P. Sainath said this while delivering the second Father Stan Swamy memorial lecture on ‘Governance by gagging and the moral universe of media’
Earlier the media was expected to speak the truth to the power that be but now it also needs to speak the truth about that power.
Magsaysay award-winning journalist-author P. Sainath said this while delivering the second Father Stan Swamy memorial lecture on “Governance by gagging and the moral universe of media” at XISS auditorium in Ranchi on Sunday afternoon. Read more
Six (of Many) Reasons Why PM Modi’s Words on Democracy in the White House Ring Hollow
There is a world of gap between what the prime minister preaches at global events and what his government practices. Although Modi has denied promoting any form of discrimination under his rule, it is evident that he is blatantly misleading the world.
…
Here are a few instances which contradict the Prime Minister’s assertions in the White House.
The Elgar Parishad case
Five years have passed but most of the 16 arrested activists, all renowned for their life-long advocacy of civil liberties and opposition to any form of discrimination against people living on the margins, are still in jail. Read more
PUCL: Five Years of Bhima Koregaon – Release Them All (video)
Friends,
Join us in remembering the 16 human rights activists who are still charged in the Bhima Koregaon case – many of whom have now spent more than 5 years in jail!
Let us remember
– the quiet dignity of Fr Stan Swamy, even as he lost his life in jail, incarcerated under false charges;
– the mounting injustice of Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raut, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves spending 5 years in jail,
– the trials and tribulations of the young Jyoti Jagtap, Ramesh Gaichor and Sagar Gorkhe of KKM, and Prof Hany Babu, arrested later
– and Sudha Bharadwaj, Varvara Rao, Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha, who are on bail, but still not free
Faulty investigation and severe loopholes in investigation, surrounds the controversial BK-16 case. International outcry has not helped move the trial five years down even while the targeted languish, families await the return of their loved ones
In June 2021, European Union parliamentarians, Nobel Laureates, renowned academics, and internationally known figures wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, the then Chief Justice of India as well as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and other authorities in India, demanding to the release of political prisoners arrested with relation to the Elgar Parishad and Bhima Koregaon incident.
Amidst contested accusations of an anti-India conspiracy, militancy, and violence, five long years have passed since the BK-16 have been imprisoned without trial. Read more
Who are the acclaimed ‘BK-16’?
22/06/2023
cjp / by CJP Team
Five years have passed, and human rights defenders (HRDs) and their families continue to await justice.
Surendra Gadling
Status: Detained without trial
Charges:Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) since June 2018
Location: Taloja Central Prison, Mumbai
Gadling is a human rights lawyer and a Dalit activist. Over time, Gadling established himself as a keen advocate and a key figure in cases related to extrajudicial killings, police misconduct, false accusations, and injustices against Dalits and Adivasis in the region… Read more
Blatant use of UAPA by Telangana Police to suppress dissenting voices
21/06/2023
Countercurrents.org / by Campaign Against State Repression (CASR)
The draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has once again been invoked, this time in Tadwai, Telangana against an astonishing number of 152 activists and intellectuals, which includes retired Prof. G. Haragopal, Prof. Gaddam Laxman and Prof. Padmaja Shaw. What is more ridiculous and serious at the same time is that Late Justice H. Suresh also finds mention in the accused list. The FIR has come to light only after People’s Democratic Movement president Chandramouli applied for bail and FIRs filed against him were retrieved by the police where the names of the 152 activists mentioned above were also included. Read full statement
Dead judge, 151 others in Telangana police FIR
21/06/2023
TOI / by Srinath Vudali
Former Bombay HC judge H Suresh, who died in 2020, and another dead man were among 152 people that Telangana police had charged last year under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for their alleged Maoist links.
Following a backlash from civil rights outfits , who pointed out that two of the accused had died long before the case was registered, the Telangana government directed police to drop six prominent people from the FIR. Read more
Arbitrary FIRs on Social Activists
19/06/2023
Statement by National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
click to enlarge
Dead wrong
21/06/2023
TOI / by TOI Editorials
Telangana charging the deceased with UAPA brings to life how the most severe laws are casually misused by govts:
The Telangana case in which police charged two people dead for two years under the anti-terror law UAPA is a classic example of the casual misuse of one of India’s most stringent laws. The data is damning. Analysis of NCRB data by various experts show the conviction rate of people charged under UAPA is below 3%. Read more
Fr Stan Swamy SJ died after being accused of terrorism and imprisoned in India.
The team @JesuitMissions are marching in London today to raise awareness and clear his name! #standwithstan Please sign the petition here
The @HCI_London wouldn’t come to the door to speak to a group of priests and lay people, or accept our letter and petition calling for justice for Fr Stan Swamy
The facts are these:
– Fr Stan Swamy was 84 years old and suffering from Parkinson’s; in no position to ‘otherthrow’
@narendramodi
– Fr Stan died of Covid after being mistreated in jail
– We have proof that incriminating evidence was placed on his PC.
– India should clear his name
Vigil for Stan Swamy
20/06/2023
jesuit.org.uk / By Jesuits in Britain
This morning (20th June 2023) staff at the Indian High Commission in London refused to engage with Jesuits priests and laypeople who attempted to hand in a petition calling for justice for a priest who died of Covid whilst in Indian custody.
While the High Commissioner visited Trafalgar Square to view the celebrations marking the International Day of Yoga, British Jesuits and their supporters marched to the Indian High Commission in Aldwych where they held a peaceful vigil and then attempted to hand in a petition containing thousands of signatures calling for justice for Father Stan Swamy SJ.
However, as Met police officers looked on at the peaceful protest, Commission staff went through their own contortions as they refused to answer the door, or accept the petition. Read more
By Justice for Father Stan Swamy / @FreeFrStanSwamy
Fr Stan Swamy – clear his name – silent vigil in London
15/06/2023
By Independent Catholic News
A silent demonstration, prayers and petition in support of Fr Stan Swamy will take place on Tuesday 20th June 2023.
Schedule
8 – 8.30am Parish Mass – Church of the Immaculate Conception
Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, Parish Priest
8.30 – 9am Coffee – Arrupe Hall, London Jesuit Centre (location tbc)
Welcome by Paul Chitnis, Director Jesuit Missions
9 – 9.15am Gather in courtyard outside London Jesuit Centre
Collect placards
9.15 – 10am Walk to High Commission of India
… Read more
MP raises case of Indian Jesuit priest Fr Stan Swamy SJ in House of Commons
14/06/2023
By The Catholic Network UK
A Conservative Party politician has called on the Foreign Office to ”make representations” to the Indian government over the treatment and death in custody of an Indian Jesuit priest.
Speaking during Foreign, Commonwealth and Development questions in the House of Commons this morning, Simon Fell, Member of Parliament for Barrow in Furness, said that “Fr Stan Swamy, aged 84, died in custody with Parkinsons only a couple of years ago.”
In his lifetime, Fr Stan Swamy SJ stood with the excluded, championing the rights of indigenous people in India. Read more
The following poems were written by poet Sudhir Dhawale and Advocate Surendra Gadling on 6 June 2023, the fifth anniversary of their incarceration as undertrials in the Bhima Koregaon/Elgar Parishad case.
hindi | 8:43min | June 6, 2023
Five years back this day they took him away hoping to break his spirit. 1825 days so far behind bars and see who won?
During the short release he sang his heart. Caged yet fearless. U can jail him not his charisma.
This is the second of the songs. Lyrics by Sagar Gorkhe. Listen to the song
Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. from June 21 to 24 and meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, the Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday issued the following statement calling on the U.S. government to urge India to end its media crackdown and release the six journalists arbitrarily detained in retaliation for their work: Read full statement
Hamraaz is an anonymous poet on Instagram writing about instances of oppression.
When Varavara Rao was arrested in 2018, many of the demands for his release focused on his identity as a poet. “What kind of country are we,” a concerned citizen said in dismay, “when we put poets behind bars?” This, perhaps, is an indication of the revolutionary power that poetry can have. Read more
Salute Comrade, a glorious birthday! Our tribute will be in poetry, throughout the day.
Aruna Nellutla, VV’s niece, reads out for the poet
Ilika reads out for VV
Kodam Kumar reads out for VV
Shovana Nath reads out for VV
Amita Shereen reads out for VV
Baby Sau reads out for VV
Samiran Ghosh reads out for VV
Ipsa Shatakshi reads out for VV
Nalluri Rukmini reads out for VV
Kaushal Kishore reads out a poem for VV
Rahul Purakaystha recites VV
SAHAJA recites VV’s ‘Companion´
… and numerous others read out for VV
Independent agencies find evidence was planted. Yet the 16 accused remain in jail, denied basic health needs, denied bail to honour dead family members one last time
This month marks five years since the first arrests in the Bhima Koregaon case.
A total of 16 people were arrested in the case, including Father Stan Swamy, who died in custody. Most of them remain in jail. None has been convicted in the case, none has been connected with violence in the place for which the matter is named. Read more
Thread by Amnesty India / @AIIndia (June 6, 2023):
In a series of arrests, 16 activists were imprisoned simply because they spoke up for the rights of the most marginalized in the country. Today, 5 years have passed since the first round of arrests of activists in the Bhima Koregaon case.
