Mr. Teltumbde says B.R. Ambedkar is being used by political parties to get Dalit votes
Today’s India is more casteist than ever before, scholar and civil rights activist Anand Teltumbde said on the eve of Ambedkar Jayanti. Grandson-in-law of the architect of the Constitution, the 73-year-old said B.R. Ambedkar is being used by political parties to get Dalit votes. Read more
Instead of addressing the pathetic condition of Dalits, many Ambedkarites are busy promoting a devotional cult of Babasaheb, hollowing out his radical content and helping the ruling classes exploit his legacy.
In view of the controversy my article in The Wire of January 2, 2018 created – which I did not have an occasion to respond to with an explanation due to my entrapment in the case that paradoxically pivoted on the allegation that I was the main organiser of the Elgar Parishad – this note is intended to explain the factual background and motive for my writing the article. Read more
Debashish Roy Chowdhury and John Keane’s ‘To Kill a Democracy’ deals with the question how democracies get killed and dismisses the commonplace perspective of the “breakdowns”.
“Democracy in India is only a top-dressing on an Indian soil, which is essentially undemocratic…” ∼ B.R. Ambedkar
The title of Debashish Roy Chowdhury and John Keane’s book, To Kill a Democracy: India’s Passage to Despotism, implies that India was a democracy which has been killed and transformed into despotism under Narendra Modi. Not quite; it rather argues that the current state of degeneration, though representing a kink in the slow-paced rhetorical liberalism of plutarchy, is not entirely brought about by the Hindutva dispensation. Read more
The ugly face of justice: Anand Teltumbde reviews Abdul Wahid Shaikh’s ‘Innocent Prisoners’
The book exposes a sinister modus operandi of the police of charging innocent Muslims for terror acts, which is structurally made easier in India. “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”
– Milan Kundera, ‘The Book of Laughter and Forgetting’.
What if the state that is supposed to have been created by the people, the real sovereign as the constitution proclaims, turns into a monster that devours them? What if the police, vested with the responsibility of protecting people with law and order, turns into an organised gang of criminals supported by the state, conspire against innocent people, arrest them, torture them, and kill them with impunity? Read more
Why the Bombay High Court granted regular bail to Dr. Anand Teltumbde: An explainer
The high court noted that the prosecution fails to show that the accused has been involved or has indulged in a terrorist act.
On November 18, a division bench of Bombay High Court, comprising Justices A.S. Gadkari and Milind N. Jadhav, granted bail to Dr. Anand Teltumbde, the 73-year-old Dalit scholar, academic and activist charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (‘UAPA’) for allegedly being a senior member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) (‘CPI (Maoist)’). Read more
Dalit women must fight for rights: Ambedkar’s granddaughter
07/12/2022
Deccan Herald / by DHNS
Referring to the Bhima Koregaon case, she said Dalits are steadily adopting a “silent stance,” despite being attacked regularly across the country
B R Ambedkar’s granddaughter Ramabai Anand Teltumbde on Tuesday appealed to women to ‘unite and fight’ for scholarships and employment opportunities, indirectly hitting out at the Modi administration. Read more
Thousands gather at Chaityabhumi to pay homage to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
07/12/2022
The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal
People of all ages, young and old, calling themselves ‘Ambedkar,’ gathered at Chaityabhumi, the cremation ground of the Father of the Indian Constitution.
Thousands of men, women and children from across Maharashtra came to Mumbai on Tuesday to pay homage to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on his 66th death anniversary. Read more
What does bail for Teltumbde after 2.5 years say about the judiciary and democracy in India?
Hello and welcome to All Indians Matter. I am Ashraf Engineer.
Anand Teltumbde, one of the 16 accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case, finally walked out of prison on November 26 after his bail was upheld by the Supreme Court. Many experts opined that him having to wait two and a half years for bail was an abject failure of the judiciary. Speaking after his release, the scholar-activist said: “I am obviously happy to be released after 31 months for which I have been in prison. The sad part, however, is that we had to spend time in jail for years after being booked in a fake case…” The 73-year-old anti-caste writer had been in prison since 2020 under the Draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA. Podcast / Episode transcript en | 12:43min | 2022 Listen to podcast / Read transcript
Bhima Koregaon Accused (BK16) | 1 Dead, 1 on House Arrest, 3 on Bail: What of the Rest?
The remaining 11 continue to languish in jail — Who are they and what is the status of the case against them?
Anti-caste writer Anand Teltumbde, who walked out of jail on Saturday, 26 November, after he was granted bail on merits in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case said:
“I am definitely happy. It has been 30 months that I have been in prison. The sad part, however, is that we had to spend time in jail after being booked in a fake case.”
In the same case, two others, poet Varavara Rao and lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj – were granted bail earlier due to different reasons, while academic Gautam Navlakha was allowed house arrest on health grounds by a 19 November Supreme Court order. Read more
Will the bail granted to Anand Teltumbde help others in the Bhima Koregaon case to get out of jail?
28/11/2022
Scroll.in / by Umang Poddar
This is the first bail in the case granted on merits. But experts say that the case of each Bhima Koregaon accused will have to be considered individually.
On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld Bombay High Court’s November 18 order granting bail to Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Teltumbde is the first person accused in the matter to be granted bail on the merits of the case. Previously, others in the case have got bail only on medical grounds or due to procedural lapses by the investigating agency. Read more
Supreme Court’s Widely- Praised Bail for Anand Teltumbde should be Followed by Wider Justice in Elgar Case
28/11/2022
Countercurrents.org / by Bharat Dogra
Supreme Court’s firmness in upholding the Bombay High Court’s order granting bail to Anand Teltumbde has been widely appreciated. However, we must also listen to what this 73 year old distinguished scholar activist, coming out after spending 31 months in prison, had to stay regarding the case in which several other distinguished activists have also been implicated: “the sad thing is that this is the fakest case and it put us behind us behind bar for years.”
The reference here was of course to the notorious Elgar Parishad case which has been attracting strong criticism from several human rights and democracy activists during the last few years. Read more
Anand Teltumbde walks out of jail:‘Unfortunate how the case was put on us’
26/11/2022
The Indian Express / by Express Web Desk
Elgaar Parishad accused Anand Teltumbde told reporters, “”I am happy to be released after 31 months, but it is so unfortunate the way the case was put on us.”
A day after the Supreme Court dismissed the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) plea challenging his bail, Elgaar Parishad accused Anand Teltumbde was Saturday released from Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai. Read more
by Tribal Army / @TribalArmy (Nov 26, 2022):
Prominent Dalit scholar and rights defender #AnandTeltumbde released from Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai today after spending 957 days in jail under draconian UAPA. Welcome @AnandTeltumbde !!
by Meera Sanghamitra / @meeracomposes (Nov 26, 2022):
From the day of arbitrary arrest (14th April) to the release on bail (26th Nov), Anand Teltumbde’s jail journey is indeed a historic one, challenging a State that violates the Constitution everyday! Zindabad to Rama tai, Prachi & everyone in the release campaign. #ScrapUAPA
by LeftWord Books (Nov 26, 2022):
All of us at LeftWord Books and May Day Bookstore are overjoyed that our author Anand Teltumbde is out on bail.
Fitting that it should happen on Constitution Day!
CPI(M) Puducherry (Nov 26, 2022):
We welcome granting of bail to Anand Teltumbde may more continue to be in jail under charges release all political prisoners.
…
by Siddhesh Gautam / @siddheshgautam (Nov 25, 2022):
Dr Anand, 2022
The Supreme Court Friday dismissed a petition filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) challenging the Bombay High Court’s order granting bail to scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde in the Elgar Parishad case.
#AnandTeltumbde
#bakeryprasad
Poster by Siddesh Gautam / #bakeryprasad
by Apeksha Priyadarshini (Nov 25, 2022):
Revolutionary Salutes to Dr. Anand Teltumbde! Supreme Court upholds the bail granted to Dr. #AnandTeltumbde by the Bombay High Court, dismissing the appeal filed by NIA against it. #FreeBK16 #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #RepealUAPA #baso
by AILAJ_HQ (Nov 25, 2022):
The order of the SC dismissing NIA’s appeal against grant of bail to Anand Teltumbde in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case is a step in the right direction.
All prisoners languishing behind bars for political dissent must be equally treated!
by Indian American Muslim Council (Nov 25, 2022):
Supreme Court of India confirms bail for scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde. We hope courts also free other prisoners of conscience who have been languishing in jails for years under trumped-up charges. #FreeAllPrisonersOfConscience
