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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” — wrote Charles Dickens in 1859. But little did he know that his words would be used yet again to describe the volatile political climate of modern India. To be a dissenter in present times is both a blessing and a curse; while we are all equally armed with some of the most powerful tools of communication ever witnessed in the history of mankind, we’re also burdened by its consequences. And even more so, when a tyrannical force looms large, silently shadowing every word of dissent that comes out of our mouths.
At the crack of dawn on Tuesday, the Pune Police began raiding the houses of 8 activists and lawyers across different states in the country. After searching the homes of Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Susan Abraham, Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Kranthi Tekula and Kurmanath, and Stan Swamy, all except Abraham, Swamy, Kurmanath and Kranthi were arrested. Previously, five other activists have been arrested on similar grounds of inciting violence in Bhima Koregaon.
According to a report by Midday, Pune Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order), Shivaji Bodkhe said, “Five people have been detained following the raids conducted by our team. All of them were actively involved in keeping the Maoist movement alive. Once they are brought to Pune, we will produce them in court. Their role in the Elgaar Parishad will become clear once we get their custody.”
The arrest of these 5 activists and lawyers, for allegedly being involved in the Bhima-Koregaon violence that erupted in Maharashtra early this year, has caused an uproar across social media. Along with various human rights organisations and opposition parties condemning the same. A huge part of the social media backlash is also directed towards filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri who, on his Twitter account, asked people to make a list of those who were “defending Urban Naxals”. A tweet that has since sparked ample debate.
But these questioning voices are no longer limited to just social media. On Wednesday, a day after the arrests, five eminent persons filed a public interest litigation with the Supreme Court asking for an independent investigation into the arrests. The petitioners include author Romila Thapar, economist Devaki Jain and Prabhat Pattanaik, Satish Deshpande, and Maja Daruwala.
The petition claims that the arrests have nothing to do with the Bhima-Koregaon case as those arrested have only been working for the benefit of the neglected for decades. It also claims that the arrests are an attempt to silence the dissenting voices of these activists.
After hearing petitions, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Maharashtra government directing them to release the arrested and instead place them under house arrest until the matter is heard on September 6.
The whole text of the petition can be read here.
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