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NIA raids residence of Varavara Rao’s nephew N Venugopal / A personal account of an NIA raid

NIA raids residence of Varavara Rao’s nephew N Venugopal / A personal account of an NIA raid

FIRST PERSON: A personal account of an NIA raid

16/02/2024

South First / by N Venugopal

Venugopal is a kin of Varavara Rao, a prominent Indian activist hailing from Telangana, also an accused in the Elgar Parishad case.
It was a morning when eight unknown persons, two of them holding ultra-modern lethal weapons like AK 47 and SLRs, invaded and kept my home hostage for four hours. It was a morning when I had to be a prisoner in my own house for four hours.
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NIA Raids Residences of Veekshanam Editor Venugopal and Civil Liberties Leader Ravi Sarma

08/02/2024

Deccan Chronicle/ by DC Correspondent

The NIA conducts raids linked to Maoist connections, targeting editor Venugopal and civil liberties leader Ravi Sarma, seizing materials and issuing notices for questioning
The National Investigation Agency on Thursday raided the residences of N. Venugopal, Editor of ‘Veekshanam’ magazine and son-in-law of revolutionary poet Varavara Rao, and civil liberties association leader Ravi Sarma here.
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NIA raids residence of Varavara Rao’s nephew and ‘Veekshanam’ editor N Venugopal

08/022024

The New Indian Express / by Express News Service

The raids were reportedly conducted based on information that he is connected with top CPI-Maoist leader Sanjoy Deepak Rao’s case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at the house of Varavara Rao’s nephew and ‘Veekshanam’ editor N Venugopal early Thursday morning in Himayatnagar.
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Prison writing sheds harsh light on our states and societies

Prison writing sheds harsh light on our states and societies

Himalmag.com / Sharmila Purkayastha

‘For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit’, an anthology of prison poems, testifies to the coercive nature of the state and society – yet its under-representation of regional poets speaks of wider exclusions.

My dangerous personality
That you do not understand:
The secret is poetry.

‘Poetry’ by Varavara Rao, 30 December 1987. Translated by N Venugopal

What is it about poetry that states and governments in power find difficult to accept? Varavara Rao, a well-known revolutionary poet and long-time detainee of the Indian government, writes in ‘Poetry’ about the enduring resilience and power of verse to voice people’s concerns in the face of surveillance and propaganda. He expands on the poet’s “dangerous personality”:

You go on about surveillance
Poetry gets ignited and continues to fire.
You go on about governance
Poetry talks about people even in sleep.

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The first of a multi-part interview: ‘The 36 days in jail made Varavara Rao a star’

The first of a multi-part interview: ‘The 36 days in jail made Varavara Rao a star’

VV Rao

Rediff.com / by Neeta Kolhatkar

‘I asked him why were he and other writers being targeted.’
‘I saw his point of view, that he and others being writers, their work was popular and well-appreciated by people, especially the youth.’
‘This made the State fear them.’

P Hemalatha, 74, is more comfortable speaking in Telugu and can converse in simple Hindi.
She met Neeta Kolhatkar outdoors, while we were on a video-call with N Venugopal, her younger brother and the nephew of Telugu poet Professor Varavara Rao, also called as VV.
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Also watch:

● Book Release: Varavara Rao – A Live in Poetry

By VIRASAM
Book Launch || Live Laamakan || 13-07-23 || VIRASAM

en / telugu | 2:16:35 | 2023
Watch video

How Varavara Rao shaped Telangana’s sociopolitics: N Venugopal Rao interview

How Varavara Rao shaped Telangana’s sociopolitics: N Venugopal Rao interview

VV Rao. Pic credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Federal / by Nawaid Anjum

Poet, critic, and translator Venugopal Rao opens up about Varavara Rao, the iconic Telugu poet-activist
Poet, critic, journalist, public speaker, and translator N. Venugopal Rao has an impressive tally of 32 books in both Telugu and English, and an equal number in translation, to his credit. After having worked as a journalist for two decades, he ventured into publishing Veekshanam, a monthly journal focused on political economy and society.
… In an interview to The Federal, Venugopal Rao shares how Varavara Rao has influenced the socio-political landscape of Telangana through his poetry, the literary magazine he edited, his public speeches, his support to various people’s movements and his association with Naxalbari politics.
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Also read:
● Tomorrow there won’t be any classes’: Activist Varavara Rao’s poems get an English translation (Scroll.in / by Varavara Rao, N Venugopal & Rohith / Jul 2023)

‘First Step Towards Acquittal’: Varavara Rao’s Family on Bail by SC / #VaravaraRao

‘First Step Towards Acquittal’: Varavara Rao’s Family on Bail by SC / #VaravaraRao

By @poetdesaraju

Bail the first step, hopes Varavara family

11/08/2022

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

The apex court has ordered Rao to remain in Mumbai and said the regular bail granted to him was not a reflection on the merits of case
Telugu litterateur P. Varavara Rao’s family on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s judgment granting him regular bail on the grounds of advanced age and multiple ailments, hoping this could eventually lead to him being in the care of his family in Hyderabad and possible acquittal.
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‘First Step Towards Acquittal’: Varavara Rao’s Family on Bail by Supreme Court

10/08/2022

The Quint / by Nikhila Henry

On 10 August, the Supreme Court granted bail to Telugu poet and activist Varavara Rao, who has been waiting for a respite on medical grounds for 19 months. His family, however, thinks the 83-year-old’s fight is far from over.
“In today’s mood, I am hopeful that he will come back home,” Rao’s daughter P Pavana told The Quint. “This is only the first step. We are hoping that he will be allowed to come to Hyderabad and be with his family. And finally, we are hoping that he will be acquitted in this case,” N Venugopal, Varavara Rao’s nephew, told The Quint.
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by Samayam Telugu (Aug 10):

VV with family and friends

PEN International (Aug 10):
#India: We are pleased that poet #VaravaraRao has been granted regular bail today. However, he remains subject to onerous bail conditions and with a trial pending. If convicted, he faces a potential death sentence. We continue to call for his immediate and unconditional release.

Video


en | 5:55min | 2022

By Karwan e Mohabbat (Aug 10):

#VaravaraRao granted bail
Varavara Rao is no stranger to being imprisoned, but the poet and activist is also the conscience of our society – an intellectual we must protect from the excesses of a state determined to destroy dissenters.
Watch video

by Cedric Prakash (Aug 10):
Supreme Court Grants Bail To Varavara Rao On Medical Grounds In Bhima Koregaon Case, Deletes HC Condition. Delayed but good news Hopefully all incarcerated in #BhimaKoregaonCase will be given bail & acquitted incl late #FrStanSwamy

by Amnesty India (Aug 10):
We welcome Supreme Court’s decision to grant regular bail to Varavara Rao, arrested in August 2018 & given interim bail last year on medical grounds.
But 13 others continue to be imprisoned without trial in the case.
Authorities must stop the crackdown & free them all.
#FreeBK16

…

Why Suppressing Varavara Rao’s Poetry Furthers His Incarceration

Why Suppressing Varavara Rao’s Poetry Furthers His Incarceration


Campaign poster, Sep 2021

Why Suppressing Varavara Rao’s Poetry Furthers His Incarceration

11/11/2021

The Swaddle / by Rohitha Naraharisetty

Varavara Rao, a Telugu poet and activist who is currently incarcerated under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, is seeing his voice being stifled even outside the prison system.
Varavara Rao has and continues to be, among the most persecuted poets in Indian history. He founded the literary magazine Srujana and was deeply involved with the Revolutionary Writers’ Association. His work revolved around prison violence, labor struggles, and human rights.
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Adverse legal opinion behind delay in releasing Varavara Rao’s book

11/11/2021

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

Last October, Penguin Random House India had announced that an english translation of his Telegu poems would be published under its Vintage imprint in 2021.
The publication of the English translation of a collection of Telugu poems by P. Varavara Rao, the Hyderabad activist facing trial in the Elgar Parishad “terrorism” case, has been delayed because of adverse legal opinion the publisher is said to have received.
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Penguin’s Varavara Rao book in limbo? Co-editors say they have faith in publisher

10/11/2021

The News Minute / by Balakrishna Ganeshan

Is Penguin planning to indefinitely postpone the release of ‘Varavara Rao: The Revolutionary Poet’ – a collection of poems by the revolutionary poet translated into English? The co-editors of the book have said that they have faith that the publisher, Penguin, wouldn’t do this. In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, November 10, journalist and translator N Venugopal, and writer and poet Meena Kandasamy, said that they trust publisher Penguin Randomhouse India, to publish the book, which is a compilation of 65 poems written by Varavara Rao.
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‘Legal Row’: Penguin Censors Poems, Then Stalls Varavara Rao’s Book Indefinitely

09/11/2021

The Quint / by Nikhila Henry

Penguin Random House was expected to publish Varavara Rao’s collection of poems in June or July 2021.
Telugu poet Varavara Rao was 20 years old when he started penning poems. Six decades on, the 81-year-old poet’s lifelong work is now in limbo as Penguin Random House has stalled the publication of a collection of his poems, citing its concerns about the “nature of charges” levelled against him, The Quint has learnt.
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by Meena Kandasamy (Nov 9, 2021)

Click to enlarge

Penguin stalls Varavara Rao book over ‘nature of charges’ against him: Quint

09/11/2021

Newslaundry / by NL Team

The publication of Telugu poet Varavara Rao’s collection of poems has been put on hold by Penguin Random House, with the publisher citing its concerns about the “nature of charges” levelled against him, according to a report in the Quint.
The 81-year-old poet, who was arrested along with other activists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in November 2018 for his alleged role in the Bhima Koregaon violence, is out on medical grounds and stationed in Mumbai.
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ONLINE EVENT: DAY OF THE IMPRISONED WRITER:
VARAVARA RAO AND İLHAN SAMI ÇOMAK (NOV 15)

The Freedom to Write Committee of Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann is honoured to celebrate the life and work of the renowned poets, Varavara Rao (India) and İlhan Sami Çomak (Turkey), on the occasion of the International Day of the Imprisoned Writer.
Read more / register

VV Rao Released Finally / Free At Last: Poet Varavara Rao Released After Last Month’s Bail

VV Rao Released Finally / Free At Last: Poet Varavara Rao Released After Last Month’s Bail


VV Rao walks out of Hospital on Saturday night. Pic: Indira Jaising

Varavara Rao Released Finally

07/03/2021

By N Venugopal @ fb

Two weeks after getting bail, after going through various hassles in bail sureties, at last VV was released around midnight on Saturday from Nanavati Hospital. The final release orders reached Taloja jail around 4 pm and the jail authorities reached the hospital around 11 pm to release him.
The release comes with a number of conditions that he should not leave the jurisdiction of NIA Special Court and reside there, that he should furnish the details and contact numbers of family members staying with him, that he should attend the court trial regularly, that he should be in touch with local police station on video conferencing every fortnight, that he should not talk to media and social media about the cases against him, that he should not repeat the activities mentioned in the FIR, that he should not meet his co-accused, that he should not tamper with evidence and influence witnesses, that visitors other than near family should not gather at his residence, that this bail is for only six months and he should surrender himself to jail authorities after that, that he should surrender his passport to NIA within a week, that the violation of any of these conditions will lead to cancellation of the bail.

“Free At Last”: Poet Varavara Rao, 81, Released After Last Month’s Bail

07/03/2021

NDTV / by Divyanshu Dutta Roy

Varavara Rao, the 81-year-old poet-activist who has been in jail for over two years in the Koregaon-Bhima case, walked out of the Mumbai’s Nanavati Hospital late Saturday after being granted bail for six months by the Bombay High Court on medical grounds last month.
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Free at last on medical bail; Telugu poet Varavara Rao is released from judicial custody

07/03/2021

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

A week after he was granted medical bail by the Bombay High Court, Dr. PV Varavara Rao was set free from judicial custody late last night.
Rao, 82, was undergoing treatment at Nanavati hospital, Mumbai.
Rao is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, facing charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act’ (UAPA).
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‘Free at last’: Activist Varavara Rao discharged from hospital, released on interim bail

07/03/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The Bombay High Court had on February 22 granted the 81-year-old activist bail on medical grounds for a period of six months.
Poet and activist Varavara Rao, who is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, was on Saturday released from a hospital, reported NDTV. The Bombay High Court had on February 22 granted the 81-year-old activist bail on medical grounds for a period of six months.
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The Making of Varavara Rao: Parts Two & Three

The Making of Varavara Rao: Parts Two & Three


Pic: Rao with K Balagopal, Gaddar, and Vangapandu / ICF

Indian Cultural Forum / by N Venugopal Rao

I wouldn’t have been who I am without Varavara Rao, and it is true for the generation I come from and the one that followed. Today’s Telangana wouldn’t have been what it is without him. I have written and spoken about him and his poetry in the past, but now he is on the deathbed, in a faraway hospital, being subjected to retributive torture by the powers that be. Now, with a never-before urgency, I want to speak and write about him, through an interminable torrent of words.
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The Making of Varavara Rao: Part One

The Making of Varavara Rao: Part One

Newsclick / by N Venugopal Rao

Varavara Rao’s life as a man of letters started at a very early age.
Varavara Rao is someone I have known ever since I opened my eyes to the world around me. In the 80 years of his life, he has lived around 21 years more than me. I came to know of his life in the years I missed through our conversations, family-legends, his writings and speeches. Initially, he was only an uncle who played with me; my mother’s youngest brother and just that. However, over the 50 years from then, I grew up in the kaleidoscopic shadow of his thoughts-praxis — conversations, writings, speeches, rebuttals, inspiration, rage, consolation and reconciliation.
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