en | 30:48 min | 2022
Scroll.in / by Smitha Nair
In this interview, the lawyer-activist, out on bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, documents her life’s work with Chhattisgarh’s most marginalised.
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28/01/2022
The Telegraph / by Mahtab Alam
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Indian Social Institute, Bangalore
Language: English
Paperback: 149 pages
Stan Swamy was no silent spectator, his book makes it clear who he was.
Ever since the tragic death of the human rights activist, Father Stan Swamy, much has been written about him, including a few books. This is not surprising, given his contributions to human rights, especially the rights of indigenous people. However, what distinguishes this book is that it is a first-person account even though it is not an autobiography. Divided into 16 short chapters, including a Prologue and an Epilogue, it takes us on a journey where we are not just introduced to Stan’s personality and work but also get glimpses of the time period it covered.
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By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Peoples Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi
Language: English
Paperback: 45 pages
Download full book (pdf file)
Newsclick / by Ajaz Ashraf
India is far from realising the promises of justice and equality made in the Constitution, says the well-known activist, citing her experiences in prison as an under-trial and as a lawyer representing workers.
After spending nearly three years in jail, Bharadwaj was released on bail last month. Her bail conditions proscribe her from speaking on the Bhima Koregaon case and leaving Mumbai, although she has now been allowed to live in Thane. NewsClick did not ask her any question on the case, and she politely refused to answer any question she thought was even remotely connected to it. In the first part of this interview, Bharadwaj speaks on the meaning that Republic Day, the Constitution, and the law have for jail inmates, based on her conversations with them.
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Also read
● Part 2: My Spirit has not Been Broken: Activist Sudha Bharadwaj (NewsClick / Jan 2022)
By Human Rights Watch
Activists, Critics Targeted: Growing Attacks on Muslims, Groups at Risk
Indian authorities intensified their crackdown on activists, journalists, and other critics of the government using politically motivated prosecutions in 2021, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2022. Tens of thousands of people died during a surge in Covid-19 cases, with the government failing to provide adequate health care to those in need.
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Read full India chapter
29/12/2021
Times of India / by ASRP Mukesh
A day before the second anniversary of the Hemant Soren-led alliance government on Wednesday, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM), a group of several rights bodies, on Tuesday said despite getting a clear mandate, the incumbent administration has failed to bring any significant relief and improvement in the lives of the common people…
Stating that both JMM and Congress, in their election manifestos, had promised action to release undertrials (tribals, Dalits, backward and minorities jailed in minor cases without conviction), the JJM said, “There is complete silence on this issue too. The Hemant Soren government had raised its voice against the inhuman arrest of Stan Swamy and paid him a tribute after his death, but it remained silent on the issues raised by Stan.”
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25/12/2021
Deccan Herald / by N Jayaram
Hindutva chauvinists might get a strong message if the process leading to his canonisation were to begin soon
On Christmas day, thoughts turn to a good Christian who was snatched away from us on July 5 this year.
Father Stanislaus Lourduswamy, or Stan Swamy, had dedicated his life to serving Adivasis in Central India, after having been director of the Indian Social Institute, Bengaluru, from 1975 to 1986. He was implicated and jailed – falsely, in the opinion of a large number of human rights activists and even noted jurists – in the infamous Bhima-Koregaon case.
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Also read:
● Even after Stan Swamy’s death, the fight to get justice for Jharkhand undertrials is still alive (Scroll.in / Dec 2021)
● Teacher, companion, motivator: Adivasi-rights activist Dayamani Barla remembers Stan Swamy (The Caravan/Sep 2021)
● PUDR Report: Framed to Die – The Case of Stan Swamy (pdf file, 45 pages; PUDR/Aug 2021)
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
The head of the country’s statutory human rights body said that speedy justice was key to rule of law.
National Human Rights Commission chief Arun Mishra on Friday said that suspects in cases should not be jailed without trial and that there was no room for fake encounters. Mishra, a former Supreme Court judge, added that justice was the source of a peaceful society…
As recently as on Wednesday, South African non-profit organisation Civicus put India on a list of countries with “repressed” democratic values. The report had flagged the use of draconian anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against activists arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, repression of the farmers’ protest and the imposition of curfews in Jammu and Kashmir.
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Also read:
● In Jharkhand, Scheduled Tribes Still Battle Flimsy Criminal Cases Filed With Little Evidence (Indiaspend / Oct 2021)
● The ‘Encounter Raj’ mindset: Stop mocking those who stand for human rights. Demonising them endangers every citizen (Times of India / July 2020)
● Chhattisgarh: Story of another ‘encounter’ (The Indian Express / Dec 2019)
● Press Release Of The Joint Fact Finding in Gadchiroli by CDRO, IAPL and WSS (WSS / May 2018)
Scroll.in / by Riddhi Dastidar, IndiaSpend.com
While the fight has faltered, Swamy’s friends and colleagues are taking forward the work he had lived and died for.
“Until his last breath, Stan had hope in the judiciary,” recalled Sheela*, a Delhi-based lawyer who asked to be anonymous for fear of being targeted. “He was waiting for the July 3 hearing where his interim bail plea was to be taken up. I think when that did not happen, he finally lost hope.”
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By CMM-MKC and other workers unions
Press Statement
On the granting of bail to advocate Sudha Bharadwaj by the Bombay High Court
On the 1st of December 2021, after having spent three years in jail on fabricated charges in the Bhima Koregaon case, Human Rights activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj was granted bail by the Bombay High Court. We the undersigned unions and workers collectives welcome the judgement. It is a great relief for the working people of Chhattisgarh who have consistently campaigned against the illegal arrest of Sudha Bharadwaj and continuously demanded her release. It is important to note that Sudha Bharadwaj was granted bail because the chargesheet against her was not produced before the appropriate court within the legally specified time limit. There were 8 others along with Sudha Bharadwaj arrested under the same case whose bail was rejected on the same day. We express our deep disappointment at the courts decision to reject their applications for bail. It is amply clear that the 16 Human Rights activists, lawyers, artists and writers were arrested under false and fabricated charges in the Bhima Koregaon case. We the undersigned unions have condemned these arrests from the very beginning.
The granting of bail to Sudha Bharadwaj is most certainly a jolt to the current pro-corporate, brahminical, fascist central government, as is evident from how promptly they moved the Supreme Court to challenge the bail order. The very day after the judgment of the Bombay High Court was pronounced, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) was ready with their appeal to the Supreme Court to act against the granting of bail to Sudha Bharadwaj. They seem determined to ensure she is not released under any circumstance. All recent events have in any case pointed clearly to the fact that the NIA is not an independent invesitgation agency but in fact one that works simply like an arm of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). The NIA has been indiscriminately wielding the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) legislation against anyone who dares to exercise their democratic right to protest against the BJP. In such a scenario, we place all our hope and faith in the Supreme Court that it will uphold the democratic fabric of the country, uphold the notion of justice and grant Sudha Bharadwaj bail at the earliest.
It must be mentioned that Father Stan Swamy, one of the 16, aged 84, lost his life in custody while awaiting bail. Apart from the aforesaid Bhima Koregaon case, the draconian UAPA legislation was recently used once again to silence the democratic voices of the people of Chhattisgarh by arresting Human Rights Adivasi activist Hidme Markam on March 9 this year, at a program marking International Womens Day in Dantewada, Bastar. Hidme Markam has spent the last several years speaking out against the environmental destruction wrought by the government and large mining companies in Bastar. She has raised her voice against militarization and sexual violence against women in Bastar continuously perpetrated by the police and palamilitary.
The UAPA has been indiscriminately used to incarcerate dalits, adivasis and minorities in the country. Seveal arguments have been made and facts brought to light that clearly indicate why such a draconian legistaltion must be withdrawn. We the undersigned unions strongly and unequivocally support the demand to repeal the UAPA. We sincerely hope that Sudha Bharadwaj will be released from the four walls of prison and that she will be amongst us soon. We shall continue to campaign for the release for all those, who like her, have been arrested for fighting to uphold democratic values in this country, and further resolve to strengthen our campaign to demand the repeal of the UAPA.
Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (Mazdoor Karyakarta Samiti), Mahila Mukti Morcha, Nagari Nikay Janvadi Safai Kamgar Union, Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh, Loktantrik Ispat evam Engineering Mazdoor Union, Jan Adharit Power Plant Workers Union, Jan Swasth Karamchari Union
01/12/2021
By PUCL Chhattisgarh
Press Release
PUCL Chhattisgarh welcomes the granting bail to Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj by the Bombay High Court and at the same time is dissapointed that the other 8 co-accused have been denied bail.
It should be mentioned that the violence inflicted by Hindu groups on and after the Bhima Koregaon celebrations in January 2018 have cost lives and resulted in several incarcerations. Including the 8 whose bail was rejected by the Bombay High Court, however, a total of 16 people have been falsely implicated in the Bhima Koregaon Case and have been in jail for years on fabricated charges under the draconian UAPA. Many others have been targetted, arrested and had their homes raided.
Father Stan Swami, one of the 16, aged 84, lost his life in custody while awaiting bail.
In Chhattisgarh there are hundreds of Adivasis who have been imprisoned under the UAPA and have been awaiting bail for years. On March 9 this year, at a program to mark International Womens Day and speak out against sexual violence inflicted on women by the police and paramilitary in Bastar, Human Rights Defender Hidme Markam was arrested and later jailed under the same draconian act.
While we eagerly await the release of Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj, and for her to return amongst us, we also pledge to strengthen the struggle for release of all those imprisoned under false charges, against the UAPA and against the countrys casteist carceral system.
01/12/2021
The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmaj and Paras Nath Singh
The Bombay High Court grants default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj in the Bhima Koregaon case on the ground that the court which took cognizance of the chargesheet against her was not competent, while it denied the same to the other accused in the case, because they did not claim their right to default bail in time. Paras Nath Singh and Sabah Gurmaj write about the High Court’s application of the principles of default bail in these cases.
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26/11/2021
UCA News / by UCA News reporter
They believe the late activist priest was implicated in mob violence for standing up for the rights of indigenous people.
Indian Jesuits plan to appeal to a court to clear the stigma attached to their activist colleague Father Stan Swamy, who died under detention after being arrested under a draconian anti-terror law.
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25/11/2021
The Wire / by The Wire Staff
Swamy died while his appeal in the high court against the NIA special court’s order denying him bail was pending.
The Bombay high court on Wednesday asked the lawyers of late Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Stan Swamy to file a fresh petition against observations made by a special National Investigation Agency court against him in the Elgar Parishad case.
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24/11/2021
The Indian Express / by Express News Service
After his death on July 5, Swamy’s lawyers had requested the court to keep pending his appeals against special court orders rejecting his bail pleas on medical grounds and merits.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked late Father Stan Swamy’s lawyers to file fresh independent plea raising grievances pertaining to the observations made against the Jesuit priest by the Special NIA Court while rejecting his bail pleas.
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24/11/2021
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
Four and a half months after Father Stan Swamy’s demise, the Bombay High Court has allowed the Jesuits to initiate separateproceedings to clear the odium attached to his name and reputation because of the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad case.
A division bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sarang Kotwal disposed of as withdrawn Swamy’s bail appeal and anotherpetition challenging his prosecution under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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