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Elgar Parishad tomorrow after 3 yrs — arrests, controversies and significance of the event

Elgar Parishad tomorrow after 3 yrs — arrests, controversies and significance of the event

The Print / by Revathi Krishnan

The Elgar Parishad, which commemorates the battle of Bhima Koregaon, was last held in Pune between 31 December 2017 and 1 January 2018.
Three years after it led to violence and the arrests of a number of activists, the Elgar Parishad event is to be held at Pune on 30 January this year.
The Pune Police has granted permission for the event, which commemorates the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. The Elgar Parishad was last held between 31 December 2017 and 1 January 2018. 
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What are your apprehensions if Varavara Rao is granted bail, HC asks NIA

What are your apprehensions if Varavara Rao is granted bail, HC asks NIA

What are your apprehensions if Varavara Rao is granted bail, HC asks NIA

29/01/2021

Hindustan Times / by K A Y Dodhiya

Stressing on the need of striking a balance between fundamental rights of a prisoner to have a healthy life and the facilities available for treating ailing prisoners in jails, the Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday has sought to know from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on their apprehensions in the event 82-year-old Telugu poet P Varavara Rao is released on bail on medical grounds.
… The court has now posted the hearing on February 3.
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What is the quality of life of a 82-year-old in detention? Bombay High Court asks during Varavara Rao bail hearing

28/01/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

“Is it worth to wait for another emergency to happen to take him to Nanavati only because we reject his bail because of your apprehension?”, the Court asked counsel for NIA.
The Bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale raised the question during Rao’s plea for grant of bail on medical grounds along with the plea filed by his wife seeking the Court’s intervention in view of the violation of his fundamental right to health.
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‘Varavara Rao Doesn’t Have Dementia, Reject His Medical Bail Plea,’ NIA Tells Bombay HC

28/01/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

When asked by the HC bench as to why Rao was taking 20 pills if he was stable, the NIA counsel said the pills were ‘age related.’
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday urged the Bombay high court to reject the plea for bail on medical grounds filed by poet-activist Varavara Rao, arguing that his present health condition is stable and that he no longer suffers from dementia.
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Varavara Rao Can Be Sent Back To Prison, He Has No Dementia: NIA Submits Before Bombay High Court

27/01/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Does the octogenarian poet Dr Varavara Rao suffer from dementia? The question seems to have become the focal argument in petitions seeking to set him at liberty and as both the sides are now arguing on the point whether Dr Rao’s cognitive functions are strong enough for him to be able to take care of himself or no.
… The bench then directed the hospital to submit a fresh report on Rao’s heath condition and adjourned the case for Thursday.
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Books sent by families of Hany Babu, Gautam Navlakha returned by jail authorities, again

Books sent by families of Hany Babu, Gautam Navlakha returned by jail authorities, again

Books sent by families of Hany Babu, Gautam Navlakha returned by jail authorities, again

28/01/2021

India Now / by India Now

A Mumbai court has refused to interfere with the order of Taloja Central Jail officials, refusing to accept a courier with books for Elgar Parishad accused Hany Babu and Gautam Navlakha.
A Special Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai has refused to interfere with the order of Taloja Central Jail officials, refusing to accept a courier with books for Elgar Parishad accused Hany Babu and Gautam Navlakha.
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Jail officials cannot refuse books sent for prisoners, but should check content: Mumbai Court

28/01/2021

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

The observation was made in the detailed order passed by the special court earlier this month allowing lawyer activist Sudha Bharadwaj, arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case, access to five books per month at Byculla women’s jail where she is lodged.
A special court has said that jail authorities cannot refuse to accept books sent for prisoners though they are expected to go through the contents to ensure there is no “objectionable material”.
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Video: We, The People – Reclaiming the Republic / Cardinal Nichols: Calls on GoI to release Fr Stan Swamy

Video: We, The People – Reclaiming the Republic / Cardinal Nichols: Calls on GoI to release Fr Stan Swamy


en | 49min | 2021

Online Conference: We, The People – Reclaiming the Republic

26/01/2021

By Jesuit Conference of South Asia

26th January
6pm-6:45pm (IST)
Watch video @ youtube

Also watch:
► Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj? (en + hindi | 2h 53min | Jan 2021)
► Repeal UAPA – Day Three (en + … | 2h 51min | Jan 2021)
► Repeal UAPA – Day Two (en +… | 2h 22min | Jan 2021)
► Repeal UAPA – Day One (en + … | 2h 17min | Jan 2021)
► 100 Days of the incarceration of Fr. Stan Swamy (en + hindi | 3h | Jan 2021)

Cardinal Nichols: Calls on Indian Government to release Fr Stan Swamy

26/01/2021

CBCEW / by CBCEW

Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Fr Damian Howard SJ, Provincial of the Jesuits in Britain, have joined calls for the government of India to release Fr Stan Swamy, an 83-year-old Jesuit priest who has been unjustly imprisoned because of his work to support marginalised communities.
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Video: Keeping Hope, An Everyday Challenge: Imprisoned Activist Gautam Navlakha´s Partner

Video: Keeping Hope, An Everyday Challenge: Imprisoned Activist Gautam Navlakha´s Partner


en | 20:10min | 2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

An accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, Navlakha is a civil liberties, democratic, human rights activist, and journalist. He has been charged with the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which many human rights activists across the world say is a tool used by the government to silence dissent. In this video, we speak to Navlakha’s partner, Sahba Hussain, and try to get some insight into his life – public as well as private.
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Evidence against Sudha Bharadwaj ‘too poor’ to be admissible, says lawyer / A Peek into her Life and Journey

Evidence against Sudha Bharadwaj ‘too poor’ to be admissible, says lawyer / A Peek into her Life and Journey

Evidence against Sudha Bharadwaj ‘too poor’ to be admissible, says lawyer

25/01/2021

The Telegraph / by Basant Kumar Mohanty

Writers, activists and academics seek her release from jail, urge intelligentsia to break their silence.
Yug Chaudhary, lawyer of activist Sudha Bharadwaj who has been in custody since her arrest in the Bhima Koregaon case in 2018, on Sunday said the purported evidence against her lacked “sanctity” and was “too poor” to be admissible.
At a webinar, writers, activists and academics demanded that Bharadwaj be released from jail and urged the intelligentsia to follow her example and break their silence as the country’s institutions were no longer reliable.
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A Peek into the Life and Journey of Sudha Bharadwaj

24/01/2021

The Leaflet / by People’s Union for Civil Liberties

Through a series of interviews with Sudha Bharadwaj, PUCL shows the grim reality of the people fighting in tribal areas for the land they own. The book titled ‘A LIFE IN LAW AND ACTIVISM: SUDHA BHARADWAJ SPEAKS’ shows her journey into fighting for the rights of people, her cases and the story of the people affected by these laws…
The following are edited excerpts from the book.
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Sudha Bharadwaj on Why She Joined the Trade Union Movement and Became a Lawyer

24/01/2021

The Wire / by Santanu Chakraborty and Darshana Mitra

“We have to bring the Constitution to life. That’s where the lawyers and peoples’ organisations have to work together.”
The following is an excerpt from Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks: A Life in Law and Activism published by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties. Bharadwaj, a lawyer, trade unionist and rights activist, was arrested in 2018 in the Elgar Parishad case. The book is based on a long interview of Bharadwaj conducted before her arrest by two young lawyers, Santanu Chakraborty and Darshana Mitra.
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‘My mother misses home often’, says Sudha Bharadwaj’s daughter during book release

24/01/2021

The Print / by The Print Team

A book titled ‘Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks: A Life in Law and Activism’, based on a long interview just before Bharadwaj’s arrest in 2018, was released Sunday.
A new e-book based on a long interview with human rights lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, who has been under arrest for more than two years now, was released Sunday.
The book, titled Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks: A Life in Law and Activism, is based on an interview conducted by lawyers Santanu Chakraborty and Darshana Mitra just before Bharadwaj was arrested in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case in 2018. It was released at a webinar by author Nayantara Sehgal.
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PDF copy: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

24/01/2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties

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

Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

Please download and share widely!
#RepealUAPA

Book release: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism [PDF copy]

Book release: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism [PDF copy]

PDF copy: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

24/01/2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties

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

Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

Please download and share widely!
#RepealUAPA

Video – Book Release: Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj?

24/01/2021


en + hindi | 2h 53min | 2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties and more than 100 other organizations

Topic: Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj?
Sudha Bharadwaj, a renowned human rights lawyer, trade unionist, is one of 16 activists incarcerated in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case for more than 2 years. A long interview conducted with Sudha over several days before she was arrested is now being published as an online book “Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks – A Life in Law and Activism”, and will be released at this webinar by the well-known writer, Nayantara Sahgal. Sudha’s daughter, Maaysha, her lawyer Yug Chaudhary, social activist Harsh Mandar, historian Uma Chakravarti amongst other coworkers & colleagues, will also share their experiences and memories of working with her.
Watch video @ PUCL Facebook (videos)

Programme – click to enlarge
Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism (PDF copy)

Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism (PDF copy)

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties

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

Access a free PDF copy of the book here

UN Human Rights Office Urges Release of Bhima Koregaon Activists

UN Human Rights Office Urges Release of Bhima Koregaon Activists

The Wire / by Ravi Kanth Devarakonda

Without naming 80-year-old poet Varavara Rao and 83-year old tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, it noted that “some of the detainees are elderly and in poor health”.
The UN Human Rights office has expressed serious concern about the detention of human rights defenders in India, including those arrested in the controversial Bhima Koregaon case, and has urged the Indian authorities to release the detainees “at the very least on bail while they await trial”.
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