PERSPECTIVE
Five eminent activists were arrested from several states across India on Tuesday, following the probe relating to the Bhima-Koregaon case and their alleged Maoist links. The activists have now been put under house-arrest until the next hearing of the Supreme Court on September 6.
The New Leam Staff
The first set of arrests in connection to the Bhima-Koregaon protests were made on 6 June, 2018. The government alleges that the Bhima-Koregaon was an assassination plot targeted at the PM. On Thursday, five well known activists were arrested through the invocation of terror charges against them via the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). No statements on behalf of the Maharashtra Police and the Government in this context have been issued.
The propaganda campaign alleges that the five activists arrested are responsible for the Dalit commemoration event of the Bhima-Koregaon battle and alleged that the activists were building a plot to assassinate Prime Minster Narendra Modi. The activists whose names are involved have been working with workers, Adivasis, Dalits and other groups who have been at the receiving end of the policies of the government.
Here is a brief overview of the work that these activists have been doing across different corners of the nation.
Arun Ferreira
When Arun Ferreira was a student at St. Xaviers, Mumabi in the early 1990s his friends and teachers knew him as the talented but ‘khooni cartoonist’. What this took us to was a story that had made Arun well known for his unique ways of campaigning and leading student mobilization.
The name that he was given came from his habit of pulling large crowds of students to donate their blood in blood donation camps that came on campus by promising them to gift them a keepsake in the form of a caricature that he drew on the spot. Arun always had a spark and a unique style of doing things but gradually as he stepped into the larger world, he turned to full time activism and cartoon drawing took a backseat.
He took up cartooning once more in the confines of the Nagpur jail, where he spent four years since 2007. His son was just two at that time and being separated from his family at a point where he would have wanted to spend qualitative time with his son left Arun to take solace in cartooning.
In Vidharbha jail, he drew many caricatures which became significant pointers of the life that inmates were compelled to lead in the prison. The 30 odd sketches that Arun drew later were published in the form of a book ‘Colours of the Cage’ that for many in the audience became a pathway into the unforeseen territories of the prison.
Arun also recalled his on story in jail where he suffered conviction under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act on charge of sedition. The charges were thrown out eventually in 2014. The organisation that Ferreira worked in Dehbhakti Yuva Manch was alleged to have Maoist links and therefore he was imprisoned on charges of sedition. In sympathy with the pain and torture that he had to undergo, Arun Ferreira today spends a large part of his time helping out political prisoners.
Sudha Bhardwaj
For 29 years Sudha Bhardwaj has been working in Chhattisgarh with the tribals. She is a trade union activist and also is closely associated and involved in the movements organised by the local communities against land acquisition in Chhattisgarh. She has been the secretary of the PUCL and the founder of the lawyers collective Janhit. Sudha was bron to Indian parents in America and returned to India only at the age of 11.
At the age of 18 she decided to give up her American citizenship and become involved in the people’s movement. She completed her education from IIT Kanpur after which she moved to Chhattisgarh to work with the Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha fighting for the rights of migrant workers from Bihar, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. One of the major concerns that Bhardwaj was fighting for was the attainment of the proper wages by the workers and this implied fighting against corrupt bureaucrats and officials. She was also a vehement articulate of the rights of the dalits and tribal and fought for their right to education, health and security infrastructures. Sudha continues to fight for the rights of the deprived in the state of Chhattisgarh.
Varavara Rao
Varavara Rao was reportedly asked by the Police recently that of all the books in the world, why activists like him loved to read books on Marx and Mao. We all know that Varavara Rao is a well-known ideologue and poet. Rao began his stint with poetry in 1957 and has become one of the best known literary figures in Telangana. He has been a lecturer of literature in the state and produced generations of students.
He has also been associated with various journals in Telegu and is known for his progressive understanding. He also brought out his own literary journal called Srujana that catered to contemporary literature. During the Emergency he was detained under the MISA.
He has been imprisoned on several occasions throughout his life but his determined will to work amongst people have not ceased. He has been an ardent speaker for the right of the people since 1969. He was arrested two times when the new state of Telangana was formed with severe restrictions and surveillance on movement.
Gautam Navlakha
Well known civil liberties activist and journalist Gautam Navlakha, has been closely associated with the organisation People’s Union for Democratic Rights. He has also been the convenor of the International People’s Tribunal advocating the human rights of Kashmiris. In the recent years he has been a strong leader in the Chhattisgarh region where he has been fighting for the rights of the tribals and dalits.
Vernon Gonsalves
Vernon Gonsalves has taught at various universities in Mumbai and has been an ardent writer in newspapers and online portals expressing his disconnect with the establishment. Recently when he was arrested from his Mumbai residence, it was alleged that he made explosives and was involved in the Naxalite upsurges. It is a month ago from now that he had been working for tribal rights in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur, known for Naxal infiltration. In the year 2012, Vernon Gonsalves had 12 cases against him and walked out of prion nearly after six long years. He began writing short stories in prison on prevailing law and order and the wider crisis faced by the society.
The court has ordered the Maharashtra Police and the Centre to respond on the arrests followed by the petition filed against the arrests. While delivering the judgement, Justice DY Chandrachud noted “Dissent is the safety valve of democracy. If you don’t allow the safety valve, the pressure cooker will burst”.
