Condemn the arbitrary arrests of Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale,Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, and Mahesh Raut by the Maharashtra Police! Women against SexualViolence and State Repression (WSS) is outraged at the arbitrary arrest of its valuedmember, Professor Shoma Sen along with other leading Dalit and human rightsactivists, in an alarming crackdown on civil liberties activists throughout thecountry. Today, on 6thJune 2018 at 6 am in the morning, Professor Shoma Sen, Advocate Surendra Gadling,cultural activist Sudhir Dhawale, human rights activist Rona Wilson and anti-displacementactivist Mahesh Raut were arrested from different locations in Nagpur, Bombayand Delhi by the Maharashtra police. Professor Shoma Sen – Head of the EnglishDepartment in Nagpur University and a long time Dalit and women’s rightsactivist, Advocate Surendra Gadling -- General Secretary of the IndianAssociation of Peoples’ Lawyers (IAPL), Sudhir Dhawale -- editor of the Marathimagazine Vidrohi and founder of the Republican Panthers, Rona Wilson – human rightsactivist and Secretary of Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners(CRPP) and Mahesh Raut -- anti-displacement activist working with Gram Sabhasin the mining areas of Gadhchiroli and a former Prime Minister’s RuralDevelopment Fellow -- are all reportedly arrested in connection with theBhima-Koregaon riots that took place in January 2018. These arrests followintense harassment of these activists; and many of them had their houses raidedearlier this year in April by the Maharashtra police along with raids at thehomes of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) activists Rupali Jadhav, Jyoti Jagtap, RameshGaichor, Sagar Gorkhe, Dhawala Dhengale in Pune and Republican Panther activistHarshali Potdar These arrests are inresponse to the assertion of Dalit, Adivasi, OBC, Muslim unity during the BhimaKoregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyan organised by the ‘Elgaar Parishad’ inShaniwarwada in Pune on 31st December 2017. The Abhiyan was organised at the eve of bi-centenaryof the battle between Peshwas and the British near the village of Koregaon onthe Bhima River. The British regiment largely consisting of people from theMahar community had stood up against the Peshwas and this is seen as a fightagainst the Brahmanical forces historically perpetuating caste discriminationagainst some of the most marginalised people of the country. Today, this battleis being witnessed again under the regime of Brahmanical Hindutva fascism ofthe current government that is crushing the voices of marginalised once againthrough its coercive forces. This year, the Abhiyan was attacked by right wingorganisations in the state of Maharashtra, and attackers were brandishingsaffron flags, with the active support of the state police. This resulted inthe death of one and injuries on several people. The leaders inciting theviolence went on to file cases of violence against the organisers of theprogramme along with several unnamed persons resulting in immediate massarrests of dalits, activists and participants, all over the state of Maharashtraby the state police. In the wake of theviolence, on 3rd January, several dalit, OBC, Muslim and Marathaorganisations and leaders joined hands and called for a united MaharashtraBandh calling for unity and condemning brutal violence and divisive politics ofHindutva forces. Led by Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar andleader of Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, the bandh was observed by people all overthe state of Maharashtra. During the mass peaceful bandh, the Maharashtrapolice detained and arrested over 5000 people, mainly dalits, from across thestate. Of the thousands arrested, several were taken from their homes,including children, while the mainstream media completely blacked out theentire operation of the state government and the police. This reveals deeprooted casteism, Brahmanical and feudal arrogance of the state as well as itsextreme fear of the assertion of the most marginalised people of the country.By filing cases against several thousand people, the state attempted tointimidate and coerce the people into silence. Those who attacked theBhima-Koregaon Abhiyan were treated differently. Despite Sambhaji Bhide, leaderof Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan and one of the main persons who orchestrated andincited violence, being charged under Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe(Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Arms Act after widespread protests fromacross the country, he walks free and gloats about his actions openly whilereceiving the blessings of politicians and ideologues of Hindutva. MilindEkbote of Hindu Ekata Aghadi was arrested in March 2018, but was out on bail amonth later. The efforts to raid the homes of several activists, taking awaytheir phones, pen drives, hard drives, and laptops of the activists of theElgaar Parishad has deprived them of the evidence that proves the involvement ofpeople like Sambhaji Bhide. Several activists who were not at the ElgaarParishad programme are now being picked up and arrested in order to portraythem as Naxals. This narrative suits the interests of the state that is bent onprotecting the Hindutva brigade while attacking the dalits, adivasis, Muslimsand women of this country. This is further illustrated after the death of PoojaSakal, a young dalit woman, was found dead in mysterious circumstances in awell near her home in Koregaon. Instead of investigating this death, the policealong with the caste Hindus of the village have worked hard to ostracise theentire dalit population from Koregaon’s dalit basti. Now, the string of arrestsshows the targeted attacks on the people speaking for the rights of dalits,adivasis, Muslims and women. The arbitrary arrests also indicate a concertedattempt by the Indian State to break the backbone of the Dalit Movement againstthe unjust caste system. From the dilution of the hard-won SC/ST Prevention ofAtrocities Act to the arrest of Dalit activists such as Chandrashekhar Azad‘Ravan’ of the Bhim Army under the draconian National Security Act (NSA), it isclear that the Indian State is conducting a vicious witch-hunt of all theactivists who are raising their voice against caste atrocities. On the other hand, instead of taking action against theperpetrators of the violence during Bhima Koregaon Abhiyan, the state machineryis focused on targeting activists, professors, and lawyers who have condemnedthe violence of the Hindutva leaders as well as the police. These raids come ata time when the people of the country from Thoothkudi to Kalinganagar,Gadchiroli to Delhi have risen up united against the anti-people policies ofthe state. The crushing of such voices of dissent is a direct attack on thedemocracy of this country and intends to intimidate people into silence. Today,we must come together, condemn the arrests of these activists and reaffirm ourresolve to speak out boldly against the fascist state. WSS unequivocally stands insolidarity with Professor Shoma Sen and all the others arrested today, and demands · The immediate and unconditional release ofProfessor Shoma Sen, Advocate Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson andMahesh Raut · An end to the vindictive harassment andstate repression of all those activists and intellectuals who organized or spokeat the Elgaar Parishad · A high-level investigation into the widespreadviolence organized against Dalit, OBC and Muslim communities in the aftermathof the Bhima-Koregaon commemoration. · Immediate arrest of Sambhaji Bhide on seriouscharges of rioting, attempt to murder and under the SC/ST Prevention ofAtrocities Act, and cancellation of bail of Milind Ekbote. Women against Sexual Violence andState Repression (WSS) Email ID [email protected] Convenors Ajita,Nisha, Rinchin and Shalini -- __._,_.___ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
condemn arrest of gadling, dhawale, rona, shoma, tushar and mahesh-1.docx
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