Early Tuesday morning, a team of Pune police raided the houses of activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in Mumbai and also the home and office of activist Stan Swamy, 83, in Ranchi, among others.
A little background in this thread: scroll.in/latest/892159/…
A little background in this thread: scroll.in/latest/892159/…
On January 1, 2018 clashes broke out in and around Bhima Koregaon, the site of an annual Dalit gathering. Dalits claimed they had been attacked by people with saffron flags, while Marathas claimed they had been attacked by Dalits. scroll.in/article/863605…
Despite witnesses pointing to Hindutva leaders as being responsible for some of the violence, Pune police focused investigation on social activists working with Dalits, Adivasis and political prisoners. scroll.in/article/881849…
"Human rights activists claim that their arrests are an attempt to suppress voices critical of the government... They also claim that the 5 were arrested & branded as Maoists because the government is threatened by their work with marginalised communities" scroll.in/article/881849…
Anand Teltumbde explained how labelling Dalits, Adivasis and those who work with them as Maoists is an old state strategy for crushing dissent and criticism.
scroll.in/article/881626…
scroll.in/article/881626…
"A cursory look at the so-called Maoist cases will reveal that the main intention of the police is to harass people by keeping them in jail for as long as possible." scroll.in/article/881626…
Here, @Raksha_Kumar examined the issue, and in particular the 'Urban Naxal' term that is being used: "This is a fantastic, foolproof way to criminalise dissent in this country.”
scroll.in/article/885664…
scroll.in/article/885664…
Arun Ferreira said the label of “urban Naxal” is being used to intimidate “anyone who dissents."
“Not everyone who dissents or has left leanings can be termed a Maoist,” he said. “Not everyone believes in violence.”
scroll.in/article/885664…
“Not everyone who dissents or has left leanings can be termed a Maoist,” he said. “Not everyone believes in violence.”
scroll.in/article/885664…
Many of the people arrested under these accusations tend to be charged under the UAPA, a draconian law that, as @ShoaibDaniyal argues here, has turned mere thought into a crime: scroll.in/article/831282…
An update on today's news: Raids on houses of Vernon Gonsalves & Arun Ferreira in Mumbai, Sudha Bharadwaj in Faridabad, Stan Swamy in Ranchi. Varavara Rao and his family members, as well as two other activists, Kranti and Naseem, in Hyderabad: scroll.in/latest/892159/…
Here's the latest:
Arundhati Roy: "That the raids are taking place on the homes of lawyers, poets, writers, Dalit rights activists and intellectuals – instead of on those who make up lynch mobs and murder people in broad daylight tells us very clearly where India is headed." scroll.in/latest/892213/…
The raids and arrests of human and Dalit rights activists mark an ironic shift of focus away from the investigation of cases against Hindutva leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, who have been accused of making provocative speeches in Bhima Koregaon scroll.in/article/892218…
"First you attempted brutalising the memory of Dalits and now threats/arrests of activists.. Isn't it time to bid farewell to democracy?" scroll.in/latest/892223/…
Delhi High Court is not going to let Pune Police take Gautam Navlakha away from Delhi, after he filed a Habeas Corpus. The case comes up for hearing tomorrow. scroll.in/latest/892253/…
Vrinda Grover has now written to the police in Faridabad, asking why Sudha Bhardwaj has not been returned to her home as ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court unless the remand order has been made out. scroll.in/latest/892295/…
So, after midnight Sudha Bharadwaj was returned to her house and put under house arrest scroll.in/latest/892295/…
Your Morning Fix: Why the Pune Police arrested human rights activists, branded them 'urban Maoists’ scroll.in/video/892306/y… via @scroll_in
It is hard to separate Tuesday’s arrests from the fashioning of a new public enemy by sections of the government, the security establishment and the media: the “urban Naxal”. scroll.in/article/892271…
Also @AarefaJohari put together a backgrounder to the case scroll.in/article/892218…
And, as @mridulachari has clearly pointed out, the documents attached to the arrests so far say nothing about this 'PM attack plot' that the channels are going on about. scroll.in/article/892229…
Earlier, @sruthisagar pointed to what the state is doing by spreading terms like 'Urban Naxal' scroll.in/article/885764…
Jio, jobs, Sanatan Sanstha: What you missed while government went after activists scroll.in/article/892340… via @scroll_in
Among those raided in Bhima Koregaon case: A poet, a management professor, a business journalist scroll.in/article/892284…
Gautam Navlakha: “A political trial must be fought politically and I welcome this opportunity... I have to do nothing. It is for the Maharashtra Police, working at the behest of their political masters, to prove their case against me and my comrades...”scroll.in/latest/892367/…
‘Dissent is safety valve of democracy’: SC says activists to remain in house arrest till September 6 scroll.in/latest/892371/… via @scroll_in
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