an evening of remembrance, reflection and resistance.
Read more


“The people are naked before the government but the government is opaque to them”

31/10/2025

The Caravan / by Ajeet Mahale

Anand Teltumbde on the caste census and his prison memoir
… Ajeet Mahale, an assistant editor at The Caravan, spoke to Teltumbde about his recent writing, ideas of the caste census, recollections of time in prison and life afterwards, the criminalisation of dissent and more.
Read more


Video | ‘Called a Terrorist, Denied COVID Treatment’: Anand Teltumbde Talks Jail Horrors


en | 48:23min | 2025

The Quint / Eshwar Gole in conversation with Anand Teltumbde

Anand Teltumbde, social activist accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, discusses imprisonment, Ambedkar, and caste.
On the landmark 50th episode of Badi Badi Baatein, Teltumbde revisits the years that tested his faith in the justice system, recalls the silences of prison nights, the impact on his family, the fleeting warmth of letters from home — and the unshakeable spirit of Father Stan Swamy, who became a symbol of moral courage.
Read more
Watch video


Video | Anand Teltumbde opens up about his years in prison


en | 42:12min | 2025
Video production team: Akhtarista Ansari, Saleem Ul Haq, Sonia Chand & Nidhi Jacob

Maktoob / Nikita Jain in conversation with Anand Teltumbde

Human rights defender and scholar Anand Teltumbde opens up about his years in prison, his new autobiography The Cell and the Soul, and what life has been like since his release with Maktoob’s Nikita Jain. Teltumbde, implicated in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case in 2018, spent 31 months in jail before being released on bail in November 2022. He reflects on the emotional toll of incarceration, the losses he faced, and the strength that kept him going. Watch as Teltumbde discusses survival, resistance, and reclaiming life after imprisonment, a powerful account of endurance and conviction.
Watch video


Also read:

The Cell and the Soul – A Prison Memoir

Author: Anand Teltumbde
Publishing Date: Sep 2025
Publisher: Bloomsbury India
Pages: 256

Noted social activist Anand Teltumbde entered the Taloja Central Prison as accused number 10 in the Bhima Koregaon case and spent 31 months as an undertrial until he was released on bail. As an intellectual who was stripped of his freedom, he lays bares the chilling realities of India’s prisons in his gut-wrenching prison memoir. Part memoir, part diary, Cell and the Soul is a descent into the heart of India’s carceral state, ripping open the belly of the beast-the prison industrial complex-and exposing the brutal, pulsating injustice within.

Read more / order

On Living the Legacy of Fr. Stan Swamy

On Living the Legacy of Fr. Stan Swamy

Countercurrents / by Cedric Prakash

Late evening of 8 October 2020, Fr Stan Swamy was summoned from ‘Bagaicha’ in Ranchi (the Social Centre he founded in 2006 and where he lived) by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials, to their local headquarters in Ranchi city. He was immediately detained and kept in their custody the whole night. The next morning, he was flown to Bombay and unceremoniously thrown into Taloja Jail. His incarceration followed months of raids, interrogations, intimidation and harassment at the hands of the NIA. The treatment meted out to him in jail was even worse.
Read more


Also read:
Father Stan Swamy died of natural causes, Maharashtra government tells court (India Today / Oct 2025)
Daring, Fearless and Kind, Father Stan Swamy Remains a Beacon of Resistance (The Wire | by Hany Babu, Jyoti Jagtap, Mahesh Raut, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe, Surendra Gadling | Jul 2025)
Will anti-Naxal drive pave way for mining giants? (The New Indian Express / May 2025)
Jharkhand police to probe into Maoist links with Stan Swamy’s ‘Bagaicha’, 63 other frontal organisations (The New Indian Express / Sep 2023)

▪ I am not a Silent Spectator – Why Truth has become so bitter, Dissent so intolarable, Justice so out of reach – An Autobiographical Fragment, Memory and Reflection (Indian Social Institute | by Stan Swamy | Aug 2021)

Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Indian Social Institute, Bangalore
Language: English
Paperback: 149 pages

‘Why truth has become so bitter, dissent so intolerable, justice so out of reach?’ because truth has become very bitter to those in power and position, dissent, so unpalatable to the ruling elite, justice, so out of reach to the powerless, marginalised, deprived people. Yet, truth must be spoken, right to dissent must be upheld, and justice must reach the doorsteps of the poor. I am not a silent spectator. This booklet is not my autobiography. It is rather a collation of some glimpses/episodes from my life that somehow made a difference for me, and possibly for my confrères, colleagues and the people with whom I have shared my life.

Access a free PDF copy of the book here

Video: Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture | Migration for Livelihood: Hope Amidst Miseries?

Video: Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture | Migration for Livelihood: Hope Amidst Miseries?

Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture

Migration for Livelihood: Hope Amidst Miseries?

This year’s Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture reflected on migration, livelihood, and justice, continuing the legacy of Father Stan Swamy’s lifelong advocacy for the marginalized.
The program also emphasised the ongoing demand for the release of all Bhima Koregaon accused.
Date: Sat, 13 September 2025
Speaker: Father Prem Xalxo SJ
Chair: Advocate Indira Jaising

en / hindi | 1:51:29 | 2025
Watch recording


Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture: Speakers stress on struggles of tribal, migrant communities

14/09/2025

The Indian Express / by Naresh S

Senior advocate Mihir Desai, who has represented human rights cases in the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court, reflected on Stan Swamy’s legacy
Speakers at the Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture, held on Saturday at Nariman Point after being cancelled earlier by St Xavier’s College, stressed on the ongoing struggles of India’s tribal and migrant communities. Organised by over 55 civil society groups, the event drew both in-person and virtual audiences and paid tribute to the late Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Stan Swamy.
Read more


Civil society pushes on, holds Stan Swamy lecture

14/09/2025

Hindustan Times / by Sabah Virani

Irfan Engineer condemned the suppression of free expression at the Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture, highlighting resistance against political intimidation and rights violations.
“This lecture is an act of resistance; resistance to suppression of freedom of expression, resistance to bulldozing our democracy and constitution, resistance to an attempt to intimidate marginalised sections of society and educational institutions, in what can be taught, what lectures are arranged, and what cannot, and their being dictated by Hindu nationalist organisations, which have a political agenda and muscle power to exercise it,” said Irfan Engineer, director of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS).
Read more


Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture to be held tomorrow at Mumbai’s Nariman Point after cancellation at St Xavier’s College

12/09/2025

The Indian Express / by Naresh S

The original programme commemorating Father Stan Swamy, planned for August 9 at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, was cancelled following objections raised by ABVP activists.
The annual Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture, initially cancelled by St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, will now be held on Saturday in Nariman Point, which the attendees can join virtually.
The lecture is being organised by a coalition of civil society groups, including the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Samanvaya, People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), Karvaan-e-Mohabbat, and International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India (InSAF India).
Read more


Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture | Migration for Livelihood: Hope Amidst Miseries? (Sep 13)

10/09/2025

Free Press Journal / by FPJ Desk

Swamy was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in 2019 after violence at the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon gathering. He was reportedly ailing when he passed away.
The Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture 2025 on ‘Migration for Livelihood: Hope Amidst Miseries’ by Fr Prem Xalxo, will be held online on September 13, after the programme organised by St Xavier’s College on August 9 was cancelled.
Read more


Also watch/read:
Video: Mihir Desai Speaks – Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture

en | 50:18 | 2025
Senior advocate Mihir Desai shares his perspective. He fought Stan Swamy’s case in the Mumbai High Court. A champion of Adivasi rights, Stan Swamy was accused of conspiring against the state and taken into custody in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case. He passed away in Taloja Jail/Holy Family Hospital on 5 July 2025.
Watch video

Stan Swamy Lecture Cancelled – A Case Study in India’s Shrinking Space for Dissent (The Print / Aug 2025)
“Sorry, Stan!” (Countercurrents / Aug 2025)
Daring, Fearless and Kind, Father Stan Swamy Remains a Beacon of Resistance (The Wire | by Hany Babu, Jyoti Jagtap, Mahesh Raut, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe, Surendra Gadling | Jul 2025)

The Public Security Act is unconstitutional and anti-democratic – Protests across Maharashtra

The Public Security Act is unconstitutional and anti-democratic – Protests across Maharashtra

Protests across Maharashtra denounce the Public Security Act as unconstitutional and anti-democratic [picture galleries]

10/09/2025

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

Opposition, rights groups, and people’s movements unite to call it an “anti-people, anti-democratic law”
A wave of protests swept across Maharashtra today as opposition parties, civil society organizations, and grassroots groups came together to denounce the recently passed Maharashtra Public Security Bill, branding it a “Public Oppression Bill.” Demonstrations took place in Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur, Solapur, Palghar, Beed, Hingoli, Dhule, Gadchiroli, Gondia, and several other districts, marking one of the largest coordinated state-wide agitations in recent years.
Read more


PSA a bid to criminalise varied organisations: Sudha Bharadwaj

31/08/2025

Hindustan Times / by HT Correspondent

Bharadwaj was among the speakers at a webinar organised by All India Inquilabi Youth and Students Alliance (ALIYSA) and National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) along with senior advocate Mihir Desai and activist Ulka Mahajan
Human rights lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj said on Saturday that it was a great thing that the civil society in Maharashtra had already begun protesting against the Maharashtra Special Public Security Act, passed by the state’s legislative assembly in its recently concluded monsoon session.
Read more


Maharashtra Special Public Security Act, Pre-Emptive Criminalisation And Indefinite Surveillance

22/08/2025

Outlook / by Anand Teltumbde

The MSPSA gives the state-corporate nexus the legal means to suppress participatory democracy under the guise of public security.
On July 10, 2025, the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha passed a revised version of the Maharashtra Special Public Security Act (MSPSA), exactly one year after the original draft was introduced on July 11, 2024, by the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Initially framed as a response to the perceived threat of “urban Naxalism”, the Bill claimed to address the alleged infiltration of Maoist ideology into urban areas through affiliated organisations offering logistical support and shelter to underground cadres.
Read more


Also read:
Civil society gears up to protest Public Security Bill (Hindustan Times / Sep 2025)
Maharashtra Special Public Security Act, Pre-Emptive Criminalisation And Indefinite Surveillance (Outlook | by Anand Teltumbde | Aug 2025)
New Maharashtra Security Law Open To Abuse, Threatens Rights; Say ‘No’ To It (Deccan Chronicle / Aug 2025)
Insecurity By Law: A Critique of the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill in the Context of India’s Banning Regime (PUDR / Jul 2025)
Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)

Civil society gears up to protest Public Security Bill / PSA a bid to criminalise organisations

Civil society gears up to protest Public Security Bill / PSA a bid to criminalise organisations

Drawing by Arun Fereirra

Civil society gears up to protest Public Security Bill

03/09/2025

Hindustan Times / by Mayura Janwalkar

Civil society in Maharashtra plans protests against the “draconian” Special Public Security Bill, claiming it suppresses dissent and violates rights.
Civil society groups in Maharashtra are preparing to launch protests against the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, calling it “draconian” and an attempt to suppress dissent against the state.
Read more


PSA a bid to criminalise varied organisations: Sudha Bharadwaj

31/08/2025

Hindustan Times / by HT Correspondent

Bharadwaj was among the speakers at a webinar organised by All India Inquilabi Youth and Students Alliance (ALIYSA) and National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) along with senior advocate Mihir Desai and activist Ulka Mahajan
Human rights lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj said on Saturday that it was a great thing that the civil society in Maharashtra had already begun protesting against the Maharashtra Special Public Security Act, passed by the state’s legislative assembly in its recently concluded monsoon session.
Read more


Also read:
Maharashtra Special Public Security Act, Pre-Emptive Criminalisation And Indefinite Surveillance (Outlook | by Anand Teltumbde | Aug 2025)
New Maharashtra Security Law Open To Abuse, Threatens Rights; Say ‘No’ To It (Deccan Chronicle / Aug 2025)
Insecurity By Law: A Critique of the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill in the Context of India’s Banning Regime (PUDR / Jul 2025)

Remembering Fr. Stan Swamy: Various Statements

Remembering Fr. Stan Swamy: Various Statements

Progressive Students’ Association – JNU / @Psa_jnu

4 Years since the institutional murder of Fr. Stan Swamy!

By Progressive Students’ Association – JNU / @Psa_jnu (Jul 5, 2025):
“Why truth has become so bitter, dissent so intolerable, justice so out of reach? Because truth has become very bitter to those in power and position, dissent, so unpalatable to the ruling elite, justice, so out of
reach to the powerless, marginalised, deprived people. Yet, truth must be spoken, right to dissent must be upheld, and justice must reach the doorsteps of the poor. I am not a silent spectator.”
▪ Free BK 15!
▪ Free All Political Prisoners!
▪ Repeal UAPA.

Four years on, India commemorates the death of a priest of the people, Fr Stan Swamy

05/07/2025

cjp / by Cedric Prakash SJ

On his fourth death anniversary, Jesuit activist Stan Swamy is remembered in for his integrity, sacrifice, and the institutional injustice he endured
When Fr Stan Swamy died on July 5, 2021, the world of truth and justice was shocked and saddened. Those who belonged to this group were convinced, that his death was not a natural one, but a pre-mediated institutional murder. Yes, he was killed – because the powerful and other vested interests had no doubt that he was a real nuisance to their nefarious deeds. So he needed to be done away with. Theirs was a meticulously crafted plan: to interrogate and harass him, to incarcerate him in Taloja jail under an extremely draconian law, the ‘Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), to continuously intimidate him through the National Investigation Agency (NIA) even whilst he was imprisoned, to deny him (an ailing 84-year-old frail, sickly Jesuit) a much –needed straw-sipper, proper food and adequate Medicare; all this and more!
Read more


Video: A Documentary Film on Stan Swamy – A Caged Bird Can Still Sing


hindi / en | 21:40 | 2025

By Karwan e Mohabbat

This short documentary revisits the life and work of Father Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who spent decades standing with Adivasi communities in Jharkhand. Arrested under draconian anti-terror laws and denied timely medical care, Stan died in custody on 5 July 2021.
Through conversations with his friends and colleagues, and using Stan’s own archival footage and recordings, we reflect on his unwavering commitment to justice and begin to understand why he was targeted by the state. This is both a tribute and a reminder of the forces that criminalise dissent and silence those who speak for the most marginalised.
Watch video


Video: The courage and death of Stan Swamy


hindi | 55:44 | 2025

Scroll.in / by Karwan e Mohabbat

In this episode of our discussion series, author and peace worker Harsh Mander is in conversation with filmmaker Meghnath, activist Aloka Kujur, and Father Tony, director of Bagaicha, the institute founded by Father Stan Swamy in Ranchi. The conversation reflects on the life, work, and legacy of Stan Swamy – a Jesuit priest, Adivasi rights activist, and a central figure in the fight for justice for India’s marginalized communities. The panel discusses his decades-long work with Adivasis and undertrials, his commitment to human rights, and the events that led to his arrest under the UAPA. They talk about his time in jail, the denial of basic medical care, and his death in custody.
Watch video


Repeal UAPA, withdraw cases: DMK, allies remember Stan Swamy on death anniversary

05/07/2025

Times Of India / by TNN

Senior DMK leaders and their allies on Saturday squarely blamed the Modi govt for the death of 84-year-old tribal rights activist Stan Swamy in a Jharkhand prison in 2021, calling it an injustice that cannot be undone.
Read more


Father Stan’s legacy: The dream of justice for the Adivasis continues in Ranchi

07/07/2025

Herald Malaysia / by Alessandra De Poli

Four years after the death of the Jesuit who dedicated his life to defending the land rights of India’s indigenous peoples, the Bagaicha centre, which he founded in the State of Jharkhand, continues to fight for the poor. Despite threats and continuous mining, Jesuits and activists continue their mission to accompany tribal communities in claiming their rights, in the name of Father Stan Swamy, a symbol of justice for new generations too.
Read more


Leaders of INDIA bloc parties remember tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, slams UAPA

07/07/2025

The Telegraph / by M.R. Venkatesh

Unveiling a bust of Fr Stan at St Peter’s Higher Secondary School in Viragalur village near Tiruchirappalli, DMK MP K. Kanimozhi remembered how the octogenarian who had fought for the rights of tribals all his life was denied a straw and a sipper in jail
Leaders of INDIA bloc parties have called upon the Centre to repeal the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which they alleged was being used as a tool to crush dissent, as they paid homage to tribal rights activist Stan Swamy at his native village in Tamil Nadu on his fourth death anniversary on Saturday.
Read more


‘Pilgrim of hope’ Fr Stan Swamy remembered on anniversary

07/07/2025

The Tablet / by Rita Joseph

Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said Fr Stan had been targeted for defending the rights of tribal peoples to forests, water and mineral-rich lands that the government wanted to exploit.
Memorial meetings across India commemorated the tribal rights activist Fr Stan Swamy SJ on the fourth anniversary of his death on Saturday.
Read more


Activists call for legal protection, remembering Indian priest’s death

08/07/2025

UCA News / by UCA News reporter

84-year-old Jesuit Stan Swamy died in custody after being denied bail on medical grounds
A call to protect Indian activists from state repression was made on the death anniversary of Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who died as an undertrial five years ago.Political leaders from the ruling alliance in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Swamy’s home state, endorsed the call by Jesuits and rights activists for legal measures to protect activists working for the socially and financially disadvantaged.
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Father Stan Swamy was killed for standing up for the rights of Adivasis

10/07/2025

Countercurrents.org / by Dr Suresh Khairnar

Father Stan Swamy had never visited Bhima Koregaon in his life, in which he was arrested by the NIA in October 2020. And there is no reason for him to have any connection with Elgar Parishad. Because that Parishad was formed by more than two hundred social organizations of Maharashtra to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Diwas (on 1 January 2018). In which I myself was a member in the capacity of President from Rashtra Seva Dal. And after celebrating Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Diwas on 1 January 2018, that Parishad has no existence after that. It was formed purely for the program to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Diwas in 2018.
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Also read:
I saw firsthand how callous prison officials and their negligence led to Stan Swamy’s death (Scroll.in | by Arun Ferreira | Jul 2025)
Daring, Fearless and Kind, Father Stan Swamy Remains a Beacon of Resistance (The Wire | by Hany Babu, Jyoti Jagtap, Mahesh Raut, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe, Surendra Gadling | Jul 2025)