From The Ballad Of Indian Gaols

Akhil Gogoi

Unbroken Spirit

Last month, the detention of four artists in Guwahati for painting a mural of peasant activist Akhil Gogoi has renewed outrage about the plight of the RTI activist, languishing in jail for over a year, and anyone who dares to speak up for him. Gogoi, a leader of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for alleged Maoist links.

Gogoi바카라�s relative Manuj says the activist was denied medical help. Gogoi, who is in hospital, suffers ill health bec­ause of his torture in police custody, the kin alleges. 바카라�I met him in hospital two days ago. His spirits are high,바카라� says Manuj, convenor of Gogoi바카라�s newly-floated party Raijor Dal.

Assam Police detained Gogoi on December 12, 2019, and handed him over to the NIA on charges of 바카라�inciting violence바카라�. Gogoi has been at the forefront of anti-­CAA protests in Assam. 바카라�Gogoi protested against the CAA because of its threat to ethnic identity and indigenous people,바카라� says Manuj. Booked under the UAPA, Gogoi바카라�s family says the NIA failed to produce evidence. 바카라�The NIA all­eges that Gogoi has Maoist connecti­ons. But they could not find any evi­­­­dence. The ruling government is scared of him because he fought against communal politics and corruption,바카라� says Manuj. His colleagues allege that the government is adopting various 바카라�delaying tactics바카라� to slow down court hearings in his case.

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Formed in 2005, KMSS has spearheaded protests against eviction of farmers and was instrumental in halting dam projects considered detrimental to the environment. Thus, Gogoi, who stood for the rights of farmers and the landless, was a bête noire for all political regimes, says a colleague, Ranjita Borah. 바카라�The government had to halt mega-dam projects because of KMSS. They have begun a project again. He is a threat to corporate interests,바카라� she says. 

Natasha Narwal

바카라�A comrade for all바카라�

Early this week, Mahavir Narwal rec­eived a Madhubani drawing from his daughter Natasha from Tihar jail. It shows a group of women engaged in animated conversation under a tree. The sketch, he says, is a testimony that jail life hasn바카라�t dented Natasha바카라�s spirit.

Natasha, a JNU scholar and a founding-member of the Pinjra Tod women바카라�s collective, was arrested by the Delhi Police in May for allegedly inciting the Northeast Delhi riots as she participated in anti-CAA protests in Jaffrabad.

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Mahavir, 71, treads on a thin line of optimism. A daily phone call from his daughter keeps his spirits up. He tries to draw courage from his daughter바카라�s fight for justice.

But, with Delhi Police slapping the draconian anti-terror law UAPA against Natasha, that struggle will be a long one. 바카라�Natasha got bail in one case as the police had no evidence,바카라� says Mahavir. 바카라�The courts cannot ask the police for evidence on UAPA cases. The onus lies on the accused to prove that she is innocent. It바카라�s a blatant violation of human rights,바카라� he says.

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Mahavir says India faces a bleak phase in protecting individual rights. 바카라�Change will happen when people become aware of their rights.바카라� He is also amazed at his daughter바카라�s unwavering grit. 바카라�She is ideologically strong, with great clarity of thought. She doesn바카라�t claim to be a champion of human rights, but she is a comrade for all,바카라� says the proud father. In prison, he tells Outlook, Natasha keeps herself busy by teaching children and other inmates. 바카라�She has been given charge of the jail library too바카라�.

Varavara Rao

The Unwavering Hand

바카라�This is jail for the voice and the feet/ But the hand hasn바카라�t stopped writing/ ... /Dream still reaches to the horizon of light/ Travelling from this solitary darkness바카라�바카라�  Thus a poem written by revolutionary poet-activist Varavara Rao during his incarceration in 1973. But the harsh realities of two years in prison have taken a horrific toll on the 81-year-old and his family, says his daughter Pavana. Rao was arrested in November 2018 in connection with the Elgar Parishad case and is lodged at Taloja jail in Maharashtra바카라�s Navi Mumbai. The grievously ailing poet was deprived of basic rights such as medical care, laments Pavana, a Hyderabad-based lecturer. Currently admitted to Mumbai바카라�s Nanavati hospital, Rao will be sent back to jail on January 7.  

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Rao, along with 15 others, have been arr­ested and booked under the UAPA by the Pune Police, who claim that the accused were plotting to kill PM Narendra Modi.

In the past two years, the courts have also refused to grant Rao bail sought on grounds of old age and ill-health. Then, in July, his condition worsened. 바카라�He was delirious and hallucinating,바카라� says Pavana. The Bombay High Court had to intervene to grant permission for the family to access healthcare and meet him in the hospital. 바카라�When he tested positive for Covid, I feared the end. He miraculously came out of it all,바카라� she adds.

Rao struck a chord with inmates in Pune바카라�s Yerwada Jail, where he was lodged before Taloja. In letters to Pavana, he spoke about his bonding with those on death row, Dalits, opp­ressed castes, the poor and Muslims. It바카라�s sup­remely ironic that this unflinching believer of human rights has been charged with 바카라�destabilising the country바카라�. But, says Pavana, 바카라�my father never loses hope바카라�. 

Kabir Kala Manch

바카라�Is it a crime to sing about Ambedkar?바카라�

As another anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon passes us by, it serves as a grim reminder to the plight of rights activists, academics and int­ellectuals jailed over the past two years. At least 16 activists and academics were arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad- Bhima Koregaon violence in 2018. Three members of the Pune-based Dalit cultural outfit Kabir Kala Manch바카라�Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap바카라�were arrested by the NIA in September 2020.

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The charges are the same: links with Maoist groups. Gaichor바카라�s father, Murlidhar, fails to comprehend the charge. Gaichor, a founder-member of Kala Manch, was an Ambedkarite who worked for Dalits and the poor people, says the distraught father. The family of six lives in a single bedroom apartment in Yerawada, Pune.

The Kala Manch was one of the 260 civil society groups that organised the Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017, to commemorate the 200th year of the battle of Bhima Koregaon in Pune. The authorities claim that the conclave led to largescale vio­lence at the Bhima-Koregaon war memorial the next day. Murlidhar also wonders why his son was arrested for staging a play on communal harmony during the Parishad.

Kabir Kala Manch has been targeted by governments because it worked against all forms of oppression, says Rupali Jadhav, a member. She says that its focus on caste, class and gender has been anathema to the centres of power. 바카라�The NIA doesn바카라�t have any evidence against any of us. Our plays and songs at the Elgar Parishad are available in the public domain. What is our crime?바카라� asks Jadhav. 바카라�The ruling dispensation is scared of the broad unity of Dalits, Adivasis and other minority communities,바카라� she adds. 

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Khalid Saifi

바카라�He worked for communal harmony바카라�

It was a present few children would be in a position to covet. Like every year, on Christmas Eve, seven-year-old Mariam hung stockings on the wall and made a wish to Santa. This year, it was to return her 바카라�Abbu바카라� from Tihar jail. Mariam was disappointed when Nargis Saifi, her mother, told her that Abbu was 바카라�too big바카라� for the stockings. Mariam and her two siblings miss their father, Khalid Saifi, terribly. Saifi, a founder-member of United Against Hate (UAH), was arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the communal violence in Northeast Delhi in February 2020.

Nargis has spent the past 10 months in anguish over Saifi바카라�s fate and the att­endant financial hardship. Amidst the gloom, she draws sustenance from the fact that the court has given Saifi bail in two cases out of the three registered by the police. The police have also booked Saifi under the dreaded Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), imputing his role in the larger 바카라�conspiracy바카라� to engineer the riots. As the court is slated to hear Saifi바카라�s bail plea in the third case in January, Nargis hopes for justice. 바카라�I have faith in the Constitution. My husband worked for communal harmony and brotherhood,바카라� says the 33-year-old.

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The toughest ordeal of Nargis바카라�s life began when Saifi responded to a call for help from the Khureji protest site on February 26. Nargis was shaken when she met him the next day at Mandoli jail. 바카라�He was on a wheelchair; both his legs were plastered. There were bruises all over his body,바카라� she recollects.

Though the police accuse him of 바카라�hate speech바카라�, Nargis says Saifi spoke about the rights of citizens through the UAH in response to the rising cases of lynching and hate crimes. UAH was also active in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and NRC.

바카라�My children watch The Legend of Bhagat Singh on loop. They say that Abbu is in jail because he worked for the poor, just like Bhagat Singh,바카라� smiles Nargis. 

Umar Khalid

Staying In The Fight

On December 22, Sabiha Khanum, mother of former JNU student leader Umar Khalid바카라�who had completed 100 days in Tihar jail바카라�was an active presence in public meetings and webinars that day, organised by rights organizations demanding the release of the 34-year-old. Khalid was arrested by Delhi Police in September for his alleged role in the Delhi riots. Khanum says her son바카라�s imprisonment has firmed her commitment to political activism. She is now prepared to put up a long fight for her son and the values he stood for. 바카라�It pains and hurts me a lot. But I am not weak. I am not afraid of anyone and we need to keep the fight alive,바카라� she says.

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The police allege that Khalid, a founder-member of UAH and who was at the forefront of anti-CAA protests, was one of the main instigators of the riots. Accusing him of making incendiary speeches, Delhi Police have charged Khalid under various sections of the UAPA. Khanum sees in that the government바카라�s suppression of dissent. 바카라�It바카라�s ridiculous that he바카라�s charged with murder, rioting, conspiracy바카라�.. Umar can바카라�t even bear to see animals in pain,바카라� she says.

Khanum says she still has faith in the Constitution. 바카라�We shouldn바카라�t lose hope, though the future looks bleak. The government controls all the institutions now,바카라� she says. Khanum also points out the deliberate attempts to vilify, and boycott, the family. 바카라�My daughter바카라�s friend faced flak for mingling with us, as we have a 바카라�terrorist바카라� tag,바카라� she says. Khanum admits that 바카라�the mother takes over the activist in her바카라� at times. 바카라�Umar바카라�s cell is open from all sides. It must be very cold. But he keeps telling me that he doesn바카라�t feel cold. My son is brave,바카라� she says. 

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