Activists' arrest across India is an "attempt" to create prejudice against those working for the poor

Counterview Desk

Former National Advisory Council member under the UPA government, Aruna Roy (ex-IAS), and senior activists Nikhil Dey, Shankar Singh of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), have said that the activists arrested across India, following raids, should be immediately released, calling the BJP rulers' move as nothing but “motivated hounding of human rights defenders”.

Text of the statement:

The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS, Rajasthan) condemns the mala fide allegations and the coercive use of state power, in the arrest/raids of Sudha Bharadwaj (a civil rights and labour lawyer from Chhattisgarh; presently teaching at the National Law University, Delhi); Gautam Navlakha(former President of Peoples’ Union for Democratic Rights and a journalist); Anand Teltumbde (human rights activist and management professional, writer, civil rights activist and political analyst); Father Stan Swamy (80-years-old human rights activist based in Ranchi); Varavara Rao (77-years-old poet and prominent activist) and senior activists Arun Ferreira and Susan Abraham.
The Pune police in a series of raids and arrests on August 2018, 27 and 28, deliberately pinned serious allegations on these activists for the Bhima Koregaon incident, ignoring the main role of the Hindutva leader Sambhaji Rao Bhide and his associates in initiating violence.
A few months earlier,Surendra Gadling (a Maharashtra civil rights and trade union lawyer), Rona Wilson (an academic and activist involved in the Committee for the Defence of Political Prisoners), Prof. Shoma Sen (Nagpur University), Sudhir Dhawale (activist and publisher) and Mahesh Raut (activist and former Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow) were also arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon incident.

Nikhil Dey, Aruna Roy, Sanjay Singh

So far all the arrests have been made citing baseless allegations and reflect a prejudiced targeting of people who have had the courage and the intellectual rigour to question the miscarriage of law and the violation of constitutional rights. They are well-known academics and human rights defenders, who have defied all odds and the possible pall of violence imposed by unlawful majoritarian fundamentalist forces. Given the absence of any credible evidence, these arrests are clearly a part of the political conspiracy to silence any dissent and critique of the party in power.
We also strongly condemn the attempt to mislead people through the deliberate use of the term ‘Urban Naxals’ both by BJP politicians and those in the media, who are acting in tandem with the government to create a media trial. This is an attempt to construct a hostile citizenry prejudiced against those working for the poor and marginalised with a carefully-choreographed media trial.
We are in fact proud of the academic and intellectual history of India from the time of the independence movement, and laud those who have expressed their views without hesitation. They have been a crucial support for those impacted by violence and discrimination, even at a cost to themselves.
They have used non-violent means and avenues available through law and the Constitution to defend the rights of the poor and marginalised. This harassment is a blatant attempt to prevent the intelligentsia from raising their voices against injustice, oppression and exploitation. It is a prelude to making sure that the space for dissent and democratic expression is closed, and even the threats to the Constitution go unchallenged. The people of India must realise who is really trying to undermine the Indian Constitution and its values.
It is the duty of all citizens to voice their support for those who work to amplify the voices of the voiceless. We demand that the BJP governments both in Maharashtra and at the Centre stop targeting human rights workers for narrow political gains. The (mis)use of such repressive legal instruments, makes a mockery of the rule of law, and will have very grave consequences for the Indian polity.

Comments

Civil society flags widespread violations of land acquisition Act before Parliamentary panel

By Jag Jivan Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in Scheduled Areas and tribal regions.

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Search This Blog