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Tributes to Stan Swamy / Video: Why Democracy and Human Rights matter?

Tributes to Stan Swamy / Video: Why Democracy and Human Rights matter?

Alluri Sitarama Raju and Stan Swamy: Two Adivasi rights defenders – one praised, one persecuted

04/07/2022

Scroll.in / by Cedric Prakash

Prime Minister Modi unveiled a statue of Alluri in Andhra Pradesh one day before the first death anniversary of the Jesuit priest, who passed away in custody.
On a recent domestic flight, the head of the cabin crew made an announcement from the airlines informing passengers that July 4 was the birth anniversary of
Alluri Seethrama Raju.
“He led the ‘Rampa Rebellion’, the protest of tribal people against the British Raj,” the announcement said.
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Fr. Stan Swamy: his legacy lives forever!

03/07/2022

Countercurrents.org / by Cedric Prakash

A year ago, on 5 July 2021, when Father Stan Swamy left us, the world mourned the death of a great human being who epitomised compassion, courage, collaboration and commitment! ‘Stan’, as he was lovingly called by those close to him, died whilst he was still incarcerated. From the time he was illegally arrested on 8 October 2020, he languished in the Taloja jail; his deteriorating health conditions prompted the Special Court to direct the jail authorities to admit him to a private hospital in Bombay where he finally succumbed, despite the best possible medical treatment given to him at that time! It was indeed too little too late. For one, Stan should never have been arrested;
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‘Sad situation for human rights in India… Father Stan Swamy’s resolve inspires us’

04/07/2022

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

Father Frazer Mascarenhas, the former principal of St Xavier’s College in Mumbai and the Parish Priest of St Peter’s Church, in whose care Swamy was in his last days, in conversation with Sadaf Modak.
On July 5, it will be a year since the death of 84-year-old priest and Jharkhand-based activist Stan Swamy while in judicial custody. Swamy was arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in October 2020 and a chargesheet filed against him for his alleged links with banned CPI (Maoist). Swamy had denied the charges.
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Video: Why Democracy and Human Rights matter? – Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture

03/07/2022

hindi | 2h 48min | 2022

By PUCL Jharkhand

People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Jharkhand organized the Inaugural Lecture of ‘Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture’ series on 1st of July 2022. Prof. Faizan Mustafa, the Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad delivered the lecture.
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Essential to have defenders of rights in country

03/07/2022

Ranchi, July 1

The Telegraph / by Animesh Biosee

Activists pay tribute to Father Stan Swamy and criticise State’s tendency to crack down on dissent
India needs more human rights defenders, constitutional law expert Faizan Mustafa said in Ranchi on Friday as he paid tribute to the late Father Stan Swamy and criticised the State’s tendency to crack down on rights activists.
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XISS lecture to honour Stan Swamy

02/07/2022

Times of India / by Jaideep Deogharia

Ranchi: Vice-chancellor of National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad, Faizan Mustafa while addressing the first Stan Swamy memorial lecture here at XISS auditorium on Friday said that the activist believed in true spirit of human rights. “Swamy came from a different state to fight for the oppressed and people of a different state,” he said.
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Also read:
● Various Upcoming Events Commemorating Father Stan’s Death in Custody

Is India Really a Democracy? The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing in the Wind: Nayantara Sahgal

Is India Really a Democracy? The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing in the Wind: Nayantara Sahgal

The Wire / by Nayantara Sahgal

The author’s lament about the attacks on individual rights and freedoms in present-day India.
… Recently I heard that the government wants a strong opposition. But when members of the opposition such as the Elgar Parishad prisoners, to name one case, are in jail for criticising some official measure or not falling in line with the ruling ideology, is this the way that a democracy treats dissent?
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‘Unjust’ jail and death can’t eclipse Stan Swamy’s work / What is the Martin Ennals Award?

‘Unjust’ jail and death can’t eclipse Stan Swamy’s work / What is the Martin Ennals Award?

‘Unjust’ jail and death can’t eclipse Stan Swamy’s work

04/06/2022

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

Jesuit priest has been honoured by Martin Ennals Foundation in Geneva for showing exceptional commitment to defending and promoting human rights.
Stan Swamy, the human rights defender and Jesuit priest who died in judicial custody in Mumbai at the age of 84, has been posthumously honoured by the Martin Ennals Foundation in Geneva.
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What is the Martin Ennals Award, the ‘human rights Nobel’, which honoured Father Stan Swamy?

04/06/2022

The Indian Express / by Dipanita Nath

In a special move this year, the Martin Ennals Foundation posthumously honoured Father Stan Swamy for his “many contributions to human rights”. Who was Martin Ennals, and what is the intention of the award?
Every year, the Martin Ennals Foundation, based in Geneva, Switzerland, gives out an award that is regarded as the Nobel Prize for human rights defenders. The recipients of this year’s awards include Daouda Diallo from Burkina Faso, Pham Doan Trang from Vietnam and Abdul-Hadi Al-Khawaja of Bahrain.
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Late Indian Jesuit honored with rights ‘Nobel Prize’

04/06/2022

UCA News / by UCA News reporter

Father Stan Swamy, the late Indian Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, has been posthumously awarded the Martin Ennals Award, regarded as the Nobel Prize for human rights defenders…
Though the award was presented posthumously, the priest was chosen for it while he was still alive. “Father Stan was nominated for the award in spring 2021, but he sadly passed away before it could reach him,” said Hans Thoolen, chair of the award jury.
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Bust, book honour for Father Stan Swamy on birth anniversary (video)

Bust, book honour for Father Stan Swamy on birth anniversary (video)

Bust, book honour for Father Stan Swamy on birth anniversary

26/04/2024

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

The Hindi version of the memoir, written by Ranchi-based Jesuit priest James Toppo, would be released on the occasion.
The birth anniversary of Father Stan Swamy would be observed with the installation of the Jesuit priest’s bust and release of two books at Bagaicha, a training and social action centre, in Namkum, Ranchi, on April 26.
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Video: Unveiling of the Bust of Stan Swamy & Release of Three books

hindi + en | 2h 57min | 2022

By Jamshedpur Jesuits

Unveiling of the Bust of Stan Swamy & Release of Three books
– The Memoirs of Stan Swamy (Hindi Translation)
– If Not Now, When?
– Fr Stan Swamy: A Maoist or a Martyr?
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NIA Can’t Besmirch Stan Swamy’s Reputation or Place in the Hearts of People

26/04/2024

NewsClick / by John Dayal

Peaceful resistance was the cornerstone of Stan’s work, and that is why the state failed in breaking his spirit.
It may take time to get the Bombay High Court to clear Jesuit Father Stanislaus Lourduswamy’s name in the so-called Elgar Parishad case.
And it may take longer to get the Vatican machinery to launch the formal process to grant Sainthood to the 84-year-old priest, whose work among the Adivasis of central India and the poorest of the poor earned him the ire of mine-owners, state governments, and finally the central government.
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Video: Revolutionary greetings to Shahir Sagar Gorkhe on his birthday

Video: Revolutionary greetings to Shahir Sagar Gorkhe on his birthday

By Kabir Kala Manch



1:58min | 2022
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Video: Dafachya Talavar (Songs of Defiance)

Hindi, Marthi (subtitles: English) | 24:01min | 2022

This short documentary tries to trace the personal and collective journeys of artists of Kabir Kala Manch, a People’s cultural troupe consisting of youth from marginalized backgrounds, who sing songs of resistance in the Vidrohi Shahiri tradition. This film profiles these artists and their lived experiences in the context of an unjust and hostile system they are struggling against.
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Also read:
● Who are the three Kabir Kala Manch artistes arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case? (Scroll.in / Sep 2020)

Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha is holding the state accountable

Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha is holding the state accountable

Youthkiawaaz / by Harsh

Established just a few months ago, Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha (JJSM) is currently acting as an umbrella for over two dozen provincial-local people’s organisations of Jharkhand to raise voices against injustice, exploitation, corruption and to resolve the public problems in the region …
“Father Stan Swamy, who was one of the founder members of Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan, lived for the Adivasi and moolnivasi communities of Jharkhand.
Taking inspiration from him, various people’s organisations have formed this front as a tribute to him to fulfil his dream of bringing all the movements of Jharkhand on one platform,” says Satyam, a social activist associated with the front.
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Also read
● Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents (Jacobinmag / April 2022)

India among top 10 countries to jail writers, academics in 2021, shows Pen America’s report

India among top 10 countries to jail writers, academics in 2021, shows Pen America’s report

India figures on list of top 10 ten countries that jail writers, academics & intellectuals

16/04/2022

The Federal / by The Federal

The 2021 Freedom to Write report recently published by Pen America, an NGO, has detailed the arrests of eight people in the country, which includes comedian Munawar Faruqui and those arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case.
India has the dubious distinction of figuring among the top ten list of countries that jail writers, academics and intellectual for their writings, works and advocacy.
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India among top 10 countries to jail writers, academics in 2021, shows Pen America’s report

15/04/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

This is ‘one element of the ruling party’s attempts to quash dissent and entrench political control’, the United States non-profit organisation said.
… According to the report published on Wednesday, 277 writers and academics were detained or in prison in 36 countries last year. Of them, eight are from India – comedian Munawar Faruqui and Bhima Koregaon accused persons Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Hany Babu, Gautam Navlakha, Arun Ferreira and Anand Teltumbde.
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PEN America’s Writers at Risk Database (India, 2021)

Also read:
● International Mother Language Day: Take Action for Hany Babu (Pen International | Feb 2022)
● Joint Statement: Freedom for Varavara Rao (Pen International | Oct 2021)
● A Dark Day for Democracy and Freedom of Expression (Pen International | Aug 2018)

PUDR: When The Process becomes The Punishment

PUDR: When The Process becomes The Punishment

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) / by PUDR

Tomorrow, 14th April 2022 marks the completion of two years of PUDR activist Gautam Navlakha’s surrender before the NIA. One of sixteen accused in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case, Gautam has been imprisoned in Taloja Central Jail, Navi Mumbai since 25 May 2020.  For more than six months now, since 12 October 2021, the nearly 70 years old Gautam, an undertrial suffering from multiple health problems has been in solitary confinement in one of 33 cells in the ‘anda’ circle, the High Security Area of Taloja Jail, a space meant to segregate those guilty of heinous crimes.
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Also read:
● How the ‘anda cell’ is used to discipline prison inmates (The Indian Express │ Oct 2021)
● System of solitary confinement, ‘Anda Cell’, inside the jail be stopped (Groundxero │ Oct 2021)

Protest for release of activists

Protest for release of activists

Left groups protest across Punjab, seek to revive spirit of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom

17/04/2022

Counterview / by Harsh Thakor

Despite political change of guards, which brought Aam Aadmi Party to power, recent events suggest that Left-wing forces of different shades appear to be steadily gaining ground in Punjab.
… Held on April 8 in Singrur on the very day Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru flung a bomb in the parliament house to symbolise liberation from colonial slavery, the Kirti Kisan Union, Punjab Students Union, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Zameen Prapti Sangharsh demanded unconditional release of political prisoners. Speakers summarised how activists like Gautam Navlakha , GN Saibaba, Rona Wilson, Anand Teltumbde, Varavara Rao, Umar Khalid, Sudha Bharadwaj, Devinder Ghullar etc. were branded for waging a conspiracy against the state as they were posing a question to the autocratic character of the rulers or confronting fascism.
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Protest for release of activists

09/04/2022

Times of India / by TNN

The farmer and student organisations protested in Faridkot on Friday for the release of those who have completed their sentences and of activists who have been arrested on flimsy grounds. Activists of Kirti Kisan Union, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Punjab Students Union raised slogans for the release of Prof GN Saibaba, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Umar Khalid, Devinderpal Singh Bhullar and others.
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Left leaders protest, seek release of political prisoners

08/04/2022

Tribune of India / by Tribune News Service

Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) New Democracy on Friday held a protest against the non-release of Sikh prisoners who had completed their sentences and imprisonment of political prisoners, intellectuals, writers, journalists and activists in false cases.
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