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Anand Teltumbde Moves Bombay HC For Permission To Travel Abroad On Academic Assignments

Anand Teltumbde Moves Bombay HC For Permission To Travel Abroad On Academic Assignments

Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project

Anand Teltumbde seeks High Court nod to travel abroad

19/03/2025

India Today / by Vidya

Professor Anand Teltumbde has asked the Bombay High Court to allow him to travel abroad for academic events in Europe. The NIA opposed the plea, arguing it should be filed in the trial court.
Professor Anand Teltumbde, an academician accused in the Elgar Parishad case, has asked the Bombay High Court to direct the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to return his passport and allow him to travel abroad for about a month to visit different universities.
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Anand Teltumbde Moves Bombay High Court For Permission To Travel Abroad On Academic Assignments

19/03/2025

Live Law / by Live Law News Network

Dr Anand Teltumbde, one of the accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, has approached the Bombay High Court seeking permission to travel abroad from Mumbai to Amsterdam as well as the United Kingdom to attend academic assignments.
Notably, Teltumbde has been made an accused in an FIR registered by the NIA for offences punishable under the IPC and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. In November 2022, the High Court had granted bail to the professor on merits imposing certain conditions including that he will not leave the court’s jurisdiction without permission.
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Also read:
▪ Has India Ever Been a Democracy? (The Wire | Anand Teltumbde | March 2025)
▪ In Maharashtra, Fadnavis’s Foray to Capture Bhima-Koregaon (The Wire | Anand Teltumbde | Jan 2025)
▪ BK-16 Prison Diaries: Anand Teltumbde reflects on his arrest and incarceration (The Polis Project | Anand Teltumbde | June 2024)
▪ Will the bail granted to Anand Teltumbde help others in the Bhima Koregaon case to get out of jail? (Scroll.in / Nov 2022)

▪ Iconoclast. A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar
by Anand Teltumbde


Publisher: ‎Penguin Viking
Language: ‎English
Hardcover: 700 pages
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The Message Is Loud & Clear. New Book On 11 ‘Prisoners Of Conscience’ & The Costs Of Defiance

The Message Is Loud & Clear. New Book On 11 ‘Prisoners Of Conscience’ & The Costs Of Defiance

‘The Message Is Loud & Clear.’ Author Of New Book On 11 Indian ‘Prisoners Of Conscience’ & The Costs Of Defiance

07/03/2025

Article 14 / by Zeyad Masroor Khan

Political prisoners are among the most discriminated against of India’s prisoners, says Neeta Kolhatkar, author of ‘The Feared’, a book that explores the lives of 11 such prisoners and their families. They talked to her about their experiences while incarcerated and—for those on bail—after. Kolhatkar tells us how she got access to India’s ‘prisoners of conscience’, and why she thinks they were arrested; how they struggle for basic facilities, including medical tests; the impact on their physical and mental health, on their spouses and children; and their survival strategies.

“I will not come out alive if I am jailed again.”
That is what Binayak Sen, 75, says in “The Feared”, a new book by Mumbai-based journalist Neeta Kolhatkar, chronicling the experiences of 11 Indian political prisoner. A medical doctor arrested in 2007 while working in the Adivasi lands of Chhattisgarh, Sen was convicted of sedition in 2010 before being granted bail in 2011.
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The Feared: A wake-up call to the gross human rights violations inflicted on thousands of undertrials

05/06/2025

Sabrang India / by Harsh Thakor

The Feared is a collection of interviews conducted by Neeta Kolhatkar with 11 political prisoners and, in some cases, their loved ones. Through these conversations, she vividly portrays their everyday lives within multiple prisons across India. This landmark work is a path breaking contribution to resurrecting the spirit of dissent and resistance at a time when proto-fascism is reaching unprecedented heights.
The book serves as a wake-up call to the gross human rights violations inflicted on thousands of undertrials. Kolhatkar’s detailed discussions – some spanning multiple meetings – reveal personal anecdotes from the prisoners’ time behind bars. She brings to light not only their experiences but also the deplorable prison conditions, including issues related to space, hygiene, medical care, and food.
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‘If I’m A Hindu, It Does Not Mean I’ll Put Non-Hindu Behind Bars,’ Says Retired Justice BN Srikrishna At Book Launch

27/02/2025

Free Press Journal / FPJ News Service

If I’m a Hindu, it does not mean that I hate a person who’s a non-Hindu or put him behind the bars for their religion or political ideology, said retired justice BN Srikrishna, who headed the Srikrishna Commission to investigate the Bombay Riots of 1992-93.
… The book includes conversations with political prisoners including Sudha Bharadwaj, Nilofer Malik and Sameer Khan, Koel Sen, Prashant Rahi and Shikha Rahi, Sanjay Raut, Kishorechandra Wangkhem, Anand Teltumbde and Rama Ambedkar, Binayak Sen, Kobad Gandhy, Muralidharan K and P Hemlatha.
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Also read:
▪ The Feared – Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners

Author: Neeta Kolhatkar
Publishing Date: Dec 2024
Publisher: S&S India
Pages: 272
Read more /order

▪ Who Is a ‘Political Prisoner’? Rona Wilson Says Caste and Religion Are Key to the Answer (The Wire / Feb 2025)
▪ Journalist pens about the lives of political prisoners in India (Deccan Herald / Dec 2024)
▪ THE BK-16 PRISON DIARIES SERIES (THE POLIS PROJECT / 2024)
▪ Process as Punishment – Recent books that bear witness to the BK-16’s incarceration (The Caravan / Jul 2024)

BJP’s Binary Lens On Nationalism / Politics Of Division: Why Autocrats Foster Binary Thinking

BJP’s Binary Lens On Nationalism / Politics Of Division: Why Autocrats Foster Binary Thinking

Pic: 2018 in Mumbai

BJP’s Binary Lens On Nationalism

24/02/2025

Outlook India / by Shweta Desai

BJP’s ultranationalism is a strategy to make up for its absence during the freedom struggle, but the binary discourse on nationalism is being weaponised to make detractors fall in line
… Six months after Modi’s government took office, the term ‘anti-national’ emerged as a popular slur. Often used by BJP leaders and supporters, the phrase wields a strong rhetorical power in shaping the ‘nationalist’ public discourse. The binary label has since served as a weapon to silence critics, discredit dissent and marginalise opposition, reinforcing a divisive political narrative.
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Politics Of Division: Why Autocrats Foster Binary Thinking

21/02/2025

Outlook India / by Anand Teltumbde

Autocratic and fascist regimes consolidate power by reducing complex socio-political realities into rigid binary oppositions. Instead of addressing systemic economic inequalities, they redirect public anger toward scapegoats – immigrants, minorities and dissenting voices.
… A deadly consequence of this binary-driven autocratic politics is the erosion of democratic institutions. The judiciary, independent media and civil society organisations are labelled as enemies of the state if they challenge the ruling regime.
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Also read:
▪ 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 | Anand Teltumbde | June 12, 2024)
▪ Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)
▪ Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents (Jacobinmag / April 2022)

Bombay HC judge recuses himself from hearing Anand Teltumbde’s discharge plea

Bombay HC judge recuses himself from hearing Anand Teltumbde’s discharge plea

Anand Teltumbde Moves Bombay HC Seeking Discharge From Bhima Koregaon Case, Judge Recuses From Hearing

03/01/2025

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Justice Kotwal said he had heard and decided bail pleas of a few other accused in the same case in his capacity as a single judge and was thus recusing himself.
Dalit rights activist Anand Teltumbde has moved Bombay High Court seeking closure of the case against him pertaining to the Bhima Koregaon violence of 2018.
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Bench recuses itself from hearing Teltumbde’s plea for discharge in Elgar Parishad case

02/01/2025

India Today / by Vidya

The Bombay High Court bench, headed by Justice Sarang Kotwal, recused itself from hearing Anand Teltumbde’s plea as the judge had previously decided on some bail applications related to the matter.
A bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday recused itself from hearing an appeal filed by Professor Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad case in Pune. Teltumbde had approached the high court challenging the rejection of his discharge plea.
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Bombay HC judge recuses himself from hearing Anand Teltumbde’s discharge plea

02/01/2025

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Justice Sarang Kotwal declined to hear the matter, saying that he had earlier heard and decided on bail applications of accused persons in the case.
A Bombay High Court judge on Thursday recused himself from hearing an appeal by activist and writer Anand Teltumbde demanding that he be discharged from the Bhima Koregaon case, Live Law reported.
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Bombay HC Judge Recuses From Hearing Prof Anand Teltumbde’s Appeal Against Order Rejecting Discharge Plea

02/01/2025

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

Bombay High Court judge Justice Sarang Kotwal on Thursday (January 2) recused from hearing an appeal filed by Professor Anand Teltumbde, one of the accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
The judge also asked the Registry to ensure that any of the matters related to the Bhima-Koregaon case, should not be listed before him.
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Also read:
▪ Indian court again refuses to hear Stan Swamy case (UCA News / Sep 2024)
▪ When Push Comes to Shove: Tracking Judicial Recusals and Transfers (The Wire / Apr 2023)

Journalist pens about the lives of political prisoners in India

Journalist pens about the lives of political prisoners in India

Deccan Herald / by Mrityunjay Bose

During the course of extensive research, Kolhatkar spoke to political prisoners and their family members.
Journalist and political analyst Neeta Kolhatkar has written about the life and struggles of the political prisoners in India. The prisoners include Dr Binayak Sen, paediatrician, public health specialist and social activist, and Prof Anand Teltumbde, eminent scholar, Dalit activist and management teacher.
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The Feared
Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners
simonandschuster.co.in / by Neeta Kolhatkar
During long discussions, sometimes taking place over multiple meetings, Kolhatkar unearths personal anecdotes from the time her interviewees were incarcerated, bringing into focus the human face of prison inmates, while also detailing the wretched conditions relating to space, hygiene, medical attention, and food that they experienced. Apart from being an urgent call to action for prison reforms, The Feared is thus also an account of hope and strength, narrating unique stories of survival and solidarity, and the unexpected bonds and relationships formed in prison.
Author: Neeta Kolhatkar
Publisher: S&S India (December 20, 2024)
Length: 272 pages
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Also read:
▪ THE BK-16 PRISON DIARIES SERIES (THE POLIS PROJECT / 2024)
▪ Process as Punishment – Recent books that bear witness to the BK-16’s incarceration (The Caravan / Jul 2024)
▪ From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada (Juggernaut │ Sudha Bharadwaj │ Oct 2023)

5 Indian Academicians Politicising The Field Of Research In Humanities And Social Sciences

5 Indian Academicians Politicising The Field Of Research In Humanities And Social Sciences

Feminism India / by Anchal Soni

Here is a list of 5 academicians who have transformed higher education into an inclusive model of academia through theory and research.
Academic freedom has become a contested term in contemporary Higher Education in India. While the spaces of universities have always been political, the current trend is best described as Saffronisation. Political interference in the recruitment process of faculty has become a persistent problem hindering the scope of research. A curb on critical voices seems in place to evoke a culture of self-censorship.
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Also read:
▪ India: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on the deterioration of civic space (CIVICUS / Jul 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)

Iconoclast: Path breaking biography of BR Ambedkar projects his human essence

Iconoclast: Path breaking biography of BR Ambedkar projects his human essence

Sabrangindia / by Harsh Thakor 

In this review, the writer examines how Dr Anand Teltumbde, the distinguished academic and human rights defender eradicates the hyperbole that turns Ambedkar into a demi-god.
In Iconoclast, Dr Anand Teltumbde, a distinguished authority on the Dalit movement, presents an illustrative biography of Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Without doubt, a path breaking work. The author brilliantly traces his crystallisation into one of the icons of the last century or dissects events that shaped Bhima Rao’s evolution to Babasahaeb into making Dalits recognize Ambedkar as their leader.
… Teltumbde concludes that had he lived today, Bhimrao Ambedkar would undoubtedly been a serious threat to this regime and would likely have found himself imprisoned under draconian laws like UAPA, possibly even as the co-accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
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▪ Iconoclast. A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar
by Anand Teltumbde

Publisher: ‎Penguin Viking
Language: ‎English
Hardcover: 700 pages
Read more/order

Also read:
▪ Scholar says Dr Ambedkar was great but we need to question him, not worship him (Countercurrents / Nov 2024)
▪ Anand Teltumbde – “Ambedkar challenged Gandhi’s Mahatmahood” (Hindustan Times / Oct 2024)

Scholar says Dr Ambedkar was great but we need to question him, not worship him

Scholar says Dr Ambedkar was great but we need to question him, not worship him

Scholar says Dr Ambedkar was great but we need to question him, not worship him

01/11/2024

Countercurrents.org / by Vidyadhar Date

This was an unusual book launch in Mumbai on October 30 where the author, a prominent human rights activist, management professor, faces restrictions on his movements because of a court order. And the audience included some of the best minds including well known poet Vara Vara Rao, who are either on bail in the Bhima Koregaon case or their movements are restricted too. The author is Anand Teltumbde and the book is “Iconoclast – a reflective biography of Babasaheb Ambedkar”.
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Anand Teltumbde’s new book unravels the man behind the Babasaheb Ambedkar

31/10/2024

Hindustan Times / by Sabah Virani

Teltumbde recalled his initial hesitation when approached by Penguin in August 2018 to write Ambedkar’s biography, sharing his thoughts at the book’s launch on Wednesday evening at the Mumbai Press Club. The event, held a month after the book’s release, was delayed not by choice but by bail restrictions confining Teltumbde to Mumbai and Goa
An iconoclast, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is someone who destroys religious images or challenges their veneration. It’s also the fitting title of the latest biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, written by Anand Teltumbde—a professor, activist, and undertrial. His book seeks to unravel the complexities of Ambedkar, a towering figure in Indian history.
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Anand Teltumbde – “Ambedkar challenged Gandhi’s Mahatmahood”

25/10/2024

Hindustan Times / by Chittajit Mitra

The author of ‘Iconoclast: A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’ on why BR Ambedkar stands out, common misconceptions about him, and the lessons that young Dalits must take from his life and teachings
…
Post Elgar Parishad which even led to your incarceration, what challenges do you observe for activists and the Dalit community at large to mobilise and make specific demands to attain better standards of living?
Anand Teltumbde: It is not just the Dalit community; mobilizing people for any cause has become nearly impossible, except for religious gatherings that serve as proxies for regime support or superficial political sloganeering that merely legitimizes the claim that democracy is still intact.
Read full interview

Also read:

▪ Iconoclast. A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar
by Anand Teltumbde

Publisher: ‎Penguin Viking
Language: ‎English
Hardcover: 700 pages
Read more/order

Video: UnPanel – Future of Dissent | Dr. Anand Teltumbde @ #PrivacySupreme

Video: UnPanel – Future of Dissent | Dr. Anand Teltumbde @ #PrivacySupreme

The Wire / by The Wire

In this UnPanel session, Dr. Anand Teltumbde joined us remotely for Future of Dissent to answer the question of what does it mean to dissent in digital India? We explore how core democratic virtues like protests, dissent, and rights advocacy have become prone to targeted surveillance and privacy intrusions by the State. Read more about Privacy Supreme 2024 here.


en | 23:21min | 2024
Watch video

Also read:
▪ How the State uses ‘national security’ to spellbind the process of justice (The Leaflet / Jul 2024)
▪ A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism (The Wire 7 Jul 2024)
▪ AI Report: India’s exploitation of terrorism financing assessments to target the civil society (Amnesty.org / Sep 2023)
▪ Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)

Freedom Of Fantasy | Chinki Sinha In Conversation With Anand Teltumbde

Freedom Of Fantasy | Chinki Sinha In Conversation With Anand Teltumbde

Poster by Siddesh Gautam / #bakeryprasad

Outlook / by Outlook Web Desk

Anand Teltumbde’s room has a single bed, a large window and a bookshelf. This is where he lives and writes. The old building is inside the premises of the famous Rajgruha, a memorial and a museum dedicated to B. R. Ambedkar at Hindu colony of Dadar in Mumbai. Teltumbde, who was arrested in the Bhima-Koregaon violence that happened on January 1, 2018, was released jn November 2022. In an interview with Outlook, he talks about freedom of fantasy and class and caste in India.

en | 01:09:37 | 2024
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The Freedoms Our Martyrs Won Are Under Seige

15/08/2024

Outlook / by Anand Teltumbde

This Independence Day, we are in an age in which we need assurances from our leader that the Constitution will survive
Seventy-seven years ago, our martyrs won freedom from British colonial rule. Three years later, we gave ourselves a Constitution that guaranteed a plethora of freedoms, inspired not by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) but the indigenous ethos of our own freedom movement. Today, having traversed into the Amrit Kaal, these guarantees appear to have expired, needing a new guarantee from our supreme ruler that the Constitution itself will survive. If the likes of Bhagat Singh were to see the state of India’s freedom today, they would certainly ask themselves what was wrong with the British rule that they went to the gallows fighting them.
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