Authorities in India 'refusing' timely medical aid to ailing activist-writer Gonsalves

By A Representative
The civil rights network Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy (MRSD) has said that it is “distressed to learn” that the authorities are not providing adequate medical care to 65 year old activist, poet, and writer Vernon Gonsalves, incarcerated since 2018 in the Bhima Koregaon/Elgar Parishad case.
In a statement, MRSD, an apex group of 40 plus voluntary organisations, said, Gonsalves started developing several symptoms, such as fever, cough, dizziness, and nausea starting on August 30.
“However, his health condition was met with neglect and it was only after pleading several times that he was finally taken to the state-run JJ hospital on September 6”, it said, adding, “Instead of continuing his treatment there, he was taken back to jail the same day.”
According to MRSD, “Upon hearing about this from other co-accused, Gonsalves’ lawyers and family members moved the NIA court seeking temporary bail on medical conditions. During the hearing, the lawyers told the court that apart from dengue, he may also be suffering from pneumonia.”
“It is appalling that in spite of this he was not provided adequate medical care by the authorities, leading to his health deteriorating further. Only after the bail hearing on September 7, he was admitted to the state-run JJ hospital. Gonsalves has since been put on oxygen support”, the statement said.
“Notably, his condition deteriorated in prison”, MRSD said, adding, “At first, he was administered paracetamol and erythromycin without examination. Upon no improvement, and recurring fever and cough, on the fourth day, upon requests of co-accused Sudhir Dhawale and other fellow inmates, he was given an injection and antibiotics and sent back to the barracks.”
“The fever still did not reduce, and by the fifth day there was nausea, weakness and dizziness. Till that point also, no checkups were done”, MRSD pointed out, recalling how earlier, out of the 16 arrested persons in the same case, “Jesuit priest Stan Swamy died at a hospital in Mumbai while in custody, due to gross delay and neglect on the part of the prison authorities to provide medical care and treatment.”

Denial of timely medical care is in contravention to international guidelines of human rights

It further said, “Several others have fallen sick or were delayed medical help for an ongoing health condition. Two other accused persons, Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao, are currently out on bail. The latter, who is out on medical bail, similarly suffered medical neglect in jail and delayed treatment during the pandemic.”
According to MRSD, “The activists, academicians, and lawyers incarcerated in the case have been arrested in multiple rounds, starting from June 2018, months after saffron flag carrying mobs attacked Dalit-Bahujans who had gathered at Bhima Koregaon for its bicentennial anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon.”
It added, “The denial of timely medical treatment and care to not just these undertrials but several others indicates the callous attitude of the prison authorities and state governments, which is in contravention to national and international guidelines of human rights and individual dignity.”
Apart from Gonsalves, the other accused persons in custody are Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Arun Ferreira, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap.
Demanding that Gonsalves be provided timely and proper medical care, including all required tests and examinations, MRSD said, “We also demand that his family and advocates be kept regularly updated on his medical status and provide access to the medical professionals in the hospital to monitor his condition.”
“We further demand that activist Vernon Gonsalves be granted immediate bail on medical grounds and be released”, it insisted, adding, “All the prisoners who are suffering from medical ailments should be released on bail as neither the jail nor the government hospitals are equipped to address emergency medical situations.”

Comments

Covishield controversy: How India ignored a warning voice during the pandemic

Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD * It is a matter of pride for us that a person of Indian origin, presently Director of National Institute of Health, USA, is poised to take over one of the most powerful roles in public health. Professor Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian origin physician and a health economist, from Stanford University, USA, will be assuming the appointment of acting head of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA. Bhattacharya would be leading two apex institutions in the field of public health which not only shape American health policies but act as bellwether globally.

Growth without justice: The politics of wealth and the economics of hunger

By Vikas Meshram* In modern history, few periods have displayed such a grotesque and contradictory picture of wealth as the present. On one side, a handful of individuals accumulate in a single year more wealth than the annual income of entire nations. On the other, nearly every fourth person in the world goes to bed hungry or half-fed.

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

Thali, COVID and academic credibility: All about the 2020 'pseudoscientific' Galgotias paper

By Jag Jivan The first page image of the paper "Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis" published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmaceuticals and Regulatory Affairs , Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2020), has gone viral on social media in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Chinese robot presented by the Galgotias University as its original product at the just-concluded AI summit in Delhi . The resurfacing of the 2020 publication, authored by Dharmendra Kumar , Galgotias University, has reignited debate over academic standards and scientific credibility.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

The Galgotia model: How India is losing the war on knowledge

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Galgotia is the face of 'quality education' as envisioned by those who never considered education a tool for social change or national uplift — and yet this is precisely the model Narendra Modi pursued in Gujarat as Chief Minister. In the mid-eighties, when many of us were growing up, 'Nirma' became one of the most popular advertisements on Doordarshan. Whether the product was any good hardly seemed to matter.

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

Search This Blog