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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)
…

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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. …

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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. …

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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). …

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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. …

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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: …

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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.”
…

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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.

…

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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.
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HC Rejects Default Bail To Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawade & Rona Wilson

HC Rejects Default Bail To Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawade & Rona Wilson

Bombay HC rejects default bail of five accused in Bhima Koregaon case

26/07/2024

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The petitioners had moved the High court challenging special court orders in 2022 that denied them default bail.
The Bombay High Court on Friday rejected the default bail petitions of five persons accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, Bar and Bench reported.
A division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak issued the order on petitions filed by lawyer Surendra Gadling, activist and researcher Rona Wilson, poet and political commentator Sudhir Dhawale, forest rights activist Mahesh Raut, and former Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen.
Read more

Bombay High Court rejects default bail of five accused

26/07/2024

Bar & Bench / by Satyendra Wankhade

A Division Bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak passed the order on pleas filed by the five accused challenging 2022 special court orders that denied them default bail.
The Bombay High Court on Friday denied default bail to Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale and Shoma Sen in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence case.
Read more

Bombay High Court Rejects Default Bail To Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawade & Rona Wilson

26/07/2024

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

The Bombay High Court today rejected the default bail to Dalit rights’ activist and advocate Surendra Gadling and co-accused Mahesh Raut, in the infamous Elgar Parishad case of 2018.
A division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Shyam Chandak pronounced the order in their chamber. Bail was also denied to Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawade and researcher Rona Wilson.
Read more

Also Read:
▪ Explained: The Shoma Sen bail judgment (The Leaflet / Apr 2024)
▪ 4 accused seek bail from Bombay HC on parity with Sudha Bharadwaj (India Today / March 2023)
▪ Bombay HC grants default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj, but declines the same to eight other accused (The Leaflet / Dec 2021)

Monsoons set to add the torment of high humidity to the woes of intense heat of prisoners

Monsoons set to add the torment of high humidity to the woes of intense heat of prisoners

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

The Leaflet / by Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

The much-discussed heatwaves that are sweeping across the subcontinent have a dark spot— prisons. As monsoons bring high humidity to the hot conditions inside Indian jails, where is the sympathy that will allow prisoners to breathe a sigh of relief?
… The medical health of prisoners is the responsibility of State as per Rule 24 of the Mandela Rules and it must be provided with the same standard as provided to anyone in the society and it should be free of cost to prisoners. However, political prisoners in India are treated with even greater hostility than other prisoners within the abysmal larger jail conditions.
In many of the instances in the Bhima Koregaon case alone, the accused undertrial prisoners have been denied adequate medical facilities, forcing the court to intervene. 
Read more

Also read:
▪ Some personal reflections on prison medical care (The Leaflet | Vernon Gonsalves | Apr 2024)
▪ Relatives of BK16 Flag Prison Authorities’ ‘Criminal Negligence’ and Deteriorating Health of Undertrials (Newsclick / Sep 2022)
▪ Punished without trial: How India’s political prisoners are being denied basic rights in jail (Scroll.in / Aug 2022)

TODAY, is WORSE than the ‘EMERGENCY!’

TODAY, is WORSE than the ‘EMERGENCY!’

Countercurrents / by Cedric Prakash

India will and should never forget that infamous night of 25/26 June 1975, when, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared all over the country.
…
Just before his arrest on 8 October 2020, in a video-message that went viral, Jesuit Fr. Stan Swamy said, “What is happening to me is not something unique happening to me alone. It is a broader process that is taking place all over the country. We are all aware how prominent intellectuals, lawyers’ writers, poets, activists, students, leaders, they are all put into jail because they have expressed their dissent or raised questions about the ruling powers of India. We are part of the process. In a way I am happy to be part of this process. I am not a silent spectator, but part of the game, and ready to pay the price whatever be it.”
Read more

Also read:
▪ At UN Human Rights Review, PEN International Questions Crackdown on Dissent in India (The Wire / Jul 2024)
Read PEN International’s full report here
▪ India: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on the deterioration of civic space (CIVICUS /Jul 2024)
▪ To Think of Modi 3.0 as Less Dangerous Would Be a Misreading (The Wire | by Anand Teltumbde | Jun 2024)
▪ 48 years since the Emergency (PUCL.org / 2023)
In this section of the PUCL website, find the testimonies and memories of those who were arrested, resisted and fought the emergency. Inevitably, we will reflect on today’s challenges to Indian democracy, Constitutional values and human rights.

Article 21 ‘overturned’ by new criminal laws: Lawyers, activists remember Stan Swamy

Article 21 ‘overturned’ by new criminal laws: Lawyers, activists remember Stan Swamy

Credits: Counterview

Counterview / by Gova Rathod

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat, organised an event in Ahmedabad entitled “Remembering Fr. Stan Swamy in Today’s Challenging Reality” in the memory of Fr. Stan Swamy on his third death anniversary. The event included a discussion of the new criminal laws enforced since July 1, 2024.
At the start of the event Fr. Cedric Prakash spoke about Fr. Stan Swamy, a fearless defender of tribal rights in Jharkhand, who was arrested by the NIA in 2018 in the context of the Bhima Koregaon case.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Three years after Stan Swamy’s death in custody, activists recall his contributions to Adivasi cause (Scroll.in / Jul 2024)
▪ ‘Bhima Koregaon 16’ go on hunger strike to mark Stan Swamy’s death anniversary (Hindustan Times / Jul 2024)
▪ Authorities must immediately repeal repressive new criminal laws (Amnesty International / Jul 2024)

At UN Human Rights Review, PEN International Questions Crackdown on Dissent in India

At UN Human Rights Review, PEN International Questions Crackdown on Dissent in India

At UN Human Rights Review, PEN International Questions Crackdown on Dissent in India

18/07/2024

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The writers’ body cited a growing number of writers, journalists, academics and other critics of the government being subjected to legal harassment in the form of arbitrary arrests and prolonged detentions without trial.
…
The writers’ body mentioned the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) being used as a tool to “unjustly prosecute” the government’s critics. Citing the detention of those accused in the Bhima Koregaon/Elgar Parishad case, the report highlighted the ill treatment of professor Hany Babu and poet Varavara Rao, and denial of bail despite medical grounds.
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Read PEN International’s full report here

‘28% rise in sedition cases’: Top global NGO alliance rates India’s civil space ‘repressed’

17/07/2024

Counterview / by Rajiv Shah

Rating India’s civic space as repressed, Civicus, a global civil society alliance, in its new report submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) on the state of civic space in the country has said that the use of sedition law against the Modi government’s critics continues. “Under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sedition cases have increased by 28 per cent with over 500 cases against more than 7,000 people”, it says.
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Also read:
▪ India: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on the deterioration of civic space (CIVICUS /Jul 2024)
Read/download full submission
▪ RSF and national civil society organisations give new government 10 recommendations to guarantee press freedom (RSF / June 2024)
▪ India among top 10 countries to jail writers, academics in 2021, shows Pen America’s report (Scroll.in / Apr 2022)
▪ International Mother Language Day: Take Action for Hany Babu (Pen International | Feb 2022)
▪ Joint Statement: Freedom for Varavara Rao (Pen International | Oct 2021)
▪ A Dark Day for Democracy and Freedom of Expression (Pen International | Aug 2018)

McCarthyism in INDIA?: The Return of The Urban Naxal Bogey!

McCarthyism in INDIA?: The Return of The Urban Naxal Bogey!

Credits: MR online

McCarthyism in INDIA?: The Return of The Urban Naxal Bogey!

17/07/2024

The Crossbill / by Subbhash Gatade

Does the ruling dispensation feels that since Naxals are seen as violent gangs who claim to work for people this bogey of Urban Naxal facilitates it to target anyone who refuses to play ball.

1. ‘India Will Awake to Police Raj’!
““I am reminded of Pandit Nehru ‘s speech “At the stroke of midnight India will awake to freedom.” At the stroke of midnight night 1st July 2024 India will awake to police raj,”
There are rare occasions when a simple tweet underlines the unfolding reality in stark terms.

… Any concerned citizen can look dispassionately at the Bhima Koregaon Case (12) or the way the accused in the NE Delhi riots have been languishing in jail – and are not even getting bail – and infer where things have reached.
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A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism

15/07/2024

The Wire / by Ajay K. Mehra

The proposed legislation will authorise state police and other security agencies to arrest an accused person without warrant and by extension, without letting them know of their offence.
As soon as the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, tabled in the state legislative assembly on July 11 this year, becomes a law, the state government will have another draconian legal instrument to use against protesters, dissenters, critics and opponents. Like other such laws, this one too has strict provisions making an individual’s arrest non-bailable.
Since the need for such a law is being justified on the grounds that the “menace of Naxalism is increasing in urban areas… through Naxal frontal organisations”, dissenters being framed up as ‘urban Naxals’ is imminent.
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Also read:
▪ What is Maharashtra’s new Bill to curb ‘Naxalism in urban areas’? (The Indian Express / Jul 2024)
▪ Footwear allegedly hurled at Modi’s convoy raises serious questions (The Caravan / June 2024)
▪ Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)
▪ What makes an Urban Naxal? (MR online / Sep 2018)
▪ From ‘tukde tukde gang’ to ‘urban Naxal’: How media trials enable the government to stifle dissent (Scroll.in / Sep 2018)

Out on bail in Elgaar case, activist Navlakha and partner struggle to rent home in Mumbai

Out on bail in Elgaar case, activist Navlakha and partner struggle to rent home in Mumbai

Bail ! Gautam with his partner Sabha Husain

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

Although the couple have a home in Delhi, 72-year-old Navlakha’s bail conditions prevent him from leaving Mumbai.
Ever since he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Elgaar Parishad case in May, Delhi-based journalist-activist Gautam Navlakha and his author-partner Sahba Husain have been struggling to rent a home in Mumbai.
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Also read:
▪ ‘Every time I stepped out, the camera was on’: Love and resilience in captivity with Gautam Navlakha (Scroll.in / June 2024)
▪ Gautam Navlakha granted bail by Supreme Court; orders him to pay 20 lakhs for the expenses incurred during his house arrest (cjp / May 2024)

BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: SAGAR GORKHE’S PARENTS ARE STRUGGLING IN HIS ABSENCE

BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: SAGAR GORKHE’S PARENTS ARE STRUGGLING IN HIS ABSENCE

To mark six years of the arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of political dissidents in the Bhima Koregaon case, The Polis Project is publishing a series of writings by the BK-16, and their families, friends and partners. By describing various aspects of the past six years, the series offers a glimpse into the BK-16’s lives inside prison, as well as the struggles of their loved ones outside. Each piece in the series is complemented by Arun Ferreira’s striking and evocative artwork.

THE POLIS PROJECT / by TATYARAM GORKHE AND SUREKHA GORKHE

We were at our village for Sagar’s grandmother’s funeral rites on the day of his arrest, in September 2020. Sagar received a call and had to leave for Mumbai immediately. He did not tell us what was going on. Later, we called his friends, who told us that he had been arrested. Like others, Sagar was offered the opportunity to become a state witness and escape arrest. But he didn’t take up the offer, insisting that he had not done anything wrong.
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Also read:
▪ BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: RAMESH GAICHOR’S PARENTS JUST WANT TO MEET HIM AGAIN BEFORE THEY DIE (THE POLIS PROJECT / JULY 2024)
▪ BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: MINAL GADLING ON THE MANY CRUELTIES, IRONIES AND INJUSTICES OF SURENDRA’S IMPRISONMENT (THE POLIS PROJECT / JULY 2024)
▪ BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: RUPALI JADHAV TRAVELS TEN HOURS FOR FLEETING EXCHANGES WITH JYOTI JAGTAP (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)
▪ BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: JENNY ROWENA ON THE FEAR OF PRISONS AND THE BRAHMINICAL SYSTEM BEHIND IT (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)
▪ BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: ANAND TELTUMBDE REFLECTS ON HIS ARREST AND INCARCERATION (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)
▪ BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: STORIES OF LOVE, MURDER AND CHILD MARRIAGE FROM SHOMA SEN’S YEARS IN PRISONS (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)
▪ BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: ARUN FERREIRA ON THE FARCE AND TRAGEDY OF THE PANDEMIC IN PRISON (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)
▪ BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: VERNON GONSALVES ON THE STRUGGLE TO READ AND WRITE BEHIND BARS (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)
▪ INTRODUCING THE BK-16 PRISON DIARIES SERIES (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)

Supreme Court Adjourns Jyoti Jagtap’s Plea To August 7

Supreme Court Adjourns Jyoti Jagtap’s Plea To August 7

Jyoti Jagtap

Supreme Court Adjourns Jyoti Jagtap’s Plea To August 7

15/07/2024

Live Law / by Debby Jain

While adjourning to August 7 a plea filed by activist and Bhima Koregaon case accused Jyoti Jagtap challenging denial of regular bail by Bombay High Court, the Supreme Court today expressed that it was not inclined to grant interim bail to her.
The matter was before a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar, which was informed by Senior Advocate Mihir Desai (appearing for Jagtap) that the case was erroneously listed for interim bail.
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Supreme Court refuses to grant interim bail to jailed activist Jyoti Jagtap

15/07/2024

The Hindu / by pti

A Bench comprising justices M.M. Sundresh and Aravind Kumar also adjourned the hearing on the main bail plea of the activist. “We are not inclined to give interim bail”, Justice Subdresh said.
The Supreme Court on July 15 refused to grant interim bail to activist Jyoti Jagtap, who is in jail in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
A Bench comprising justices M.M. Sundresh and Aravind Kumar also adjourned the hearing on the main bail plea of the activist.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Supreme Court Adjourns Bail Plea Of Jyoti Jagtap To July (Live Law / May 2024)
▪ What is Kabir Kala Manch, the cultural group accused of being a Maoist front? (The Indian Express / Jan 2024)
▪ SC says principles of Arun and Vernon bail judgment to apply to Jyoti Jagtap (The Leaflet / Nov 2023)
▪ Inconsistencies in Bail Orders Mean Individual Liberty Is the Outcome of Judicial Lottery (The Wire / Oct 2022)

Explained: The Supreme Court’s judgment against 24/7 surveillance as a bail condition

Explained: The Supreme Court’s judgment against 24/7 surveillance as a bail condition

The Leaflet / by Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court has held that a bail condition enabling police to monitor the movement of an accused out on bail through mobile phones is illegal and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution.
…
It remains to be seen whether this judgment of the Supreme Court will provide relief to the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad accused Shoma Sen, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, upon whom the judiciary has imposed similar bail conditions or whether this will be another case of a progressive Order in one case which is not followed by a similar Order in another case.
Read more

Also read:
▪ If those on bail are tracked 24/7, has their liberty really been (partially) restored? (The Leaflet / May 2024)
▪ Share Gps live location with nia 24×7: Supreme Court bail conditions for Shoma Sen (Bar & Bench / April 2024)
▪ Supreme Court grants bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, with tethers (The Leaflet / Jul 2023)
▪ Inconsistencies in Bail Orders Mean Individual Liberty Is the Outcome of Judicial Lottery (The Wire / Oct 2022)