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Who Is a ‘Political Prisoner’? Rona Wilson Says Caste and Religion Are Key to the Answer

Who Is a ‘Political Prisoner’? Rona Wilson Says Caste and Religion Are Key to the Answer

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Having spent six and a half years in jail, the Elgar Parishad accused also said that prisons in India are in a ‘state of emergency’.
Rona Wilson has long been an advocate for prisoners’ rights and a staunch proponent of the term “political prisoner”. However, during his prolonged incarceration in the Elgar Parishad case, Rona found himself grappling with a “moral quandary”.
With new firsthand experiences, observations from his six-and-a-half-year stay in two central prisons in Maharashtra – Yerwada in Pune and Taloja in Navi Mumbai – his activism while incarcerated, and research conducted within the confines of prison, 53-year-old Rona now views the term from a different perspective. He now approaches the subject with a deliberate focus on caste and religious dimensions.
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Also read:
▪ Many Prisoners at Taloja Jail Not Produced Before Court For Years, Reveals Survey by Surendra Gadling and Sagar Gorkhe (The Wire / Feb 2025)
▪ Punished without trial: How India’s political prisoners are being denied basic rights in jail (Scroll.in / Aug 2022)

▪ From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada
Author: Sudha Bhardwaj
Publishing Date: Oct 2023
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 216
Read more / order

▪ How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? Voices of Indian Political Prisoners
Authors: Suchitra Vijayan and Francesca Recchia
Publishing Date: Aug 2023
Publisher: Pluto Press
Pages: 247
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After six years in jail, Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale have been released on bail

After six years in jail, Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale have been released on bail

Poster by #bakeryprasad

Peoples Dispatch / by Abdul Rahman

After spending six years in jail without trial, Indian activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawle were finally granted bail.
Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawle, two of the 16 human rights activists arrested in the Bhima Koreagaon case under India’s draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), were released on bail on January 24 after spending nearly six and half years in prison waiting for trial.
… Nevertheless, they were released on stringent bail conditions including regular visits to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters, surrender of their passports, restrictions on travel outside Mumbai and a surety of 100,000 rupees (USD 1,142).
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Also read:
▪ Sudhir Dhawale interview: ‘The law remains blind to injustice even with the blindfold gone’ (Scroll.in / Feb 2025)
▪ Interview | Sudhir Dhawale’s Work Will Go on (The Wire / Feb 2025)
▪ Rona Wilson interview: ‘My arrest was a warning to others who stand against the abuse of power’ (Scroll.in / Feb 2025)
▪ Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale released: Seven years of injustice by a state that punishes dissent [read order] (Sabrangindia / Jan 2025)

Rona Wilson interview: ‘My arrest was a warning to others who stand against the abuse of power’

Rona Wilson interview: ‘My arrest was a warning to others who stand against the abuse of power’

Credits: Scroll.in / Tabassum Barnagarwala

Scroll.in / by Tabassum Barnagarwala

The activist and researcher was released on bail on January 8 after spending more than six years in jail without trial in the Bhima Koregaon case.
At 53, researcher Rona Wilson is trying to pick up the pieces of the life he was forced to leave behind when he was arrested in the contentious Bhima Koregaon case six years and seven months ago.
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Also read:
▪ Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale released: Seven years of injustice by a state that punishes dissent [read order] (Sabrangindia / Jan 2025)
▪ Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years of Jail in Elgar Parishad Case (The Wire / Jan 2025)
▪ Five Years of Incarceration – and the Audacity of Hope (The Wire | Rona Wilson | Jul 2023)

Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale released: Seven years of injustice [read order] / Extraordinary delay in trial

Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale released: Seven years of injustice [read order] / Extraordinary delay in trial

Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale released: Seven years of injustice by a state that punishes dissent [read order]

29/01/2025

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

Their freedom comes after years of judicial neglect and the systemic abuse of laws to silence opposition; highlights the weaponisation of anti-terror laws to crush dissent and derail justice.
After spending nearly seven years in jail, activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale were finally released from Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai on January 24, 2025. Their release came over two weeks after the Bombay High Court granted them bail in the controversial Bhima Koregaon case on January 8. The court noted the activists had been incarcerated since 2018, with no realistic hope of their trial concluding anytime soon—a grim reflection of India’s justice system and its treatment of dissenters.
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Bail for Bhima Koregaon accused highlights extraordinary delay in trial

28/01/2025

Scroll.in / by Vineet Bhalla

The snail’s pace at which the Bhima Koregaon case has proceeded through the criminal justice system is due to delays attributable to the prosecution.
Activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale walked out of prison on Friday after being under incarceration for six and a half years in the Bhima Koregaon case.
The Bombay High Court granted them bail on January 8 on grounds that they had spent a long period in jail without trial or even charges being framed against them.
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Also read:
▪ Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years of Jail in Elgar Parishad Case (The Wire / Jan 2025)
▪ Year after being granted bail, Mahesh Raut remains in jail as stay extended (The Indian Express / Sep 2024)

After 6.5 years in jail: Sudhir Dhawale and Rona Wilson released from Taloja Central Jail

After 6.5 years in jail: Sudhir Dhawale and Rona Wilson released from Taloja Central Jail

Pic shared by @DelhiSourya

Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale released on bail after over 6 years in prison

26/01/2025

The Sunday Gardian / by Correspondent

On January 24, 2025, researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale were released on bail from Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai, more than 6 years after their arrest in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
The duo walked out of the prison around 1:30 pm after completing bail formalities, following a decision by the Bombay High Court.
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Activists Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale released from jail

24/01/2025

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The Bombay High Court granted them bail on January 8, stating that ‘there is no possibility of the trial to conclude in the near future’.
Activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale were released from jail in Navi Mumbai on Friday, more than two weeks after the Bombay High Court granted them bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, PTI reported.
The High Court granted them bail on January 8, stating that the activists had been in jail since 2018 and “there is no possibility of the trial to conclude in the near future”.
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Activists Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson released from Taloja Central Jail

24/01/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Sudhir Dhawale and Rona Wilson were earlier granted bail by the Bombay High Court on grounds of long incarceration without trial.
ctivists Sudhir Dhawale and Rona Wilson, both of whom were arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case in 2018, were released from Taloja Central Jail on Friday afternoon. The two were granted bail by the Bombay High Court on January 8. Their lawyers completed the bail procedures on Thursday before the Mumbai trial court, after which release memos were issued.
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Also read:
▪ Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years of Jail in Elgar Parishad Case (The Wire / Jan 2025)

Bombay HC tells special NIA court to expedite trial, complete framing of charges within 9 months

Bombay HC tells special NIA court to expedite trial, complete framing of charges within 9 months

Why Rona Wilson & Sudhir Dhawale were granted bail after 6 yrs in jail

15/01/2025

The Print / by Khadija Khan

Wilson, a researcher, and Dhawale, an activist, were booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which has strict bail provisions. Bombay HC relied on a 2021 SC ruling.
Trial in the Elgar Parishad or Bhima Koregaon violence case is not likely to end soon, given that the prosecution has named 363 persons as its witnesses. With this crucial observation and noting that charges have not yet been framed in the case filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Bombay High Court last week granted bail to researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale.
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Bombay HC tells special NIA court to expedite trial, complete framing of charges within 9 months

15/01/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The court’s directive came while granting bail to Elgaar Parishad accused activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhavale, citing prolonged incarceration of over six and half years.
The Bombay High Court has asked the special court designated under National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act to expedite the trial in Elgaar Parishad case and said that framing of charges be completed within nine months.
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Also read:
▪ Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years of Jail in Elgar Parishad Case (The Wire / Jan 2025)

Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years in Bhima-Koregaon Elgaar Parishad Case

Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years in Bhima-Koregaon Elgaar Parishad Case

Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years of Jail in Elgar Parishad Case

08/01/2025

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

The NIA claimed before the Bombay HC that it would ‘expedite the trial’ in the case in which charges are yet to be framed.
After over six years and six months of incarceration, the Bombay high court today, January 8, granted bail to two human rights defenders, Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale.
Both Wilson and Dhawale were among the first group of human rights activists to be arrested in the highly contentious Elgar Parishad case over what law enforcement claimed was their alleged Maoist links. Their bail in the high court, granted by a bench of Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata, came after an appeal was filed by their lawyers following rejections by the trial court.
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Bombay High Court Grants Bail To Rona Wilson & Sudhir Dhawale In Bhima-Koregaon Elgar Parishad Case

08/01/2025

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

In a major relief for researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday (January 8) granted them bail in the Bhima-Koregaon Elgar Parishad case.
A division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata considered the fact that the duo have spent more than 6 years in jail as undertrials.
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Bail for activists Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale in Bhima Koregaon case

08/01/2025

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

‘They are in jail since 2018, even the charges in the case are yet to be framed,’ the Bombay High Court observed on Wednesday.
Activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale were on Wednesday granted bail by the Bombay High Court in the Bhima Koregaon case, Live Law reported.
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Bombay High Court grants bail to Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale

08/01/2025

Bar & Bench / by Sahyaja MS

A Bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata granted bail citing prolonged incarceration, the non-framing of charges and the fact that over 300 witnesses would have to be examined.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale, accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.
…
Bail was granted subject to bail bonds of ₹1 lakh and also on the condition that the accused shall report before National Investigation Agency (NIA) every Monday.
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Activists Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale get bail, six accused in Elgaar Parishad case still remain behind bars

08/01/2025

The Indian Express / by Omkar Gokhale

Cites long incarceration, trial unlikely to conclude in near future
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale, both of whom were arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case in 2018, on grounds of long incarceration without trial.
With this, of the 16 arrested in the case—initially by the Pune police in 2018 and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2020—nine are out of jail. While Father Stan Swamy passed away in custody in 2021, six still remain in custody, including Mahesh Raut, who was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in September 2023, but remains behind bars as his bail plea is pending before the Supreme Court.
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Rona Wilson’s bail plea to attend kin’s wedding rejected

Rona Wilson’s bail plea to attend kin’s wedding rejected

Elgar accused’s bail plea to attend kin’s wedding rejected

17/12/2024

Times of India / by Rebecca Samervel

A special NIA court had rejected the interim bail plea of activist and Elgar Parishad accused Rona Wilson, who sought his temporary release next month to attend the wedding of his cousin’s daughter. Observing that the relationship between him and the to-be bride is quite distant, the judge said, “His attendance at the marriage is not at all necessary. Application… hereby stands rejected.”
The order was pronounced on Friday but its detailed copy was made available on Tuesday. Wilson is among the eight accused still in custody in the case.
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NIA court refuses bail to activist Rona Wilson

18/12/2024

Hindustan Times / by Revu Suresh

A special NIA court last week rejected the temporary bail plea filed by activist Rona Wilson, who is lodged at the Taloja central jail in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. Wilson had sought interim bail to attend the wedding ceremony of his niece, from January 6 to January 20, 2025. However, special judge Chakor S Baviskar rejected the plea on December 13, observing that Wilson’s attendance was not at all necessary as the relation was quite distant.
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Also Read:
▪ Meet 10 ‘political prisoners’ of the Narendra Modi regime in jail without trial (Telegraph / Jul 2024)
▪ Bombay HC rejects default bail of five accused in Bhima Koregaon case (Scroll.in / Jul 2024)
▪ Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
▪ Cyber Attackers Who Targeted Rona Wilson Could Have Been Engaged by Same Entity: Report (The Wire / Feb 2022)

Elgar Parishad Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Marks a Momentous Victory for Prison Rights

Elgar Parishad Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Marks a Momentous Victory for Prison Rights

Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project

The Polis Project / by Prashant Rahi

On October 24, the lawyers and activists accused in the Elgar Parishad case were brought to court from Taloja Central Jail for their hearing. This bare minimum satisfaction of their basic legal right to be present for their case had become far from routine. It happened for the first time in nearly two months, after many hearings held in their absence, and despite specific directions from the court for their production. In fact, it took a hunger strike by seven of the accused – the latest of numerous protests by the BK-16 over the denial of bare necessities and basic rights – for the prison administration to concede to their demands. 
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Also read:
▪ BK-16 Prison Diaries (By The Polis Project)
▪ Elgar Parishad case accused seeks contempt action against Navi Mumbai cop (India Today / Oct 25, 2024)
▪ Elgaar Parishad case undertrials on protest path for not being produced in court for successive hearings (The Telegraph / Oct 20, 2024)
▪ Not Produced in Court Despite Directions, Seven Elgar Parishad Accused Go on Hunger Strike (The Wire / Oct 18, 2024)

G.N. Saibaba’s Lifelong Campaign Was Against the Violence of Silencing

G.N. Saibaba’s Lifelong Campaign Was Against the Violence of Silencing

The Wire / by Rona Wilson

Activist Rona Wilson, incarcerated in the Elgar Parishad case that has still not gone into trial, pens a note for a friend.

“I have lived all my conscious life on the campuses of learning and teaching in search of knowledge, love and freedom. In the course of this search, I learnt that freedom for a few was no freedom.”

– G.N. Saibaba, from Why Do You Fear My Way So Much? Poems and Letters from Prison

The untimely death of G.N. Saibaba (fondly known as Sai among his friends and well-wishers) when he was about to start his life afresh after acquittal betrays the brutality and inhumanity that the state had meted out to him during his long incarceration.
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Also read/watch:
▪ G.N. Saibaba’s Life Is Not Just a Chronicle of His Times, but Also What the Times Refused to Chronicle (The Wire / Oct 2024)
▪ Was the trial judge who convicted G.N. Saibaba biased? We will never know, and that is part of the injustice (The Leaflet / March 2024)
▪ Five Years of Incarceration – and the Audacity of Hope (The Wire | Rona Wilson | Jul 2023)

▪ Video: State’s Job is to Serve People, Not Punish Them: G N Saibaba


en | 38:33 | 2024

Newsclick / by Newsclick Team

Former DU professor G.N. Saibaba, who passed away in Hyderabad on Saturday, had recounted his harrowing ordeal during 10 years in jail at a press conference in New Delhi in March this year.
Watch video