Maharashtra govt blamed for not providing basic facilities to Stan Swamy in Taloja jail

A well-known Jharkhand civil rights organization has blamed the Maharashtra government for failing to ensure “basic rights” 83-year-old Father Stan Swamy, a state human rights activist, currently lodged as an undertrial in Mumbai’s Taloja jail. In a letter to state chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, it regretted, the jail authorities only provided with a sipper to the human rights activist, suffering from Parkinson’s “on November 29 after widespread condemnation from all quarters.”
Arrested on October 8, 2020 by NIA from his residence in Ranchi in the Bhima-Koregaon case, Stan Swamy had “carried along with him some medicines for the chronic Parkinson’s” as also “a steel-straw sipper, which was a necessary item for him to drink any liquid food item”, the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM) said in the letter, a copy of which has been sent to Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren.
Yet, “he was not allowed to take his sipper with him inside the jail”, the letter said, regretting, “When Stan Swamy placed his request before the NIA court to allow him to get his sipper back, the court did not hear his plea immediately. After 20 days, the NIA bluntly denied in the court that the sipper had been taken during the arrest.”
All this happened despite the fact that, because of Parkinson’s, Stan Swamy has trouble in “taking bath and washing clothes on his own”, the letter said, adding, “He also has serious hearing problem and needs hearing aid for both ears. He was operated twice for hernia in the recent past.”
Calling it a “serious” human rights violation, and stating that while NIA and the Central government are responsible for “harassing activists through the Bhima-Koregaon case”, the letter, signed by senior JMM activists, said, “It is also the responsibility of the Maharashtra government to ensure amenities and dignity to the undertrial activists.”
“We appeal to the Maharashtra government to ensure all amenities including warm clothes, health support and dignity to Stan Swamy, considering his age and illness”, the letter insisted, pointing out, “Stan Swamy is a valued and public-spiritedness citizen who has worked for Adivasi rights since decades in Jharkhand. We have the highest regard for him and his work.”
The JMM letter also asked Thackeray to ensure arrest of “the actual perpetrators of the violence in Bhima-Koregaon in January 2018 – primarily Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide (leaders of Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan and Hindu Ekta Aghadi) – and ensure speedy trial of their case”, underlining, “It would expose the blatant attempts by NIA to target activists, lawyers and intellectuals by building a false narrative of Maoist conspiracy in this case.”

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project

A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. POSCO initiated the project in 2005 but exited in 2017 due to sustained local opposition.

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

Search This Blog