This is a podcast in which we discuss the ideas, thoughts, and works of thinkers, activists, artist and scholars from India who have ended up behind bars for their work, or whose work has been censored or silenced. This podcast is produced by InSAF India in collaboration with nether quarterly.
Works by Shoma Sen discussed*:
“The Village and the City: Dalit Feminism in the Autobiographies of Baby Kamble and Urmila Pawar.” The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, vol. 54, no. 1, 2019, pp. 38–51., doi:10.1177/0021989417720251. “Class Struggle and Patriarchy: Women in the Maoist Movement.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 52, no. 21, 2017, pp. 56–56.
* Direct quotations have been shortened for clarity.
Today, 14 April 2023 marks four years, seven months and eighteen days since Gautam Navlakha’s arrest on 28 August 2018. A well-known human rights activist, respected journalist and writer of long standing, Gautam has now been incarcerated for three years since 14 April 2020 when he surrendered at the NIA office in Delhi. Read more
Petition by Amnesty International: Act now to demand the release of the BK16!
Since 2018, Indian authorities have arrested 16 activists under a draconian anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. 11 of them continue to languish in prison without trial. The repression of activists must end.
…
INDIAN AUTHORITIES MUST RELEASE ALL IMPRISONED ACTIVISTS IN THE BK16 CASE!
Act now to urge the Union Home Minister of India, Amit Shah to:
– Drop all charges against the 16 activists and immediately release the 12 who remain in detention
– Pending their release, ensure that they are granted prompt, regular, and unrestricted access to medical care and other basic necessities
– Repeal or substantially amend the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Authorities everywhere – from classrooms to corporate boardrooms to national capitals – love silent spectators. Silent spectators look after their own interests, and if they see something that is wrong, they may sympathise but turn their eyes away. They are susceptible to the usual blandishments – an out-of-turn promotion, a plum posting etc. If nothing works, they are easy to intimidate. Outliers, on the other hand, are different. They come with a spine of steel. Authority finds them hard to understand, let along manage. Read more
Also read:
I am not a Silent Spectator – Why Truth has become so bitter, Dissent so intolarable, Justice so out of reach
An Autobiographical Fragment, Memory and Reflection
Indian Social Institute, Bangalore | by Stan Swamy | August 2021
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Indian Social Institute, Bangalore
Language: English
Paperback: 149 pages Access a free PDF copy of the book here
Jesuit priest accused of terrorism was victim of digital hacking
Today, Jesuit Missions, the international mission and development office of the Jesuits in Britain, along with the international Xavier Network, are calling on the Indian Government to clear Fr Stan’s name, especially in light of new evidence which proves that he was systematically targeted during a four-year campaign, during which time falsified evidence was planted on the priest’s computer. Read more
Noted academic Dr Hany Babu, a UAPA prisoner in the Bhima Koregaon case, has been granted honorary doctorate degree by Ghent University in Belgium. Dr Anne Breitbarth, Ghent University in this video read a poem on Babu by Shivangi Mariam Raj. It was published in Maktoob. Watch video
Professor MT Hany Babu, Koregaon-Bhima accused, to get doctorate from Belgium varsity
24/03/2023
Times of India / by TNN
Professor MT Hany Babu, arrested for his alleged role in Koregaon Bhima — Elgar parishad case, is set to receive an honorary doctorate from the faculty of arts and philosophy of Ghent University, Belgium.
Babu, a former Delhi University (DU) associate professor, is in jail since July 2020, with the high court rejecting his bail plea after it was opposed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which claims he is a member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
The degree and the epitoga for Babu would be handed over to Babu’s promoter Annie Breitbarth, associate professor of inguistic in the German section, on the occasion of the university’s ‘Dies Natalis’ or Anniversary Day on Friday. Read more
Linguistics honour for jailed professor
24/03/2023
The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent
The honour is scheduled to be given on Friday and will be received on Babu’s behalf by Professor Anne Breitbarth of Ghent University’s faculty of arts and philosophy who had recommended his name
Jailed Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu M.T. has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Belgium’s Ghent University. Babu is in a Navi Mumbai jail, awaiting trial in the Elgaar Parishad case.
… Babu was active in the defence committee for G.N. Saibaba, a disabled Delhi University professor serving a life sentence in Nagpur since 2014 for alleged Maoist links. He had earlier been known for his activism for the implementation of OBC reservation in higher education. Read more
Jailed professor Hany Babu gets Honorary Degree by Ghent University in Belgium
23/03/2023
Maktoobmedia / by Maktoob Staff
Delhi University professor and noted academic Dr Hany Babu, who is one of the UAPA prisoners in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case has been granted an honorary doctorate degree by Ghent University in Belgium.
The faculty of Arts and Philosophy of Ghent University, which nominated Dr Hany Babu’s name to the executive committee, justified its nomination by pointing at his efforts to safeguard the importance of academic freedom and his commitment to language rights and equal access to education for minorities, said Jenny Rowena, wife of Babu. Read more
Also watch:
Anne Breitbarth, Words of Solidarity for Hany Babu, July 2021
en | 2:24min | 2021
Anne Breitbarth, Associate Professor of Historical Linguistics (Ghent University) offers words of solidarity for Hany Babu on the occasion of one year of Babu’s imprisonment. This pre-recorded video has been made as part of the conference Language and the Problem of Justice organised between 22 and 24 July 2021, by Friends of Hany Babu, in collaboration with Scholars at Risk and The Institute for Post-Colonial Studies. Watch video
Organisation named after Stan Swamy calls to free rights defenders / ‘Justice for Father Stan’ campaign
Organisation named after Stan Swamy calls to free rights defenders
01/03/2023
The Telegraph / by Animesh Bioee
Shahid Father Stan Swamy Nyaya Morcha launches signature campaign in Ranchi, also demands the repeal of the anti-terror law UAPA.
An organisation named after Father Stan Swamy and formed to carry forward the late Jesuit priest’s legacy has launched a signature campaign in Ranchi demanding the release of human rights defenders jailed in several parts of the country and the repeal of the anti-terror law UAPA. Read more
‘Justice for Father Stan’ campaign evokes good response in India
01/03/2023
UCA News / by UCA News reporter
A US-based digital forensic firm has revealed that digital evidence was planted on the priest’s computer to implicate him.
More than 3,000 people have taken part in a signature campaign, demanding justice for late Jesuit Father Stan Swamy and others accused in a sedition case filed by India’s pro-Hindu federal government.
The campaign, launched on Feb. 25 under the auspices of Shahid (Martyr) Father Stan Swamy Nyaya Morcha in Ranchi, the capital of eastern state of Jharkhand, where the late priest worked among tribal people, is getting support from people from all walks of life, according to its organizers. Read more
Webinar: Human Rights Defenders in India – Examining the Elgar Parishad Case (March 2)
March 2, 2023
at 11:00 am EDT/10:00 am CST/8:00 am Pacific
The Declaration on human rights defenders was adopted by consensus by the General Assembly in 1998 after 14 years of negotiations. Despite the Declaration, human rights and environmental defenders all over the world continue to suffer significant harm as a result of their efforts to raise awareness on significant issues in their communities and within their states. This webinar will present the significant challenges that human rights defenders face in India, specifically focusing on the arrest of 16 activists, which included lawyers, sometimes referred to as the “BK 16.”
The panelists will discuss the events leading up to the criminal charges, the criminal charges, and the significant evidentiary issues that have already been discovered, and why these cases are critical in India at this time and how they could become critical for the rights of defenders everywhere around the world.
Admission to this webinar is free, but registration is required: Register here
In India, the cries for justice, are becoming louder and longer! They come from different segments of society and particularly from those who continue to be exploited and excluded!
… Human Rights defenders cry for justice! Thanks to those who have had the courage to stick their necks out for the poor, exploited and other vulnerable sections of society – that reality is still on the canvass! Many human rights defenders are still paying the price for their courageous and selfless deeds. The likes of Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira and others are still languishing in jail, in the Bhima- Koregaon conspiracy case. Read more
