Browsed by
Tag: Elgar Parishad

New democracy through Brecht’s lens

New democracy through Brecht’s lens

Sudhir Dhawale

Midday.com / by Ajaz Ashraf

The BJP, which strives to trip governments in Opp-ruled states, seems to be heeding playwright’s notion of dissolving the people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration of the new Parliament building reminded me of playwright Bertolt Brecht and his poem The Solution. 
… At the Elgar Parishad, organised in Pune on December 31, 2017, activist Sudhir Dhawale began his speech thus: “What sort of a city is this? What sort of people/are you?/When injustice is done there should be a revolt in this city/And if there is no revolt, it were better that the/city should perish in fire before night falls.” The Pune Police claimed this verse proved Dhawale instigated the January 1, 2018 violence at Bhima Koregaon. He has been locked up for the last five years.
Read more

Also read:
● And a place Sudhir Dhawale calls home (Midday.com / Aug 2022)
● India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression (Jacobin / April 2021)
● Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi asserts basis of FIR is a translation of German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s poem! (The Leaflet / Sep 2018)

India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression

India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression

Jacobinmag / by RB Moore

The Indian state under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meting out vicious repression against dissenters to his right-wing Hindu nationalist vision. Yet that constant need to crack down on protests also reveals something: his far-right project is undeniably brittle.
… An event called the Elgar Parishad, organized on December 31, 2017 in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, was an attempt to bring together the opposition movements that had emerged during Modi’s first term. Convened by two retired judges with a history of anti-caste and anti-Hindutva activism, the event drew participation from roughly 250 anti-caste, progressive, and left organizations and featured fiery speeches, musical performances, and cultural programs.
The event was set for the day before an anti-caste commemoration in the nearby town of Bhima Koregaon, which celebrated the military defeat of the notorious casteist Peshwa rulers on January 1, 1818 at the hands of the British.
Read more

Elgar organisers back Usmani; BJP demands action against them / 3 SC Lawyers Cleared My Speech: Usmani on FIRs

Elgar organisers back Usmani; BJP demands action against them / 3 SC Lawyers Cleared My Speech: Usmani on FIRs

Elgar organisers back Usmani; BJP demands action against them

08/02/2021

Hindustan Times / by Shalaka Shinde

Elgar organisers on Sunday issued a statement showing vehement support to Usmani (23), an activist and a student of Aligarh Muslim University in light of two cases registered against him – one in Pune and one in Lucknow.
Read more

We stand with Sharjeel, say Elgaar Parishad organisers

07/02/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

“Sangh Pariwar again provoked their castiest and communal hatred by targeting Sharjeel. The incident went on to charge Sharjeel for provoking religious sentiments and sedition. We as organizers of the Elgar Parishad are standing firmly with Sharjeel Usmani,” it stated.
Read more

‘3 SC Lawyers Cleared My Speech’: Usmani on FIRs, Sedition Case

06/02/2021

The Quint / by Aishwarya S Iyer

I showed the transcript of my speech to three lawyers… three Supreme Court lawyers. All three of them said that not one word in the entire speech can be commissioned as an offence in any Indian court.”
Despite being cautious of the speech he was going to give at an Elgar Parishad event organised at Pune’s Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on January 30, 23-year-old Sharjeel Usmani has been booked for sedition, other than already being booked under charges of promoting enmity on grounds of religion, due to his ‘provocative’ statements from 30 January.
Read more

Now, Bhujbal miffed at Usmani’s ‘anti-Hindu’ remarks

05/02/2021

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

Ambedkarite outfit backs student leader.
Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Thursday expressed anger over the alleged ‘anti-Hindu’ remarks of Aligarh Muslim University student leader Sharjeel Usmani in a speech at the second edition of the Elgaar Parishad on January 30 in Pune.
Read more

Sedition Charges filed against Sharjeel Usmani in Lucknow

04/02/2021

The Leaflet / by Rhea Binoy

Days after an FIR was filed against former Aligarh Muslim University student Sharjeel Usmani in Pune, for ‘promoting enmity between different groups’, another FIR has been filed against Usmani in Lucknow, this time with charges of sedition included.
An FIR under few charges, including sedition, has been registered against former Aligarh Muslim University student, Sharjeel Usmani in Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station, in connection to his speech at the Elgar Parishad in Pune.
Read more

What is Elgar Parishad 2021?

04/02/2021

Jagranjosh / by Arfa Javaid

On 30 January 2021, Elgar Parishad event was organised by ‘Bhima Koregaon Shourya Din Prerna Abhiyan’ at Ganesh Krida Kala Manch in Pune’s Swargate area. Two FIRs have been lodged against former AMU student Sharjeel Usmani over his objectionable comments at the Elgar Parishad conclave…
Reacting over the FIR, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh stated that Sharjeel Usmani will be arrested from wherever he is.
Read more

We Pointed Out When Sharjeel Usmani Used Word ‘Hindu’ Instead Of ‘Manuwadi’: Organiser Of Elgar Parishad

04/02/2021

BW Busindessworld / by ANI

We pointed out when Sharjeel Usmani used word ‘Hindu’ instead of ‘Manuwadi’: Organiser of Elgar Parishad.
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], February 4 (ANI): After a case was registered against a former Aligarh Muslim University student in Maharashtra for allegedly delivering a controversial speech at a conclave in Pune, one of the organisers of the event, Retd Justice Kolse Patil said that they pointed it out on stage when the Sharjeel Usmani had used the word ‘Hindu’ instead of ‘Manuwadi’.
Read more

FIR against Muslim student leader Sharjeel Usmani over Elgar Parishad speech

04/02/2021

The Siasat Daily / by Sreshta Ladegaam

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said that Usmani will be arrested from wherever he is.
Student activist and alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University, Sharjeel Usmani has been booked for his speech at the Elgar Parishad 2021 held in Pune on January 30. The Pune Police registered an FIR against Usmani under Section 153 (A) of the Indian Penal Code at Swargate Police Station on Tuesday.
Read more

Sharjeel Usmani booked by Pune Police over ‘provocative speech’ at Elgaar Parishad 2

03/02/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Usmani has been booked on charges of ‘promoting enmity between different groups’ following a complaint filed by a leader of the BJP’s youth wing.
Pune City police late on Tuesday registered an offence against Sharjeel Usmani, a student leader of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), for the alleged provocative speech delivered by him at ‘Elgaar Parishad 2021’, which was held in the city on January 30.
Read more

At Elgar Parishad 2021, calls for freedom for the ‘Bhima Koregaon 16’

At Elgar Parishad 2021, calls for freedom for the ‘Bhima Koregaon 16’


Kabir Kala Manch performance

At Elgar Parishad 2021, calls for freedom for the ‘Bhima Koregaon 16’

31/01/2021

Scroll.in / by Aarefa Johari

On Saturday morning, people entering Pune’s Ganesh Kala Krida auditorium were greeted by dozens of police officials at every gate, multiple security checkpoints with metal detectors, repeated bag-checks and body pat-downs, and police sniffer dogs roaming around the compound.
Read more

Arundhati Roy calls for resistance against RSS

31/01/2021

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Roy read out her speech in Hindi titled “Ek Ladai Mohabbat Ki”. She alleged that the RSS is leading the “Bramhanwadi (castiest)” forces and has taken control of the country through Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Author Arundhati Roy on Saturday called for a united fight against “Bramhanical” and “capitalist” forces in the country and that the struggle should be named as “Satya Shodhak Resistance (SSR)” against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Read more

The Truth about the Elgaar Parishad – What was it and who organised it?

The Truth about the Elgaar Parishad – What was it and who organised it?

CJP / by CJP-Team

On December 31, 2017 a fiercely passionate gathering of activists, former judges and political leaders proclaimed their commitment to fight the repressive economic, social and cultural policies of the Modi regime. This was the Elgar Parishad that preceded the gathering at Bhima Koregain on January 1, 2018 where Dalit families were attacked and assaulted by the ‘Sangh’ brigade.
Read more

CPDR Condemns Police Raids on the Houses of Organisers of Elgar Parishad at Pune

CPDR Condemns Police Raids on the Houses of Organisers of Elgar Parishad at Pune

Statement by Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR)

While Dalits have been still struggling to get the culprits who engineered attack on the peaceful congregation of Dalits on 1 January 2018, the Maharashtra Police under the instruction of the BJP Government has taken a shameful step to raid the houses of the activists who organized the peaceful Elgar Conference at Shaniwarwada, Pune on 31 December 2018 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaonof 1818. As a matter of fact, the convenors of the Conference were Justice P B Sawant and Justice B G Kolse Patil, the respected names in the state of Maharashtra. And more than 250 Ambedkarite and progressive organizations were its organizers. In this context to target a few select activists is utterly condemnable.
Read more