Against Repression

State government spreads terror among Dongria Kondhs, people stand with strong protest rally against Dangamatia encounter !case in Odisha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau Rayagada, Mar 15: Armed with traditional weapons, hundreds of Dongria Kondhs on Monday took out a protest rally and gheraoed Kalyansinghpur police station against the alleged fake encounter of tribal youth Monda Kadrika in Dangamatia by the security forces on February 27. More than 500 Dongria Kondhs under Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti (NSS) gathered here, they were demanding an independent judicial inquiry into the killing of 20 year-old Monda, registration of murder case against the police and a compensation of Rs 25 lakh for his family. Continue reading →

Vara Vara Rao lambasts atrocities by State against – Support International Week of Actions against the War on People!

Warangal: Revolutionary poet P Vara Vara Rao (VV) launched a broadside against the State government, citing police atrocities against the former Maoists and their sympathisers. Addressing a press conference along with former Maoist sympathiser Dara Saraiah here on Monday, he asserted that any ‘encounter’ in the State is some way or other way is connected to Warangal police. He questioned the rationale behind police’s swoop on the house of Saraiah, a resident of Munipalli village under Hasanparthy mandal, on March 1 although the latter has been eking out a livelihood by running an auto-rickshaw for the last few years. “The police who rounded up the house of Saraiah at around 7 pm on March 1 threatened him to come out of his house.
When he didn’t come out, the police broke the ventilator window and threatened Saraiah, his mother and his wife,” Rao narrated the incident. Continue reading →

My face today is the face of Bastar’s fight: Soni Sori

New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) Tribal rights activist Soni Sori, who was attacked with an acid-like chemical in Chhattisgarh last month, today said the condition of her face is reflective of the fight in naxal-hit Bastar area. “My face today is the face of the fight in Bastar, the condition is the same. I was also jailed in a fake case of being associated with naxalites, the same way he (Kanhaiya) has been framed for his so called terrorist links. I am glad that JNU has started this massive movement which helped in getting bail for Kanhaiya,” Sori said while addressing JNU students. Continue reading →

Kanhaya Kumar released

Addressing a huge gathering of students on the campus, soon after release from Tihar Jail, Mr. Kumar said: “It is not azadi from India, it is azadi in India [we want]… from the corrupt practices that are going on inside the country.” Mr. Kumar made his fiery speech at the same place where he had addressed students just a day before his arrest.

“Attack on JNU planned”
In his “home-coming” speech, Mr. Kumar took on the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the university and its students were targeted because they took on the government through Occupy UGC movement and demanded justice for Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula.
“The attack on JNU is a planned one as they want to de-legitimise the UGC protest, and to dilute the fight for justice for Rohith Vemula,” he said, amid loud cheers. Continue reading →

Kolkata: Public convention against institutional murder of Rohit Vemula and police repression at JNU, Mar 3

Maoists come out in support of JNUSU president, want ‘innocent’ Kanhaiya freed

In a press statement released by the western sub-zonal bureau of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), the organisation demanded the release of “innocent” Kumar. The release, which police sources claimed had first been circulated among the locals of Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district before being apprehended by the police, also went on to criticise the Narendra Modi government.
“If it is sedition to take the name of Afzal Guru, the heartbeats of the 124 crore Indians will also be seditious,” the release stated. Kanhaiya’s arrest has been called a conspiracy by the “orthodox Hindu Fascists”. Continue reading →

2 March, International Protest Day against Attack on Universities, Democracy and Dissent in India!

Join March to Parliament 2 March from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar, 12 noon

Release Comrade Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban!
Remove sedition and other motivated charges from JNU students!
Revoke Suspension of JNU Students Unconditionally!
Scrap Sedition from IPC!
Enact Rohith Act to end caste discrimination in universities and higher educational institutions!
Smriti Irani must resign for misusing power and peddling lies!

In this hour of unprecedented attack on JNU, your solidarity has been a reassuring source of great strength. We appeal to you to stand with us again tomorrow, as we march from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar.
The struggle as of now, continues on two fronts: Continue reading →

Report to UN special rapporteur on recent escalation of counter-insurgency violence in Chhattisgarh

To: The Special Rapporteur on Rights of Indigenous People,
The Human Rights Council
The United Nations

Subject: ​ Communication Regarding: Escalation of counter-insurgency violence on indigenous people in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India and on human rights activists, lawyers and journalists who are working for the rights of the indigenous people in the abovementioned region.

Dear Madam,
This is to bring to your notice that indigenous activists and politicians, along with human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists are being attacked violently by various groups in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, with the tacit and active encouragement of the state of these attacks. In addition, Chhattisgarh has seen a horrific state of affairs which equals to that of many militarised zones of the world due to the alleged base of guerrilla insurgents called the Naxalites – who are Maoists by political outlook and enterprise – in the state especially in a district named Bastar. Continue reading →

PUDR’s Open letter to the Chief Justice of India

PUDR’s Open letter to the Chief Justice of India for immediate intervention into physical attacks and eviction drives against women activists by police and vigilante groups in Chhattisgarh

February 24, 2016
PEOPLE’S UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

Honourable Sir, We wish to draw your attention to the recent incident of physical attack on AAP leader, Soni Sori, by unidentified men near Geedam town on the night of 20th February 2016. The attackers threw some black substance on her face which caused immediate burns and pain. Consequently, she has had to be hospitalized. This attack comes close on the heels of the eviction drives against lawyers Shalini Gera and Isha Khandelwal of Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group (JagLag) and journalist Malini Subramanium. All three have been given notice to find alternate accommodation. There is also news of a similar eviction drive against Bela Bhatia, an independent scholar and activist. It is obvious that these attacks are part of a wider campaign launched by the police along with state sponsored vigilante groups such as the Samajik Ekta Manch and Naxal Peedit Sangharsh Samiti. Continue reading →

Delhi: Public meeting on “Democracy, Dissent and Fundamental Freedoms”, Feb 25

People’s Union for Democratic Rights
Invites you to a public meeting on

Democracy, Dissent and Fundamental Freedoms

Date : 25th February 2016
Time : 2.30 pm
Venue : Lecture Hall, Department of Political Science,University of Delhi

The claim of India as the world’s largest democracy is sustained through the observance of certain democratic rights and freedoms incorporated as ‘fundamentals’ into the constitution. The constitution guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression, of conscience, to peaceful assembly and associations as some of the fundamental rights. The guarantee of these fundamental freedoms ensures the functioning of a democracy. The recent chronicle of democracy in India, however, has been replete with instances of mass violation of these freedoms of people across the country. The unabated efforts of repression on students’ voices, attack on human rights activists and artists, militarization of academic spaces and the attempts to criminalize and depoliticize the universities are characterizing the political climate. In the light of these developments, it becomes essential to reflect upon the existing state of democracy in India and engage with the fundamental element of criticism and dissent in a democracy.

Speakers:
Gautam Navlakha (People’s Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi)
Lawrence Liang (Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore)
Saroj Giri (Dept. of Political Science, University of Delhi)