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Happy Birthday Sudha Bharadwaj – Various Solidarity Statements

Happy Birthday Sudha Bharadwaj – Various Solidarity Statements

Happy Birthday greetings from Chhattisgarh

By Ajay T.G.

Video: Happy Birthday Sudha didi

en / hindi | 2:09 min | 2020


Watch video

By Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh (PCSS)

Video: Happy Birthday Sudhaji, from Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh

hindi | 1:30min | 2020

Some of the tweets of today

Radhika: #SudhaBharadwaj is a ray of hope and light for thousands of workers and adivasis, who face oppression day in and out. She is an inspiration to all young people who want to work for justice and take forward Babasaheb’s ideas. Happy birthday Sister Sudha. #FreeSudhaNow #FreeBK16

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Meera Sanghamitra: As I wish our dear Sudha a very happy birthday, I also imagine what a loss it is that a gem of a person has been deprived of working with all women, workers & adivasis closest to her heart for almost #800days now!
The World Salutes you Comrade.
#FreeSudhaBharadwaj #FreeBK16

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Medha Patkar: sudha bhardwaj is behind the bars on her birthday for the 3rd time….her advocacy and commitment to the causes of the poor and courage to face the fascist forces … only to save the country…is a celebration of dedication…with heartfelt wishes Sudhaji.

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Suchitra Vijayan: “We need groups organized to fight; they’re the ones who can make a dent.” It’s Sudha Bharadwaj’s birthday today; she’s has spent over two years in prison with no evidence. Read about her remarkable life and work. #FreeSudhaBharadwaj #FreeBK16

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Chitrangada: “Contract workers like us could not dream of going up against such big companies in court if not for her standing by us.” “If not for her, hum aadivasiyon ko company paani mein bahaa deta.” On #SudhaBharadwaj ‘s birthday, a reminder of what her clients say

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Joy: Sudha Bharadwaj. Born in US, Schooling in Cambridge. Gave up US Citizenship. IIT Kanpur Alumnus. Left top Job. Studied Law and practiced in High Court to protect rights of Poor. Now she is in Jail for over 2 Years as she crossed path of Government from exploiting the Poor.

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Pranesh Prakash: Sudha Bharadwaj is one of the many courageous prisoners of conscience that the Indian state has jailed while under trial over trumped up charges. At the same time @amnesty, which was originally set up to campaign for prisoners of conscience has effectively been banned in India.

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Neha Swetambari: It will be a movie script. IITian… left US passport. professor of law …was offered judge post in HC.single mom. yet worked tirelessly for underprivileged. As of now, she needs to be out though #SudhaBharadwaj especially if no evidence is presented till date.

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Srinivas Kodali: Is 800 days good enough time to be imprisoned without trail with no evidence for an imaginary conspiracy plot in a democracy? #FreeSudhaBharadwaj

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Jhuma: This is how the state rewards lawyers who care. #SudhaBharadwaj in prison for 2 years now without a trial.

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iStandWithFarmers: @PMOIndia if you are back from the photoshoot at the zoo, pl know that it has been more than 800 days since #SudhaBharadwaj had been jailed with no trial. All she was doing was strengthening the democracy at the grassroots, the same democracy which you were elected to represent

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Gautam Bhatia: On Sudha Ji’s third birthday in jail, re-reading this piece about her: “The Sudha Bharadwaj the government doesn’t want you to know.”

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Sabrang: On occasion of activist Sudha Bharadwaj’s birthday, watch our video where activist Teesta Setalvad talks about her work, the undemocratic nature of her arrest and the conditions of women activists nationwide and globally. #HappyBirthdaySudha

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The Wire: “Since they cannot fight her in court, they are calling her a Maoist. “They don’t have evidence, so they are converting the process itself into punishment,” wrote Smita Gupta, 2 years after Sudha Bharadwaj was arrested in Bhima Koregaon case.

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Indias Tribals~Adivasi: Sudha Bharadwaj gave up her US citizenship to work for #tribal rights in Chhattisgarh. On occasion of Sudha Bharadwaj’s birthday today, take a look at her article on the #Adivasi people that she wrote back in 2015.

dialecticsoupy: release sudha bharadwaj. release all political prisoners.
artwork by sarah_modak

BEING SUDHA BHARADWAJ

By Release the Poet

Her 59th birthday.
And 3rd birthday in Jail!
What did she do to deserve this?
Sudha Bharadwaj threw off a cushy comfortable life that she could pursue easily being born and grown up to illustrious parents. At the age of 18 she denounced her US citizenship. Being an IIT graduate, she still could have chosen a less risky and easier life. But she opted for walking with the people, stand by the people in their rightful fight.
Read more

Solidarity with Sudha Bharadwaj on her 3rd Birthday in Jail – Statements & Calls

Solidarity with Sudha Bharadwaj on her 3rd Birthday in Jail – Statements & Calls


Poster by Release Sudha Bharadwaj Campaign

Video: Stand with Sudha Bharadwaj on her 3rd Birthday in Jail

31/10/2020

Video statement by Prashand Bhushan


Tomorrow Sudha Bharadwaj is spending her 3rd Birthday in Jail on an absurd charges under UAPA. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur, a Professor of NLS, she gave up her US citizenship to work for tribals in Chhattisgarh. We hope she will soon be out to resume her exemplary work there.
Watch video statement (1:42min) here

Call: Stand with Sudha Bharadwaj on her 3rd Birthday in Jail

31/10/2020

By Sudha’s Friends and Family support group

You might be already aware of the infamous Bhima-Koregaon conspiracy case. One of the (now sixteen) activists arrested in the case is Sudha Bharadwaj, a lawyer and trade unionist from Chhattisgarh. On Sunday, 1st November, she will be spending her third birthday in jail, as we, Sudha’s Friends and Family support group, watch in distress.
We stand in solidarity with her.
We were hoping that you could join us in sending her a birthday message – perhaps a short one-minute video on a social media account (Twitter/Facebook/Instagram), perhaps also in other ways you deem fit.
#HappyBirthdaySudha
#FreeBhimaKoregaon16
#FreeSudhaBharadwaj
Just in case you need it, here is a brief bio on her below.
Best regards
On behalf of Sudha’s Friends and Family support group

Brief Bio of Sudha Bharadwaj

Sudha was born in 1961 in the USA to economist parents (her mother founded Centre for Economics Studies and Planning at Jawaharlal Nehru University, her father is also an economist and an academic). She completed integrated MSc (Math) at IIT Kanpur in 1979, and was socially active in various groups on the campus. But – in her own words – her “coming of age” was in 1984 – the year of the Bhopal gas tragedy and the antiSikh riots. After finishing the program at IITK in 1984, she taught at DPS for a couple of years in Delhi where she got exposed to the migrant workers’ struggles during the 1982 Asiad Games.
But by 1986 she decided to relocate to Chhattisgarh, attracted by the inspiring collective of mine workers in Dalli-Rajhara – Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha – which had attracted youth like her from wide across. It was then led by Shaheed Shankar Guha Niyogi who was assassinated a few years after she had joined. Over the years, Sudha took a leading role in the union, and spent decades in the industrial belt of Bilaspur-Durg-Bhilai. She also earned her lawyers credentials along the way, developing a parallel and consequential legal practice.
At the time of her arrest on 28.08.2018, she was teaching at the National Law University in Delhi, was a recognised authority on Labour Law and Constitution Law, and was the National Secretary of the PUCL.

More information on her can be found in the links shared below
Wikipedia page
Release Sudha Bharadwaj blog
An article on Sudha on Article 14

Sudha Bharadwaj to spend birthday behind bars, third year in a row!

31/10/2020

Sabrang / by Sabrangindia

While no birthday in jail can ever be ‘happy’, here’s how you honour the human rights defender on her special day.
Trade Unionist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj was among the five activists and human rights defenders rounded up by a vindictive regime in August 2018, as a part of a crackdown on dissenting voices. She was picked up in a second wave of arrests due to her alleged “maoist links” that somehow, according to the police, meant that she was a part of the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy!
It is noteworthy that Bharadwaj was neither an organiser of nor present in Pune during the Elgaar Parishad! If it sounds preposterous, it is because it is indeed utterly ludicrous!
On November 1, Bharadwaj will be spending her birthday behind bars for the third straight year. Here’s what you can do to make it ‘happy-ish’.
Read more

Video: Sudha Bharadwaj celebrates another birthday in jail


On the occasion of, lawyer, activist and trade unionist, Sudha Bharadwaj’s birthday, watch this sabrangindia video where journalist and activist Teesta Setalvad talks about her work, the undemocratic nature of her arrest and the conditions of women activists in general, nationwide and globally.
Watch video (3:54min) here

Stan Swamy’s Crime Is His Solidarity with the Marginalised

Stan Swamy’s Crime Is His Solidarity with the Marginalised

The Leaflet / by Annie Domini

In light of the state’s attack on eminent activists who fight for the right of marginalised and oppressed, those who express solidarity must raise their voices loudly and actively writes Annie Domini.
If you look at the body politic of the country without saffron-tinted glasses, if you truly see, you will find a very very sick organism indeed. An organism that’s cannibalising on its own heart, brain and lungs to feed a massive belly of unrestrained State power.
Read more

A citizen objects – On the arrests of men and women of conscience

A citizen objects – On the arrests of men and women of conscience

The Telegraph / by Shiv Visvanathan

My father was a brilliant metallurgist who worked for the Tatas. We lived in Jamshedpur and would go for long walks. He loved the forests around the city. I remember one evening as we walked, the Tata ‘mountains’ poured out their slag — molten and incandescent — as if the Tatas made sunsets. Then, a few minutes later, the Dalma hills lit up as the tribals burnt an area for jhum cultivation. Both were brilliant sights and my father watched entranced. He then said, almost cryptically, “Both have to survive. Justice is balance between the two.” For my father, Tata’s validity lay in the continuity of the tribe. It was a vision of a different world.
When I heard of the Jesuit Father, Stan Swamy, I sensed here was a man who understood that vision, grasped why the tribes and the tribal way of life had to survive.
Read more

Suppressing Dissent / Who is Really the Enemy of the People?

Suppressing Dissent / Who is Really the Enemy of the People?

Suppressing Dissent

20/10/2020

Medium.com / by Arun Simon

Dissent is rarely welcomed in any society. As power increases, appreciation of dissent decreases. Innumerable examples can be seen with dictators or absolute powers. It is also possible in religion, culture, and other domains… My country India, with all its high democratic values, is no different. The officially declared emergency(1975) may be the worst period in that line. But there are many unofficial competitors for the same today. The recent arrest of many social activists (latest in that line being Fr. Stan Swamy, a tribal activist) under a draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with many contemporary events raises serious questions.
Read more

Who is Really the Enemy of the People?

20/10/2020

NewsClick / by Suhit K Sen

India will have to look to forces within the country to steer back towards political processes that incorporate opposition, dissent and diversity.
Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, was arrested in Ranchi on 9 October. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which carried out the arrest, claimed he was a member of the CPI (Maoist) organisation. It appears that anyone who works for Dalit rights, or is not in full agreement with the toxic ideology of the Sangh parivar, must be a Maoist.
Read more

Other brothers behind Stan Swamy / Activists Under Detention for Their Words: Tharoor

Other brothers behind Stan Swamy / Activists Under Detention for Their Words: Tharoor

Other brothers behind Stan Swamy

18/10/2020

The Telegraph / by Jhinuk Mazumdar

The priest should be released, otherwise all minorities will come together and agitate in the country, the Imam of Nakhoda Mosque said.
The Centre should release Father Stan Swamy, otherwise all minorities will come together and agitate, an Imam of Nakhoda Mosque said at the end of a silent walk on Park Street expressing solidarity with the 83-year-old Jesuit priest.
Read more

Tweet by Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, Oct 18: Jharkhand: MLA Bandhu Tirkey has written to President, home minister and PM asking for immediate release of Stan Swamy, closure of bhima-koregaon case, repeal of UAPA and amendment in NIA rules to respect federalism.

Click to enlarge

Activists Under Detention for Their Words: Tharoor

17/10/2020

News 18 / by pti

Pune: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said a large number of people, including activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj and Anand Teltumbde, are under detention for their words, although none of them is accused of hitting anyone or possessing a gun. He also said that words and ideas may outlast power and authority.
Read more

Media reports about the new 10,000 page chargesheet in the Bhima Koregaon case

Media reports about the new 10,000 page chargesheet in the Bhima Koregaon case


Drawing by Arun Fereirra

Chargesheet in Elgar Parishad case: CPI Maoist documents, letters on ‘anti-fascist front’ cited by NIA

14/10/2020

The Indian Express / by Deeptiman Tiwary

The agency last week submitted its first chargesheet in the case, which was filed in connection with the violence on January 1, 2018, in Pune.
Literature on 50 years of Naxalbari, CPI Maoist press releases, a guide on encrypted data communication on GSM network, a mini manual of “urban guerrilla”, “information literature related to weapon, bomb, mortar” and letters discussing issues like raising a militant “anti-fascist front” in the wake of attacks on Dalits and minorities — these are among key evidences cited by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against activists such as Stan Swamy, Hany Babu, Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde in the Elgar Parishad case.
Read more

Milind Teltumbde organised weapons training in forests: NIA claims in its charge sheet

14/10/2020

National Herald / by IANS

Absconding accused Milind Teltumbde had organised arms training in the Korchi forest area of Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli for three activists of the banned organisation Kabir Kala Manch, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed in its charge sheet filed in the Bhima Koregaon case last week. The three activists were Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap…
The NIA also claimed that Delhi University Associate Professor Hany Babu, who was arrested from his residence in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida in July this year, was in contact with Paikhomba Meitei, Secretary I&P Military Affairs KCP (MC), an organisation banned under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Read more

NIA chargesheet says Stan Swamy received Rs 8 lakh for CPI-Maoist activities

13/10/2020

ANI / by Nishant Ketu

Stan Swamy, who was arrested last week from Ranchi in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case, possessed Maoist propaganda material and received Rs eight lakh to carry out activities of the banned CPI-Maoist, NIA has said in its chargesheet.
The NIA said it among the documents seized from Swamy’ residence were “guide of encrypted data communication on GSM network”, “an essential underground handbook”, “letter between comrades for using encryption, “mini-manual of urban guerilla”.
Read more

This is what NIA’s Bhima Koregaon chargesheet says about Stan Swamy

13/10/2020

India Today / by Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu

Stan Swamy is a Jharkhand-based Jesuit priest. He has been booked for criminal conspiracy under the Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA). Here’s what the NIA chargesheet says about him.
Read more

Gautam Navlakha Was In Touch with ISI Lobbyist, Says NIA Chargesheet

13/10/2020

News 18 / by Arunima

The NIA in its Elgar Parishad investigation has found a link between Pakistan’s ISI and the CPI-Maoist. The agency in its chargesheet has called activist Gautam Navlakha the link between the two.
The agency filed its first chargesheet in the special NIA court in Mumbai last week against eight people. Besides Navlakha, it named Hany Babu, Stan Swamy, Anand Teltumbde, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, Jyoti Jagtap and Milind Teltumbde under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Prevention Activities Act.
Read more

How the Right Is Starting a Psychological War by Targeting the Old and Ageing

How the Right Is Starting a Psychological War by Targeting the Old and Ageing

How the Right Is Starting a Psychological War by Targeting the Old and Ageing

13/10/2020

The Wire / by Ajay Gudavarthy

The right seems to believe that given the cultural codes of Hindu way of life, dispensing with the old will meet less protest and resistance from the society – creating a scope for more fear and less resistance.
… It began with the murders of Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar and Kalburgi – all of them into their 70s, and more recently the arrest of Varavara Rao, and now Stan Swamy, both into their 80s.
Read more

There is an environment of fear in India. The State must renew the commitment to rights

12/10/2020

Hindustan Times / by Hindustan Times

The action against a range of intellectuals and activists and journalists – Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Stan Swamy, Apoorvanand, Harsh Mander are among the better-known examples – indicates that the space for free expression and dissent is jeopardised.
Read more

NCRB 2019 data shows 165% jump in sedition cases, 33% jump in UAPA cases under Modi govt

12/10/2020

The Print / by Leah Verghese

In recent years, sedition and UAPA have been weaponised against critics of the govt. National Crime Records Bureau’s recently-released data confirms this.
Read more

A new website launched by Friends of Sudha Bharadwaj

A new website launched by Friends of Sudha Bharadwaj

By Friends of Sudha Bharadwaj

Sudha Bharadwaj is a trade-unionist, activist and lawyer who has lived and worked in Chhattisgarh for over three decades. On the 28 th of August 2018, along with other lawyers, writers and activists, Sudha was arrested under wrongful charges in the Bhima Koregaon case and put in jail under the draconian UAPA law. Part of the vibrant labour movement that began in the iron ore mines of Dalli Rajhara as a young activist, Sudha was urged by workers to study law and fight for them in the courtroom.
Visit website

Case against activist Sudha Bharadwaj – Why SC turned down her bail plea

Case against activist Sudha Bharadwaj – Why SC turned down her bail plea

The Indian Express/ by Sadaf Modak

On Thursday, the Supreme Court turned down activist Sudha Bharadwaj’s application for interim bail. The court said that since the plea was on medical grounds, it will not be able to entertain it as the medical report did not back her claims. It, however, said Bharadwaj has a “good case on merits”.
What is the case in which Sudha Bharadwaj and 14 others are arrested?
Read more

+++ Correction: Letters implicating Sudha Bharadwaj were found on the computer of Rona Wilson. The Caravan conducted a cyber-forensic examination of the contents of Wilson’s hard disk, a copy of the disk that was presented in court by the Pune Police and supplied to all the accused. Our investigation revealed that the disk contained malware that can be used to remotely access the computer and plant files. We also found several other discrepancies, pointing towards manipulation of evidence in the case. +++