Why Are so Many ‘Urban Naxals’ Surfacing All of a Sudden?

(1) PEOPLE’S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES (PUCL) – MAHARASHTRA,

(2) COMMITTEE FOR PROTECTION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS (CPDR),

(3) WOMEN AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND STATE REPRESSION (WSS),

(4) FORUM AGAINST OPPRESSION OF WOMEN,

(5) LABIA – A QUEER FEMINIST LBT COLLECTIVE,

(6) AWAAZ-E-NISWAAN,

(7) BEBAAK COLLECTIVE,

(8) AKSHARA WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTRE

(9) POLICE REFORMS WATCH,

(10) AMBEDKAR PERIYAR PHULE STUDY CIRCLE (APPSC) – IIT BOMBAY

(11) NEW TRADE UNION INITIATIVE (NTUI)

(12) BHARAT BACHAO ANDOLAN

(13) CITIZENS FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE (CJP)

(14) PEOPLE’S COMMISSION ON SHRINKING DEMOCRATIC SPACES (PCSDS)

(15) HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS ALERT (HRDA) – INDIA

(16) INDIAN CHRISTIAN WOMEN’S MOVEMENT, MUMBAI CHAPTER

(17) SATYASHODHAK, MUMBAI & OTHERS

Dear friends,

On 28th August 2018, simultaneous raids were conducted by Police on the premises of prominent human rights and civil liberties activists and intellectuals – Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj (National Secretary, PUCL) in Faridabad, Father Stan Swamy in Jharkhand, Senior Writer and Poet Varavara Rao, his two daughters – Anala and Pavana, ‘The Hindu’ journalist KV Kumaranath, English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) Professor Satyanarayana, ‘Namaste Telangana’ journalist Kranthi Tekula – all in Hyderabad, Anand Teltumbe (General Secretary, CPDR) in Goa, Gautam Navlakha (founder member, PUDR) in Delhi, Arun Ferreira, Writer Vernon Gonsalves and Advocate Susan Abraham in Mumbai, and several of them have been arrested on false and fabricated charges under the draconian UAPA law.

WE the aforesaid civil society organisations/ groups/ collectives, are jointly convening an urgent Press Conference to condemn the appalling state actions of reprisals against noted human rights activists and intellectuals, which are clearly politically motivated and an attempt to stifle voices of dissent. The unjustified raids on and arrests of the above public spirited individuals who have tirelessly worked for the cause of the poor and marginalized sections of society, are nothing but an attack on Indian democracy and an attempt to undermine the democratic fabric of our society.