Browsed by
Tag: BK16

Law and the Subversion of Justice in India

Law and the Subversion of Justice in India

Institute of Postcolonial Studies / by Yug Mohit Chaudhry

While purporting to investigate the Hindutva-fuelled riots of 1st January 2018 following the Elgaar Parishad commemoration of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, an iconic event in Dalit historiography, the state has imprisoned some highly respected intellectuals, scholars and social activists…
Many of these sixteen are role models and heroes of our times: they have sacrificed themselves for the weak and the poor, deepened democracy, and given dignity and meaning to those surviving on the margins of existence ignored by successive governments. If at all they erred, it was in excess of love for those they served.
Read more

2 years, 3 charge sheets & 16 arrests — Why Bhima Koregaon accused are still in jail

2 years, 3 charge sheets & 16 arrests — Why Bhima Koregaon accused are still in jail

The Print / by Apoorva Mandhani

Since 2018, stringent UAPA rules, SC’s Zahoor Watali order, NIA takeover and allegedly ‘inadmissible’ evidence has made sure that all accused remain in custody.
On 31 December 2017, a group of activists, political leaders and even retired judges came together at Shaniwar Wada in Pune.
Called the Elgar Parishad (Congress for Speaking Aloud), the organisers of this event included former Supreme Court judge, Justice P.B. Sawant, and former Bombay High Court judge, Justice B.G. Kolse-Patil. The event saw songs, street plays and speeches on various issues, including Dalit rights and criticism of the Narendra Modi government. 
Read more

Arrests in Bhima Koregaon case frame a transformation in India’s polity and police force

Arrests in Bhima Koregaon case frame a transformation in India’s polity and police force


Watch music video: Wake Up Call

The Indian Express / by Christophe Jaffrelot

The current usage of the expression “urban Naxal” owes much to Bollywood film director Vivek Agnihotri, who defines an “urban Naxal as an intellectual, influencer or activist who is an invisible enemy of India”. The idea of such a conspiracy was propagated, however, by the Sangh Parivar.
In October, Stan Swamy, an 83-year old Jesuit priest, was sent to judicial custody in the Bhima Koregaon case. His is the latest arrest in a case that illustrates a significant transformation in India’s polity and the country’s police force.
Read more

NIA is acting as another ‘caged parrot’ like CB

NIA is acting as another ‘caged parrot’ like CB

National Herald / by Arun Srivastava/IPA

The NIA, constituted by an Act of Parliament, is also being used by the Modi government to serve its political interest.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which in recent times has suffered a severe crisis of credibility and faith in the eyes of the people has suffered yet another shattering blow with the Maharashtra government withdrawing general consent for operations within its territory…
The NIA can take up a case dealing with its scheduled offences in India without the consent of the state government in question.
But unfortunately, the NIA is also being used by the Modi government to serve its political interest. The Bhima Koregaon case is worth mentioning.
Read more

Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest / Webinar report: Stand With Stan

Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest / Webinar report: Stand With Stan

Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest

28/10/2020

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

Representatives of Christian and rights organisations hint at urgent need for the convergence against the current ‘fascist’ forces.
Christian organisations and human right groups have called for Dalits, tribal and minorities to join hands with other concerned citizens and protest attempts by the central government to silence voices of dissent by misusing the anti-terror law UAPA.
Read more

Bhima Koregaon Case: A Critical Appraisal: Our Call – Free them All

27/10/2020

Countercurrents / by Dr Prakash Louis

Background to Bhima Koregaon Event
The 1818 Battle of Koregaon is of importance for Dalits. On 1st January, 1818, 800 troops of the British Army, with large number of Mahars, Dalit Community of Maharashtra predominant among them, defeated a numerically superior force of the Peshwa Baji Rao II …
On 1st January, 2018, like every year, lakhs of Dalits poured into Bhima Koregaon. The commemoration has a record of being conducted peacefully and the village’s residents have a history of social harmony. But this year, tensions had begun to build in a neighbouring village over the question of which community had conducted the last rites of Maratha ruler Sambhaji – the Mahars or the Marathas.
Read more

Webinar report: Stand With Stan

27/10/2020

Countercurrents / by Indian Christians for Democracy

A webinar was organised with major initiative of Indian Christians for Democracy on 25th October, Sunday, 2020 from 11.00 to 1.00 pm …
The objectives of the webinar were 1) Keep pressure on for the release of all falsely accused and arrested; 2) False accusation, detention and arrest becomes a debating point and the government gives up this practice; 3) Nation-wide demand for the repeal of UAPA.
Read more

Asian bishops stand in solidarity with arrested Jesuit [read full statement]

Asian bishops stand in solidarity with arrested Jesuit [read full statement]

UCA News / by John Zaw, Mandalay

The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) has said it stands in solidarity with Indian Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy and all who support the rights of indigenous people.
“It is with great shock and agony the FABC heard of the arrest of the 84-year-old Father Swamy and his incarceration and we are surprised at the charges brought against him,” Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, president of the FABC, said in a statement.
Read more

Asian Bishops Call for Release of Fr. Stan Swamy

26/10/2020

ZENIT / by ZENIT Staff

The Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) has called for the release of Fr. Stan Swamy, who was arrested in his home in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand State in eastern India, on October 8th…

Following is the full letter
It is with great shock and agony, the FABC heard of the arrest of the 83-year-old Fr Stan Swamy and his incarceration. We are surprised at the charges brought against him. We stand in solidarity with Fr. Stan Swamy and all who support the rights of the indigenous people.
Read full statement


AICUF Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam unit and Parish Pastoral council St. Peter’s Cathedral, Arch Diocese of Visakhapatnam has organized a candle light rally @ 19:30hrs on Sunday 25.10.2020 at Gnanapuram for Fr. Stan.

On trail for thoughts – What is stopping the Elgaar Parishad activists from getting bail?

On trail for thoughts – What is stopping the Elgaar Parishad activists from getting bail?

Millenium Post / by Abhinay Lakshman

With three chargesheet now filed against them, what is stopping the Elgaar Parishad activists from getting bail? With evidence of their “provocative” speeches vague and questions being raised on the veracity of other evidence, is this what being tried for one’s thoughts feels like?
Some of the country’s pioneering rights activists, professors, lawyers and human rights advocates have been languishing in jail for years now by precisely this modus operandi – and their trial is yet to even begin.
Read more

PUCL and opposition political parties demand release of Stan Swamy and repeal of UAPA

PUCL and opposition political parties demand release of Stan Swamy and repeal of UAPA


+++ Read report of the virtual press conference organized by the PUCL / Watch the various video statements given during the press conference +++

PUCL and opposition political parties demand release of Father Stan Swamy and repeal of UAPA

22/10/2020

Frontline / by Anupama Katakam

A multi-party press conference organised by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) condemned the arrest of Father Stan Swamy, a tribal rights activist and social worker based in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Swamy is the latest victim of the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) mission to hunt down people reportedly linked to the Bhima Koregaon incident, which the agency says was orchestrated by Maoist groups…
Leaders from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren have demanded Swamy’s release and said a movement to repeal the archaic and dangerous Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), under which activists, intellectuals and lawyers have been arrested, must gain momentum.
Read more

‘Today it was Stan Swamy, tomorrow it will be us’: Opposition leaders call for repeal of UAPA

21/10/2020

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Hemant Soren, MPs Shashi Tharoor, Supriya Sule and Kanimozhi urged the people to speak up against the Centre’s attempts to ‘chip away at the rights of people’.
Opposition leaders on Wednesday expressed solidarity with 83-year-old Jesuit priest and human rights activist Stan Swamy, who has been detained under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence case along with several other activists.
Read more

Opposition leaders condemn arrest of activist Stan Swamy, demand repeal of UAPA

21/10/2020

The New Indian Express / by Express News Service

Leaders from the Congress, Left and DMK slammed the arrest of octogenarian Stan Swamy over alleged links with the Bhima Koregaon case.
NEW DELHI: Leaders from across the political spectrum called for the repeal of UAPA and said there was an urgent need for Opposition parties to unite to fight the ruling party in order to protect the country’s constitutional values.
Read more