Mridula Chari’s piece in The Scroll cuts through dubious charges in the supplementary charge sheet filed against Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadhwaj, Arun Ferreira, and Vernon Gonsalves on February 21, 2019. Read more
Category: News
He is a prominent anti-Modi intellectual. The Indian government wants him behind bars.
Washington Post article by Niha Masih
In his old life, Anand Teltumbde — one of India’s preeminent scholars on caste — would spend his days teaching students and conducting research.
Now he is just trying to stay out of jail.
In recent months, Teltumbde has been swept up in a government crackdown on lawyers and activists.
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In a Bad Week for Civil Liberties, the Courts Haven’t Stepped Up
- Three Sikh men were convicted by a trial court for “waging war against India,” on the sole basis that they had some pro-Khalistani books and pamphlets in their possession, and had shared some pro-Khalistani content on Facebook (see details here by The Times of India).
- The Supreme Court allowed Maharashtra authorities to get away with keeping activists arrested on dubious Naxalism charges in jail, despite having played fast and loose with the rules.
- The police in Aligarh immediately agreed to register a case of sedition against students at Aligarh Muslim University at the behest of a BJP youth leader.
- In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, several news channels and thousands upon thousands of regular citizens on social media, have used the incident to go after “seculars” and “apologists” – basically anyone who has ever questioned the way the armed forces operate in Kashmir, or suggested violence isn’t the solution. Action is being urged against them and Kashmiris, whether in terms of violence, or stripping them of rights and
Is it any wonder that the courts are not performing adequate scrutiny of civil liberties cases when there is so much vitriol against anyone suspected of anti-national behaviour? Read more…
Who is Anand Teltumbde, and why was he arrested recently?
Academic and columnist Anand Teltumbde is not only one of India’s foremost public intellectuals
Bhima Koregaon: No relief for Surendra Gadling & ors, Supreme Court sets aside Bombay HC order
The Supreme Court today set aside the Bombay High Court’s order that had refused the extension of time for completion of investigation against Surendra Gadling and other activists in relation to the Bhima Koregaon violence…This effectively means that the five activists -Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raut
Bhima Koregaon: Academic Anand Teltumbde gets interim protection from arrest
The Bombay High Court on Monday extended academic Anand Teltumbde’s interim protection from arrest until the next hearing of his plea for anticipatory bail on February 22. Teltumbde is being investigated for his alleged connection with violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon near Pune in January 2018. The High Court added that in the case of arrest, Teltumbde could be released on bail after providing a bond of Rs 1 lakh. Teltumbde has also been directed to appear before the investigating officer of the case on February 14 and 18. …Read more
Suspend Agreements With India Until Activists Are Released: European Parliament Members Tell European Commission
NEW DELHI: Nine members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have sent a
BJP govt wants to defame intellectuals: Anand Teltumbde
Q. What is your message to the world? A: The world knows it but the Indians ought to know that none of them are secure — it is not me but the manner in which the entire plot is hatched out of nothing. A policeman can destroy their life with this method…Read more
The forgotten of Bhima-Koregaon arrests: Ordeals of Dalit advocate Surendra Gadling and revolutionary poet Varavara Rao
While there are many lapses, the malafide intentions of the police machinery at the behest of their political masters are writ large. Justice D Y Chandrachud was not at all mistaken to call Maharashtra police “untrustworthy” in this landmark dissenting judgment in the Bhima-Koregaon case. read more…
Academics Demand Dropping Charges Against Teltumbde, Other Activists
Over 600 signatories from major universities in North America and Europe have asked the government to stop the “witch-hunt”.
New Delhi: Over 600 international scholars, from major universities in North America, Europe – including Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, Chicago, Penn, Cornell, MIT to Oxford, and the London School of Economics – have signed a statement of support for Anand Teltumbde, and urged the governments of India and Maharashtra to bring the “witch-hunt” to an immediate halt.
Leading American and European academics have signed the statement, expressing deep outrage at the “blatant misuse” of the law to persecute Teltumbde. Signatories include Elizabeth Woods of Yale, Cornel West and Doris Sommer of Harvard, Robin Kelley and Eric Sheppard of UCLA, Mriganka Sur of MIT, and Cindi Katz of the City University of New York. Read more…