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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.
Read more
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.
Read more

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.
Read more

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.
Read more

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.
Read more

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.
Read more

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.
Read more

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)

How the SC speaks in contradictory voices / Staying of bail Orders disastrous for human liberty, says SC

How the SC speaks in contradictory voices / Staying of bail Orders disastrous for human liberty, says SC

How the SC speaks in contradictory voices on bail

14/07/2024

Scroll.in / by Vineet Bhalla

Bail has been reduced to a judicial lottery with different judges and benches of the court taking inconsistent stances on similar issues.
…
On July 11, the Supreme Court castigated the Delhi High Court for staying a regular bail order in separate case for over a year when it has itself stayed the order granting bail to Dalit activist Mahesh Raut in the Bhima Koregaon case for more than nine months now.
Read more

Casual and mechanical staying of bail Orders disastrous for human liberty, says SC

13/07/2024

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

In a significant development, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih has said it will lay down parameters on the stay of bail-granting Orders.
…
The Supreme Court itself has been guilty of staying bail Orders without reason. For instance, Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha was granted regular bail by the Bombay High Court Bench on December 19, 2023, after observing that it could not be said, based on the material produced by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), that there exist reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against Navlakha was prima facie true to attract Sections 16, 18, 20 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Contrary To SC’s Rules Of Assignment, At Least 8 Politically Sensitive Cases Moved To One Judge In 4 Months (article 14 / Dec 2023)
▪ ‘Ominous portents’: Why High Court staying its own bail orders in Bhima Koregaon case is troubling (Scroll.in / Dec 2023)
▪ Inconsistencies in Bail Orders Mean Individual Liberty Is Now the Outcome of Judicial Lottery (The Wire / Oct 2022)

Bhima Koregaon: Challenging Caste review: What led to Modi govt’s crackdown on intellectuals

Bhima Koregaon: Challenging Caste review: What led to Modi govt’s crackdown on intellectuals

The Federal / by Binoo K John

Ajaz Ashraf underscores how Bhima Koregaon riots, and the subsequent clampdown on leftist leaders, was sparked by various interpretations of Shivaji’s role and his stature in the Marathi consciousnes
…
A voice of defiance against the state The 200th anniversary of Bhima Koregaon was the happy hunting ground of many such pro-Maratha organisations, waiting to confront the various Dalit organisations. Bhima Koregaon is the place where, in January 1818, the British army comprising Mahar Dalit soldiers won the battle against Peshwa ruler Baji Rao II.
Read more

Also Read:
▪ Book Excerpt | How Bhima Koregaon Became a Trope for Dalit Pride and Assertion (The Wire │ by Ajaz Ashraf │ June 2024)

▪ Bhima Koregaon: Challenging Caste. Brahminism’s wrath against dreamers of equality

Author: Ajaz Ashraf  
Publisher: AuthorsUpFront
Publishing Date: June 2024
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Pages: 496
Read more/order

▪ The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon And The Search For Democracy In India

Author: Alpa Shah
Publishing Date: March 2024
Publisher: Harper Collins Publisher
Pages: 672
Read more / order

▪ Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan / Dec 2020)
▪ Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati│ by Sudhir Dhawale │ March 2018)
▪ The Myth of Bhima Koregaon Reinforces the Identities It Seeks to Transcend (The Wire | Anand Teltumbde | Jan 2018)
▪ Why peoples’ coalitions are uniting against Hindutva — the ‘new Peshwai’ (Dailyo.in │ by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves │ Jan 2018)

BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: RAMESH GAICHOR’S PARENTS JUST WANT TO MEET HIM AGAIN BEFORE THEY DIE

BK-16 PRISON DIARIES: RAMESH GAICHOR’S PARENTS JUST WANT TO MEET HIM AGAIN BEFORE THEY DIE

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 MURALIDHAR SITARAM GAICHOR AND SUMAN GAICHOR

Since childhood, Ramesh liked helping people in need. He would play with the kids in the neighbourhood. He taught at a college and worked as a clerk at a local hospital. During his graduation, he helped his friends from Nowrosjee Wadia College, Pune, to win a trophy in a one-act play competition. Later, the college gave him free admission to masters without charging any fees.
Read more

Also read:
▪ 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)

A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism

A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism

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.
Read more

Colin Gonsalves writes: Under proposed ‘urban Naxal’ law, I could be arrested for fulfilling my duty

14/07/2024

The Indian Express / by Colin Consalves

Because the judiciary has let us down again and again, the government has become bold enough to draft a law to trap within its web all those who struggle without guns or bombs for a better India
…
We have gone through the experience of the arrest of the Bhima Koregaon lawyers and social workers, none of whom, even after five years of incarceration, could be shown to have engaged in any act of violence intended to overawe the state by warfare. All of them were denied bail by judges, up to the Supreme Court.
Read more

‘Urban Naxal’ bill is bogey to smother opposition before Maharashtra polls, say Congress, CPI(M)

12/07/2024

The Hindu / by Ateeq Shaikh

In a strongly worded statement issued by the CPI (M) State Secretary, Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis has been called a “hitman” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah
… The statement reads, “It is well-known that Devendra Fadnavis, then Chief Minister and Home Minister, acted as a hitman for Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in arresting innocent individuals under UAPA on false charges in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Read more

Also read:
▪ What is Maharashtra’s new Bill to curb ‘Naxalism in urban areas’? (The Indian Express / Jul 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)