NIA raids multiple locations in 4 states in order to create 'imagined' red scare

By Harsh Thakor*
On 8th February morning the National Investigation Agency (NIA) randomly conducted raids on multiple locations across four states -- Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It was an expression of the BJP-RSS government emulating the past British colonial rulers by using tactics to place a lid on the voices against exploitation and oppression of the people, or those vocal in condemning loot of the country’s resources by foreign and domestic corporates.
The state is clearly banging every nail in the wall to crush dissent.
The civil rights network Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) denounced this action as a fascistic ploy. It asserted that this act is to mask democratic rights and people’s issues as “red scare” by branding those who protest injustice as Maoists.
In Hyderabad the houses of renowned writer and journalist N Venugopal and N Ravi Sharma were raided. In the last six months in Telangana, NIA has raided he houses of various social and political activists numerous times and tried to implicate them in stage managed FIRs.
N Ravi Sharma was also arrested in 2019 but got bail reprieve because the state had no concrete evidence to testify this activist is member of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) or involved in violent activities. He has worked in the Forum Against Hinduthva Fascist Offensive (FAHFO) to combat the ascendancy of what is being called Brahmanical Hindutva fascism and expose its “anti-people” nature
FAHFO was banned by the Telangana government in 2021 along with other 15 organizations. Later, after three months, the ban was lifted by the government since it was challenged in the High Court of Telangana.
On the same day, NIA raided the houses of rights activists Ismail and Rashid in Mallpuram and Palakkad in Kerala. It is reported that two more raids were conducted in Thane and Chennai on the same day.
N Venugopal is editor of the vernacular Telugu monthly “Veekshanam” and nephew of Varavara Rao, revolutionary poet, who was sought to be implicated in the infamous Bhima Koregoan case. N Venugopal was targeted by the Telangana police frequently because of his political rebellion against injustice.
In its press release, the NIA alleged that “frontline members of CPI (Maoist) were operating in the urban areas of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala to promote the activities of the outﬁt” – a move to brand the urban democratic rights movement as a cover activity of Maoists and suppress all dissenting voices.
This manifests the nature of Indian state and is part of agenda of Indian state’s propaganda to criminalise all democratic voices exposing exploitation and oppression of the people of the country.
Telangana has a history of merciless state repression in crushing democratic rights. In the past, the police along with intelligence agencies is known to have killed many democratic rights activists in fake encounters. In past six months, Telangana has unfolded various FIRs in which more than 140 civil society and mass organization leaders were implicated under the anti-terror UAPA law. Ironically, FIR was registered even against those who died two years back.
It is a routine method of NIA to foster a narrative through media: before the raid, they arrest some leader calling him or her Maoist, and then discover a diary containing names of other activists.
Engulfing many regions of India, various lawyers, students, journalists, professors and democratic rights activists’ houses are thus randomly raided.
---
*Freelance journalist

Comments

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

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.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Beyond sattvik: Purity, caste and the politics of the Indian kitchen

By Rajiv Shah A few week ago, I was forwarded an article that appeared in the British weekly The Economist . Titled “Caste and cuisine: From honeycomb curry to blood fry: India’s ‘untouchable’ cooking”, it took me back to what I had blogged about what was called a “ sattvik food festival”, an annual event organised by former Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad professor Anil Gupta.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Search This Blog