Posts

Featured
Who is Sudha Bharadwaj?

Who is Sudha Bharadwaj?

Sudha Bharadwaj

Nov 2019

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

Maaysha, Sudha’s daughter: “If fighting for the rights of adivasis, fighting for workers and peasants, fighting against repression and exploitation and giving up one s whole life for them is being a naxalite then I guess naxalites are pretty good.”

“The 6th Annual Harvard Law International Women’s Day Portrait Exhibit showcases the astounding contributions of women around the world to the areas of law and policy. The honorees — each of whom were nominated by HLS students, faculty or staff — are powerful voices in their respective fields, whether they are sitting on a high court bench, standing in front of a classroom, or marching in the streets.”

Or whether they are sitting in jail.

Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj is a 2019 honoree of the Harvard Law International Women’s day exhibition and is sitting in a jail cell in Pune. How did these conflicting positions come about?

Sudha grew up to illustrious parents, and spent the first part of her life as an American citizen. In the next 30 years of her life, she worked tirelessly in Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM) as a trade unionist and eventually as a lawyer after the CMM, hamstrung in their legal battles by unscrupulous lawyers, found in her the courage and integrity needed to challenge powerful opponents in the courtrooms.

She founded Janhit, giving rigorous legal aid to several industrial workers, villages fighting acquisition and mining, Adivasi communities fighting for forest rights, environmental cases and PIL litigation. Janhit led cases against powerful industrial houses such as Jindal, Vedanta, BALCO, Lafarge Holcim, D.B. Power, Vandana Vidyut, SECL, Bhilai Steel Plant, Monnet Steel, Adani, Hindalco, Grasim, Ultratech and others.

Sudha was instrumental in rebuilding the PUCL group after the arrest and incarceration of its then-President, Dr. Binayak Sen. During this time, she was appointed as the General Secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and worked on issues of human trafficking and attacks on minorities. She also assisted families of victims of human rights violations looked upon as casualties in the conflict zone of Bastar and supported journalists and activists who dared raise their voices and pen against the State excesses in Bastar. She was elected recently as Vice President of the Indian Association of Peoples’ Lawyers (IAPL) and was active in campaigns against attacks on Dalit and human rights lawyers in Chhattisgarh and facilitated an IAPL fact-finding into it.

Sudha was arrested from her Faridabad home which she was sharing with her daughter, Maaysha. During this time, she was a Visiting Professor at the National Law University Delhi, taking Seminar Courses on tribal rights, land acquisition, and the Fifth and Sixth Schedules. This year she was to have taught “Law and Justice in a Globalising World”. Sadly, and ironically, she can’t teach the class as she is in jail. The loss, the students inform us, is all theirs.

Her daughter Maaysha, has in several letters candidly brought to fore Sudha’s tireless spirit and her commitment to her work, “If fighting for the rights of Adivasis, fighting for workers and peasants, fighting against repression and exploitation and giving up one’s whole life for them is being a Naxalite then I guess Naxalites are pretty good.”

Guneet Ahuja, Advocate, Delhi, in an open letter writes about Sudha, “On my first meeting with Sudha ji, I asked her about the competing narratives regarding the condition of indigenous communities in Bastar. Her reply left a deep impact on me: “For a pedestrian on a narrow lane, the car driver is causing the trouble. For the car driver, the pedestrian is the nuisance. Your perspectives change based on where you are placed.”

Sudha is the pedestrian along with all the people she fights for. She believes the road belongs to us. The State is the car who doesn’t want nuisance pedestrians in the way, believes the road belongs to it, and wants it lined with the businesses of its cronies. To the State, Sudha belongs in jail. To us, she is a defender of human rights.

“If you try to be safe and in the middle, you will never succeed.”
Sudha, The Wire

Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks – A Life in Law and Activism


Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Pictures credit: PUCL
Cover Design / Layout: Vinay Jain
Paperback: 316 pages

PDF copy: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism (PUCL, Jan 2021)
…

Read More Read More

Featured
Who is Varavara Rao?

Who is Varavara Rao?

Varavara Rao

Nov 2019

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

“When the victory drum started
beating
In the heart of the masses
You mistook it for a person and
trained your guns
Revolution echoed from all
horizons.”

Being thrown into jail is nothing new to the famous Telugu poet Varavara Rao. He has faced at least 25 cases in the last 45 years. His story can be understood through the history of these arrests and the power of his writings, his poetry, his teaching career and his political understandings and analysis of power and oppression, and the path to liberation.
Varavara Rao, or VV was born into a middle class family in Chinna Pendyala, Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh in 1940. He started publishing his poetry at age 17, in 1957, but got interested in revolutionary theory while working as a lecturer at Mahabubnagar. It was during this time that he founded a literature and poetry group called Sahithee Mithrulu and a non-political journal named Srujana to eventually join the Tirugubadu Kavulu (Rebel Poets), who were sympathetic to the armed struggle going on in Srikakulam.
During this time, VV founded the Virasam or Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (Revolutionary Writers’ Association), an association banned by the Andhra Pradesh government in August 2005. The ban was later struck down by the AP High Court in November 2005.
VV, now 74, has published 15 poetry collections of his own, besides having edited a number of anthologies. His poetry has been translated into almost all Indian languages and have appeared in Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and Bengali. His thesis on ‘Telangana Liberation Struggle and Telugu Novel – A Study into Interconnection between Society and Literature’ published in 1983 is considered to be one of the finest works of Marxist critical studies done in Telugu. While in prison he translated Kenyan writer, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s prison diary ‘Detained’ and his novel ‘Devil on the Cross’ into Telugu. He also wrote his own prison diary Sahacharulu (1990), which was translated into English as Captive Imagination.
VV was first arrested under the infamous Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in Andhra Pradesh, in 1973. He was then arrested during Emergency and was re-arrested at the entrance of the jail and kept imprisoned for an additional week when the Emergency was lifted. He survived many attempts on his life post-Emergency.
He was among the 46 accused of conspiring to overthrow the Andhra Pradesh government in the Secunderabad conspiracy case, and was sent to jail once again in 1985. He was also an accused in the Ramnagar conspiracy case where he was accused to have attended a meeting where the plan to kill two Andhra Pradesh Police constables was hatched. He was finally acquitted of the charges after 17 years, in 2003.
He remains a staunch opposer of neo-liberal globalisation and specifically the globalisation policies adopted by Chandrababu Naidu’s government in the ’90s. He went as an emissary for the People’s War Group in the peace negotiations between the Andhra Pradesh government and Naxalites. After multiple rounds of the talks failed, Virasam was banned only to be reinstated later. Following the banning, Rao was arrested once again in 2005 and was released in 2006. He has been arrested four-times since the formation of the new Telangana state in 2014.
VV has faced at least nine cases under the Arms Act of 1959 and the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 over the last four decades. In perhaps the most ridiculous case, he was charged with distributing bombs to ensure the success of a strike against the custodial death of a Radical Students Union activist in 1985. In response, Varavara Rao wrote a memorable poem, titled :

Reflection
I did not supply the explosives
Nor ideas for that matter
It was you who trod with iron heels
Upon the anthill
And from the trampled earth
Sprouted the ideas of vengeance
It was you who struck the beehive
With your lathi
The sound of the scattering bees
Exploded in your shaken facade
Blotched red with fear
When the victory drum started
beating
In the heart of the masses
You mistook it for a person and
trained your guns
Revolution echoed
from all horizons …

WHO IS VARAVARA RAO?

By India Civil Watch

Varavara Rao (VV) was born in Warangal in 1940. He finished his MA in Telugu literature from Osmania University. He worked as a lecturer in several colleges and transformation towards revolutionary ideas started in Varavara Rao’s mind during his tenure in Mahabubnagar district. …

Read More Read More

Featured
Who is Shoma Sen?

Who is Shoma Sen?

By Mumbai Rises To Save Democracy

In one of her letters to her daughter, Shoma writes, “They can keep me locked inside, but my mind is completely free”

A reputed academician, a Dalit and Women’s Rights activist, a teacher and dissenter, Shoma Sen is all of the above and more. Born and raised in Mumbai, she moved to Nagpur with her partner and daughter with a strong resolve to protect and promote democratic rights of the most marginalised people in the society.

Shoma has been a respected academic for almost three decades. She has been actively involved with the Women’s Department of Wardha Vishwavidyalaya and taught in various colleges across Nagpur. During the time of her arrest she was the Head of the Department of English at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University. She has written extensively on post-colonialism and women’s studies for several decades. …

Read More Read More

Featured
Who is Arun Ferreira?

Who is Arun Ferreira?

By India Civil Watch

Arun Ferreira is a human rights lawyer from Mumbai, India. He is a member of the Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR) and the Indian Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL). He studied at Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College where he developed a strong social conscience, and organised the institution’s canteen workers to demand better work conditions. After college, he worked with slum dwellers in Mumbai before becoming a community organiser in Vidarbha (rural Maharashtra state). …

Read More Read More

Featured
Who is Vernon Gonsalves?

Who is Vernon Gonsalves?

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

Characterised by a loose cotton half sleeve shirt, loose trousers, spectacles, a jhola and a hearty laughter, Vernon Gonsalves comes across as an effervescent wise man. Gonsalves gets along well with everyone from the age of six to sixty. His demeanour reflects an inner happiness. He started a band in college, but gave it up to be a part of people’s movements. His songs still hold the flavour of 70s rock.
Vernon’s pen is as sharp as his vision for an equitable, just society without distinctions of class, caste, race, with principles of gender equality and justice at its core. He is an acute political observer and makes nuanced arguments about complex sociopolitical-economic issues. Vernon has shown a keenness to understand the latest undercurrents in progressive politics.
He was born to a Mangalorean Catholic couple and grew up in a chawl in a modest locality in Byculla in Mumbai. Vernon was always good with academics and won a gold medal in Commerce from Mumbai University. Subsequently, he left his corporate job in Siemens to work with trade unions, workers, slum dwellers and the working class in Mumbai. During this period, he taught in prominent colleges in Mumbai including Ruparel College, HR College of Commerce and Economics, and Akbar Peerbhoy College of Commerce and Economics. Very few know that, in college he wanted to be a musician. Rumours say that he had also started a band but could not find meaning in it.
Around 1983, he moved to Chandrapur near Nagpur to work with unorganised sector workers including the coal-mine workers in the area. In 1984, he married fellow activist Susan Abraham. It was a union of two unique and fiercely independent minds. They worked in Chandrapur for a decade. After their son Sagar was born in 1994, they returned to Mumbai.
On 19 August 2007, the Maharashtra ATS arrested Vernon from his residence in Andheri, Mumbai. His arrest was falsely shown as from the residence of his co-accused S. Shridhar in Govandi. They were charged with being “top-level” Naxalites having explosives in their possession. For some months prior to this, Vernon had been working for the rights of tribal communities in the Maharashtra district of Chandrapur. 20 cases were filed against him. He spent nearly six years in jail while his trial dragged on as an undertrial. He was acquitted in 18 cases, convicted in one against which his appeal is pending in the Nagpur HC while the application for discharge in the last case in Gujarat is pending before the High Court.
During his years as an undertrial in jail, Vernon spent most of his time writing. He is now working on a collection of prison writings. He edited a set of short stories written while imprisoned, one of which, “Jailbird Jabbar” was written in a typical staccato Bambaiya patois style. He also translated stories by Annabhau Sathe from Marathi to English for Aleph Publication’s “A Clutch of Short Stories.” After his release he wrote articles on prevailing law, rights of Dalit and tribal communities, the condition of prisons in India, land grabbing by the nexus of Corporates and the Government, misuse of the criminal justice system by the governments against marginalised communities, and scrapping of UAPA. One of his last published articles titled “Harsher Punishments and Retributive Criminal Justice” is a landmark commentary on the trends of crime control vis-a-vis justice system in the country.
Vernon’s son Sagar sums what everyone close to him feels about him:
“Among the many things that I admire greatly about my father is his commitment to his beliefs and ideals.To stand up for what is right and help those whose rights are denied – he has always done that and will continue to do so. This did not deter him the last time and will not do it now as well. He has an unbreakable spirit and will always stay true to what he believes in.”

 

WHO IS VERNON GONSALVES?

By India Civil Watch

Vernon Gonsalves is trade unionist, activist, an academic (former professor of business management in a college in Mumbai) and a writer, who writes extensively on Dalit and adivasi rights, the conditions of prisons in India and the routine violation of rights of prisoners. Along with Arun Ferriera, he has authored a number of popular articles on the condition of Indian jails, the abuse of authority by Indian police, and draconian laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a piece of ‘anti-terror’ legislation with a wide ambit and vague concepts, which allows its misuse against academics, lawyers and human rights defenders. Equally importantly, their writings expose the hypocrisy of democracy in India. …

Read More Read More

Featured
Who is Sudhir Dhawale?

Who is Sudhir Dhawale?

Sudhir Dhawale

Nov 2019

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

Sudhir believes that every revolution has to be “unique”

Sudhir Dhawale’s rm commitment to activism is grounded in his belief in justice. Growing up in Indora , a centre of Ambedkarite politics in Nagpur, Sudhir has since his younger days, been actively involved in the struggles for human rights and dignity. He was part of people’s movement in Nagpur until 1994 then moved to Bombay in search of work opportunities.

From 1995, Sudhir Dhawale dedicated his life towards ghting against the atrocities on Dalits and other marginalized communities.. He was active in the streets and in the courts and has worked on incidents of Dalit atrocities such as the Ghatkopar Ramabai Nagar Dalit Hatyakand, in which 10 Dalits were gunned down by the Mumbai police for agitating against the desecration of a Dr. Ambedkar Statue in 1997. He was also involved in the Khairlanji agitation (against the massacre of a Dalit family in 2006), the Baban Misal murder in Ahmadnagar district in 2008, the ruthless murder of Sahebrao Jondhale in Marathwada in 2008, the Sadashiv Salve Guruji murder in Beed district in 2009, the Manorama Kamble gang rape and murder case in Nagpur in 2009, the Rohidas Tupe murder in Palgaon near Aurangabad in 2009, and many more cases of atrocities against Dalits in Maharashtra.

In 2002, following the Gujarat pogrom massacres, he started a Marathi magazine named Vidrohi. It started as a four-page magazine and soon doubled into eight pages. In a few years, it took the shape of a full- edged magazine which was published twice every month and spoke of pertinent issues concerning the country. It continues to play a pivotal role in bringing in the Dalit voice on human rights abuse of Dalits and other minorities across India, and also publishes fact- nding reports and valuable literature.

After the Khairlanji massacre took place in 2006, many Ambedkarite, left and other progressive organizations felt the need to form and drive a movement based on anti- caste politics with a concrete long-term program of caste annihilation. With this understanding, on December 6, 2007 at the Chaityabhoomi in Mumbai, the Republican Panthers Jaatiya Antachi Chalwal (Republican Panthers Caste Annihilation Movement) was formed. Sudhir, one of the founding members of this organisation, with years of experience and political intellect, evolved a new theoretical framework for the Republican Panthers situating the caste annihilation program at its centre. As a cultural group, Republican Panthers brought their revolutionary music and street theatre to the slums, trade unions, school and protests, to describe the atrocity that is the Hindu caste system.

In 2011, the Maharashtra police arrested Dhawale on charges of sedition and of being a member of and providing support to a terrorist organisation. In May 2014, after Dhawale had spent 40 months in incarceration, RG Asmar—a judge presiding over a special UAPA court in Gondia, a district in Maharashtra— pronounced a judgment acquitting Dhawale and eight others of all charges. The judgment was strongly worded, and the court came down heavily against the state police for its investigation.

It is believed that it was the magazine Vidrohi that brought the ire of the establishment and became the reason for his arrest. Upon his release Sudhir did not only increase the reach of Vidrohi but also led many protests and marches on di erent social issues. He was actively leading several joint fronts formed against caste atrocities, like the Jatiya Atyachar Virodhi Kruti Samiti, the Joint Action Committee for Social justice, the Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prearna Abhiyan and many more.
Incidentally, the lawyer who represented him in the 2011 case was Surendra Gadling, his co-accused in the current Bhima Koregaon case.

Sudhir also incorporated his political experiences and understanding on the paper. It was not only through the Vidrohi magazine, but also many books that he wrote and edited, on diverse socio-political issues. During his time in prison, he has written three books. His writings are sharpened through the assimilation of the pain and struggle of the masses.

Sudhir along with others, had called for the Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017, bringing together Dalit, Maratha and Muslim leaders on one platform to commemorate the two- hundredth anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle and to discuss the State’s crackdown on the marginalised sections of the society.

As an organizer, writer, poet, playwright, freelance journalist and editor of Marathi magazine Vidrohi, Sudhir Dhawale has tried to bring the issues of injustice and atrocities against Dalits in the public domain to make democracy a substantive force and movement in the country.

Sudhir’s words are active, gritty, and capable of moving stones.
Sudhir explains that every revolution has to be “unique”.
To our own unique Revolution…

“What sort of a city is this?

What sort of people are you?

When injustice is done there should
be a revolt in the city.

And if there is no revolt,

It were better that the city should
perish in fire before the night falls…”

Lines from The good Person of Szechwan
a play written by Brecht. The lines
in Marathi were quated in the fir for
`provoking´ the crowd present in Elgar Parishad.

Who is Sudhir Dhawale?

By India Civil Watch

After spending close to four years (2011-2014) in jail in India (where he was denied every kind of human right) on charges of being a ‘Naxalite’, Sudhir Dhawale was acquitted of all charges. Reflecting on his traumatic experience, Sudhir soberly identifies his private struggle as being part of a much larger public and collective struggle for democratic values. Sudhir: …

Read More Read More

Featured
Who is Mahesh Raut?

Who is Mahesh Raut?

Mahesh Raut

Mahesh Raut

Nov 2019

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

“Mahesh is highly loved and respected in all these villages and one with the people I visited. They treated him as if he were a member of their own house!”

Hailing from Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, Mahesh Raut is a young prominent activist working for the rights of Adivasi communities in his district. Born in Lakhapur, a small village in Maharashtra, Mahesh completed his schooling from Gadchiroli and moved to Nagpur for graduation. He later went on to pursue higher education from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. On completing his education he worked as Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow (PMRDF) in Gadchiroli. He has tirelessly advocated for laws like The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act and Forest Rights Act which protect the democratic rights of indigenous communities against unlawful land grabbing by large corporations. Mahesh has consistently worked to protect and promote the rights of the marginalised within a Constitutional framework. On completion of his fellowship, Mahesh decided to continue working with the Adivasi communities in the State.

Mahesh organised and participated in mass movements to abet the cause of social welfare. He was the co-convenor of Visthapan Vidrohi Jan Vikas Andolan (VVJVA) which ghts against the forced displacement of Adivasis and other marginalised people. As a member of VVJVA, Mahesh organised the Tendu leaves workers from Adivasi communities of the region to sell them directly in the market without the involvement of middlemen.

Along with campaigning for the Adivasis of the region, he also joined the Bharat Jan Andolan (BJA), an organisation started by late BD Sharma. Through his work with BJA, Mahesh has been instrumental in organising people for participative decision making in regions a ected by mining projects, including the Surajgarh mining project.

His work against the atrocities of Police and several State authorities led to several cases being led against him. According to a letter drafted by his PMRDF fellows, the State’s crackdown on Mahesh started from 2013 citing his consistent political engagement as one of the reasons for his harassment. His friend and fellow activist Sohini Shoaib, working in Bihar writes about her visit to Gadchiroli, “Mahesh was highly loved and respected in all these villages and one with the people I visited. They treated him as if he were a member of their own house! Some of them even tried to get me to convince him to get married: they thought he worked too hard and did not take care of his health enough. They hoped that nding a partner would help him feel less lonely, help him balance other aspects of life!”

In 2018, Mahesh was picked up by the Pune Police for his alleged involvement in organising the Elgar Parishad and his alleged Maoist links. He was booked under sections of the UAPA and arrested from his residence in Nagpur. Neither was he involved in organising the Elgar Parishad nor did he attend the 31st December events. His arrest is a clear crackdown of the State on Human Rights defenders who are struggling against the State and Corporation nexus. His contributions to promote and uphold Constitutional rights of the marginalised identities have led him to persecution and consequent imprisonment. His incarceration is a standing testament of the State’s repression of Rights’ activists who protect the values of the Constitution which the same State is trampling upon.


Mahesh Raut (left) and Lalsu Narote. Foto credit: Javed Iqbal/ The Wire

Who is Mahesh Raut?

By India Civil Watch

Lalsu Nogoti, an elected district council member from Bhamragad in Maharashtra is speaking about the work of Mahesh Raut:
“He first came to us as a part of the PMRD [Prime Minister’s Rural Development] fellowship in 2013. He would visit every village with other government officials and meticulously note down grievances and parallelly also research on several village and state-level policies that could come to our rescue. His work in the formative years helped us build our struggles in the coming days.”
…

Read More Read More

Featured
Who is Rona Wilson?

Who is Rona Wilson?

By India Civil Watch

Rona Wilson is the 47-year old Public Relations Secretary of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP). He was arrested under the UAPA on June 6, 2018, in Delhi, at the same time as Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, and Mahesh Raut in Nagpur and Sudhir Dhawale in Mumbai, and accused of channeling Maoist funds for the Elgar Parishad and fomenting violence in Bhima Koregaon.

…

Read More Read More

Featured
Who is Gautam Navlakha?

Who is Gautam Navlakha?

By India Civil Watch

Gautam Navlakha is a Delhi-based veteran journalist, author, civil liberties, human rights and peace activist best known for his fierce and sustained critique of the Indian state’s militarism against its own citizenry in three broad zones – the northeastern states, Kashmir valley, and the central Indian forested zone in Chhattisgarh. He has been actively involved with the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) – one of India’s leading civil liberties and democratic rights defence organizations- working to protect, extend and help implement fundamental rights as guaranteed in the Indian constitution.
Read more

The gallows and the land – Varavara Rao’s new book

The gallows and the land – Varavara Rao’s new book

Frontline / by Vipanchika S. Bhagyanagar


How Varavara Rao’s new book traces the political economy of capital punishment in India, and why his call for its abolition deserves renewed and urgent attention.
On November 30, 1975, prisoners at Musheerabad Jail were scrambling to find scraps of paper and pens to record news that had not yet reached the outside world. Desperate to get the information out, they devised a plan to throw the papers over the prison’s boundary wall.
…
VV’s association with death is a history in itself. He has experienced what might be called social death through decades of arrests, incarceration, and legal persecution, beginning when he was 34. He has reportedly been implicated in 24 conspiracy cases and acquitted in all of them. 
Read more

Also read:
▪ Varavara Rao’s memorial tribute to Bhumaiah and Kishta Goud (Countercurrents / Sep 2026)
▪ Let us abolish this executioner’s system: Varavara Rao makes the case as only he can (South First / Aug 2026)
▪ Voices From Prison: Alienating A Poet From A Language He Deeply Loves Is Painful, Writes Varavara Rao’s Daughter (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ Supreme Court grants permanent medical bail to P. Varavara Rao in Bhima Koregaon case (The Leaflet / Aug 2022)

Koregaon Bhima Commission Gets 24th Extension, Report Delayed Again

Koregaon Bhima Commission Gets 24th Extension, Report Delayed Again

Booklet: “Salaakhon Mein Qaid Avaazein” (Access PDF)

Koregaon Bhima Commission Gets 24th Extension, Report Delayed Again

01/11/2026

Urban Acres / by Urban Acres

The Koregaon Bhima Commission’s 24th extension is not simply another administrative date change. It shows how a public inquiry constituted to establish the sequence of events behind the January 2018 violence in Pune district remains unfinished nearly nine years after the incident, despite the examination of 58 witnesses and the conclusion of witness hearings.
The Maharashtra government has extended the commission’s tenure until March 31, 2027. The state Home Department issued the letter on October 30, after the commission’s earlier extension was due to end on October 31. V V Palnitkar, the commission’s secretary, told The Indian Express that five more months were required to conclude pending arguments before the final report could be submitted to the government.
Read more

Koregaon Bhima violence: Probe committee gets 24th extension

31/10/2026

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Initially, the commission was given four months to submit its report, but its tenure had to be repeatedly extended to allow it to complete its work.
The Maharashtra government has granted yet another extension to the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry till March 31, 2027.
The Home Department of the state government issued a letter in this regard on October 30.
This is the 24th extension granted to the commission probing the causes for violence in Pune’s Koregaon Bhima area on January 1, 2018, in which one person died and several others were injured where lakhs of Ambedkarites had gathered to commemorate the 200th battle of Koregaon Bhima.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Koregaon Bhima Commission’s Long Delay Tests Maharashtra’s Accountability (Urban Acres / Sep 2026)
▪ Why caste Hindutva, not an Elgar conspiracy, is at the root of the Bhima Koregaon violence (The Polis Project / Feb 2025)
▪ Book Excerpt | How Bhima Koregaon Became a Trope for Dalit Pride and Assertion (The Wire / June 2024)
▪ Top Investigating Officer Admits Elgar Parishad Event ‘Had No Role’ in Bhima Koregaon Violence (The Wire / Dec 2022)
▪ Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan, Dec 2020)

Bombay HC calls Arun Ferreira’s 2011 arrest illegal, orders Rs 2 lakh compensation

Bombay HC calls Arun Ferreira’s 2011 arrest illegal, orders Rs 2 lakh compensation

Bombay HC calls Arun Ferreira’s 2011 arrest illegal, orders Rs 2 lakh compensation

30/10/2026

The New Indian Express / by Sudhir Suryawanshi

Arun Ferreira was arrested in 2007 in multiple cases. Following acquittal in all the cases, the activist was to be released from Nagpur prison in September 2011
The Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench has held that the September 2011 arrest of activist Arun Ferreira was “illegal” and directed the Maharashtra government to pay him Rs 2 lakh in compensation.
… Ferreira is also an accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case and is currently out on bail.
Read more

Activist Arun Ferreira’s arrest illegal, give him Rs 2L: Bombay HC

31/10/2026

Times of India / by Vaibhav Ganjapure

Bombay HC has directed Maharashtra govt to pay Rs 2 lakh compensation to activist Arun Ferreira, ruling that his arrest outside Nagpur Central Prison in 2011 violated his fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 22. Partly allowing his 2012 plea, the Nagpur bench ordered the govt to deposit the amount in court within eight weeks.
Read more

Bombay High Court grants ₹2 lakh compensation to Arun Ferreira for illegal arrest outside Nagpur Jail in 2011

30/10/2026

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The Court slammed the police for branding an undertrial as ‘absconding’ while he was detained in jail, and held that the arrest in an unmarked car violated constitutional safeguards.
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has held the September 2011 re-arrest of activist Arun Thomas Ferreira illegal and directed the State of Maharashtra to pay him ₹2 lakh in compensation. [Arun Thomas Ferreira v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.]
Read more

Also read/watch:
▪ Court Rejects NIA’s Plea to Put Elgar Parishad Accused Back in Jail (The Wire / Aug 2026)
▪ Voices From Prison | Book Excerpt: Colours Of The Cage: A Prison Memoir, By Arun Ferreira (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ ‘No Material’ to Demonstrate Terror Link, Yet Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferriera Spent 5 Years in Jail [Read judgment] (The Wire / Jul 2023)

▪ Colours Of The Cage

Author: Arun Ferreira
Publishing Date: Sep 2014
Publisher: Aleph Book Company
Pages: 176
In May 2007, human rights activist Arun Ferreira was picked up from the railway station and arrested by the Nagpur Police on charges of being a Naxalite. Over the next few months, he was charged with more crimes—of criminal conspiracy, murder, possession of arms and rioting, among others—and incarcerated in one of the most notorious prisons in Maharashtra, the Nagpur Central Jail.
This is an account of the nearly five years that Ferreira was imprisoned.
Read more/order
▪ Video: Arun Ferreira speaks about Life in an Indian Prison

en | 12:51 min | 2014
Watch video

India’s quest for a political alternative / The Modi-Shah-Doval nexus

India’s quest for a political alternative / The Modi-Shah-Doval nexus

Campaign, 2020

India’s quest for a political alternative beyond the BJP and Congress

08/11/2026

Counterview / by Bhabani Shankar Nayak

The crisis in contemporary India is manufactured by a political duopoly: the arrogance of the Congress Party and the dominance of the BJP. Crony capitalists are the beneficiaries of both the economic crisis and the growth that accompanies it. A Hinduised Congress and a Congressised Hindutva represent the same bourgeois politics, in which corporate interests prosper at the expense of India and Indians.
… Both parties have also built legal structures that empower corporations while terrorising citizens. … Their targets include Binayak Sen, Umar Khalid, the late G. N. Saibaba and Stan Swamy, Soni Sori, Sudha Bharadwaj and many young idealists and students.
Read more

The dark one’s due — the Modi-Shah-Doval nexus

31/10/2026

The Express Tribune / by Farrukh Khand Pitfafi

For 12 years the Modi-Shah-Doval nexus has left breadcrumbs mapping a creeping, hostile takeover of the republic
… Once the judiciary was tamed, the rot spread through the hard power structures. As early as 2015, prosecutor Rohini Salian told NDTV’s Sreenivasan Jain of instructions from the National Investigation Agency leadership to go soft on right-wing terrorists in the Malegaon case.
… The soft power pipeline was choked as ruthlessly. The first move tested the waters with blatant appointments, packing historical research councils with revisionists. The state then installed RSS enforcers as university vice-chancellors to break student resistance. It weaponised anti-terror laws in the Bhima Koregaon case, inventing the phantom threat of the urban Naxal to criminalise scholars like Anand Teltumbde, Sudha Bharadwaj, Shoma Sen and Hany Babu.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Is Exit Fear Gnawing at Narendra Modi’s Heart? (The Wire / Nov 2026)
▪ Fall of Democracy’s Last Bastion: Election Commission as the BJP’s Strategic Shield (The Wire | by Anand Teltumbde | Aug 2025)
▪ McCarthyism in INDIA?: The Return of The Urban Naxal Bogey! (The Crossbill / Jul 2024)
▪ Contrary To SC’s Rules Of Assignment, At Least 8 Politically Sensitive Cases Moved To One Judge In 4 Months (Article 14 / Dec 2023)
▪ In Criminalising Political Action, Judges Are Helping the State Bring Politics Into India’s Court (The Wire / Oct 2022)
▪ The Bhima Koregaon Arrests and the Resistance in India (Monthly Review / (Apr 2022)
▪ The Security Playbook Used To Erode Democracy In Modi’s India & How The Tide Might Turn (article 14 / March 2022)
▪ India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression (Jacobinmag / Apr 2021)
▪ McCarthyism in Modi’s India (Jacobinmag | by Anand Teltumbde | Oct 2018)

India’s Quest for Political Alternative Beyond the BJP and Congress

India’s Quest for Political Alternative Beyond the BJP and Congress

Countercurrents / by Bhabani Shankar Nayak

The crisis in contemporary India is a crisis manufactured by the political duopoly of the arrogance of the Congress Party and dominance of the BJP. Crony capitalists are the beneficiaries of today’s economic crisis and growth.
A Hinduised Congress and a Congressiesed Hindutva represent the same bourgeois politics, in which corporate crony capitalists benefit at the cost of India and Indians.
… Both the BJP and Congress Party have created legal structures for the empowerment of corporations and terrorise people with laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). These laws were created by the Congress Party and are used by the BJP to demonise democratic dissent and weaken constitutional democracy in India. They are used against people such as Binayak Sen, Umar Khalid, G. N. Saibaba, Stan Swamy, Soni Sori, Sudha Bharadwaj and many other idealist youths and students of India.
Read more

Also read:
▪ PUDR Condemns the Imposition of an ‘Undeclared Emergency’ and the Planned Crackdown on Peaceful Protests in Delhi (PUDR / Oct 2026)
▪ Why UAPA demands urgent reform (The Hindu / Oct 2026)
▪ Voices From Prison | A Legacy Of Detention: Weaponisation Of PDA, TADA, NSA And UAPA Laws Since Independence (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ Politics Of Division: Why Autocrats Foster Binary Thinking (Outlook | by Anand Teltumbde | Feb 2025)

UN official dedicates human rights award to Stan Swamy

UN official dedicates human rights award to Stan Swamy

Illustration by #bakeryprasad

Matters India / by Matters India

Dominic F. Dixon, executive director of the United Nations Association for Development and Peace, received the International Human Rights Award at the International Convention for Human Rights 2026 in New Delhi.
The award was presented by the World Human Rights Research Council on Oct. 25 at the NDMC Convention Centre on Sansad Marg.
Accepting the prestigious accolade, Dixon dedicated the award to the memory of Father Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old Jesuit priest and human rights defender who spent his life standing alongside Adivasi communities and the marginalized.
Read more

Also read:
▪ India: UN experts alarmed by fresh crackdown on protests and rights violations (United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders / Oct 2026)
▪ Remembering Stan Swamy: Five Years Since His Custodial Death / The Struggles He Lived For Continue … (Jul 2026)
▪ UN experts, Freedom House, USCIRF call to designate India as “Country of Particular Concern” (Maktoob / Jul 2025)
▪ India: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on the deterioration of civic space (CIVICUS / Dec 2024)
▪ Stan Swamy’s death will always be stain on India’s human rights record, says UN working group (Scroll.in / March 2022)
▪ Pegasus Reports Highlight Need for Better Regulation of Spyware: UN Rights Chief (The Wire / Aug 2021)

▪ 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

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
▪ Arrest of Fr Stan Swamy: UN makes public letter seeking explanation from Govt of India (Counterview / Jan 2021)

Bhima Koregaon & Elgar Parishad Case: A Timeline of Key Events

Bhima Koregaon & Elgar Parishad Case: A Timeline of Key Events

aitimeline.in / by by Nazish Fatima

Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case timeline: the 2018 violence, 16 UAPA arrests, every bail order and the state inquiry report due by 31 October 2026.
The Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case timeline begins with the 200th anniversary of an 1818 battle: on 31 December 2017 activists held the Elgar Parishad at Pune’s Shaniwar Wada, and on 1 January 2018 violence near the Bhima Koregaon memorial left one man dead. Two separate investigations followed: one into the violence, and an anti-terror conspiracy case alleging that the conclave was backed by Maoists, in which 16 people were arrested. As of 27 October 2026, no one has been convicted, every surviving accused has been granted bail, and the state inquiry commission’s report is due by 31 October. This page keeps the two tracks apart and links each legal step to the report that recorded it.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Incarceration As Politics: A Timeline Of Political Prisoners In Independent India (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ How an unsophisticated malware attack became India’s biggest state-sponsored cybercrime (The Polis Project / March 2025)
▪ Conjuring the BK16 Myth: How the Elgar Parishad case rests on fiction and deception (The Polis Project / March 2025)
▪ Why caste Hindutva, not an Elgar conspiracy, is at the root of the Bhima Koregaon violence (The Polis Project / Feb 2025)

Bombay HC Seeks Credentials Of Congress, PUCL, AITUC In Pleas Challenging Maharashtra Special Public Security Act

Bombay HC Seeks Credentials Of Congress, PUCL, AITUC In Pleas Challenging Maharashtra Special Public Security Act

Drawing by Arun Fereirra

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

The Bombay High Court on Friday asked the Indian National Congress, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) to furnish details of their registration, constitution and office-bearers before it proceeds to hear their petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Maharashtra Special Public Security Act (MSPSA).
… The State’s affidavit cited various instances particularly, the caste-based riots infamously known as the Bhima-Koregaon Violence which broke out across Maharashtra on January 01, 2018. It stated that the arrest of the ‘central committee’ members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) (CPI-M) in Elgar Parishad, brought national focus on ‘Urban Activities’ of ‘Urban Maoists.’
Read more

Also read:
▪ ‘Maharashtra centre of Maoist urban network’: State defends Special Public Security Act in court (The Indian Express / Oct 2026)
▪ Modi’s ‘Dimagi Naxal’ Remark Is an Attempt to Frame the Next Wave of Youth Dissent as Anti-National (The Wire | Anand Teltumbde | Aug 2026)
▪ PM Modi calls for ‘dimagi Naxals’ to be ‘found and isolated’ in his Independence Day speech (Scroll.in / Aug 2026)
▪ Insecurity By Law: A Critique of the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill in the Context of India’s Banning Regime (PUDR / Jul 2025)
▪ McCarthyism in INDIA?: The Return of The Urban Naxal Bogey! (The Crossbill / Jul 2024)
▪ Maharashtra: Top Cop Accuses Decades-Old Cultural, Rights Orgs of Working as ‘Naxal Fronts’ (The Wire / Feb 2022)
▪ Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)

Supreme Court To Hear Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea On November 4

Supreme Court To Hear Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea On November 4

PUDR campaign. June 2024

Surjagarh Arson Case: Supreme Court To Hear UAPA Accused Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea On November 4

15/10/2026

Law Beat / by Sukriti Mishra

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on October 15, 2026 mentioned Surendra Gadling’s bail plea before a Supreme  Court Bench including Justice Vikram Nath, which listed the matter for hearing on November 4
The Supreme Court on Thursday fixed Surendra Gadling’s plea for bail for hearing on November 4, after Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal urged the Court to fix a date, telling the Court that Gadling “has been inside for 7 years” and that the matter “is not being heard”.
Gadling’s plea was listed before a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.
Read more

Supreme Court Lists Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea In Surjagarh Arson Case For November 4

15/10/2026

LawChakra / by LawChakra Desk

Years in custody and a plea that never seemed to reach the head of the cause list: the Supreme Court has now fixed November 4 to hear Surendra Gadling’s bail plea in the 2016 Surjagarh mine arson case, after Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned it.
Activist-lawyer Surendra Gadling, who remains in custody in the 2016 Surjagarh mine arson case in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, will have his bail plea heard on November 4, the Supreme Court decided on Thursday, although he has already secured bail in the Bhima Koregaon case [Surendra Pundalik Gadling v. State of Maharashtra].
Read more

Also read:
▪ Supreme Court to hear bail plea of Bhima Koregaon accused Surendra Gadling on October 14 (The Hindu / Sep 2026)
▪ 3rd SC judge recuses himself from hearing lawyer Surendra Gadling’s bail plea (Hindustan Times / Jul 2026)
▪ Eight years in jail without trial: HC grants bail to lawyer Surendra Gadling in Elgar Parishad case (Hindustan Times / May 2026)
▪ 7 yrs in jail, charges framed against Surendra Gadling in Surajgarh arson case. What Bombay HC told SC (The Print / Apr 2026)
▪ Public Meeting at Press Club of India Demands Release of People’s Lawyer Surendra Gadling (The Mooknayak / March 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)
▪ Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ Encountering Resistance – State Policy for Development in Gadchiroli (PUDR / June 2018)
▪ DISINHERITING ADIVASIS – THE GADCHIROLI GAME PLAN (KAFILA / June 2018)

Why UAPA demands urgent reform

Why UAPA demands urgent reform

The Hindu / by Gautam Bhatia

UAPA’s vague provisions, stringent bail conditions and inconsistent judicial interpretations have enabled the prolonged imprisonment of activists, scholars and journalists without trial; Prof. G.N. Saibaba’s experience shows the urgent need to reform a legal regime that undermines civil liberties, due process and rule of law
… The anniversary of Professor Saibaba’s death is an occasion to reflect on a legal regime that is designed to — quite literally — imprison dissent and deny justice. Over the years, the UAPA has been used to criminalise political opposition. Following the violence at the Bhima Koregaon commemoration event in 2018, UAPA charges were brought against 16 scholars and activists, all of whom were jailed. Eight years later, the trial has yet to begin, and the court has yet to frame charges against the accused.
Read more

Also read:
▪ The GN Saibaba Case: The Legacy of a Belated Acquittal (The Wire / Oct 2026)
▪ Voices From Prison | A Legacy Of Detention: Weaponisation Of PDA, TADA, NSA And UAPA Laws Since Independence (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ Justice On Hold: How India’s Trial Courts Are Creating a New Class of Political Prisoners—Those Accused Of ‘Terrorism’ (article 14 / Dec 2025)
▪ G.N. Saibaba’s Lifelong Campaign Was Against the Violence of Silencing (The Wire | by Rona Wilson | Oct 2024)
▪ UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR – Study of UAPA Abuse in India, 2009-2022 (PUCL / Sep 2022). Download report