Today, November 3, Telugu revolutionary poet P Varavara Rao turns 80 years old. Perhaps if he was not in jail, his wife, daughters, nephews, nieces, would have made it into a day of big celebration. Perhaps he would have wanted to keep it low key instead, maybe just spend the day with his friends and family, sharing a meal, languid conversations, perhaps even a poetry reading or two. Instead the poet and activist will spend another day in jail. It just marks another year that he has been under punishment for his activism.
His nephew N Venugopal, a journalist and poet himself, who often finds himself as the voice of the family sharing news and health updates of the aged Rao, shared a personal look into his last two birthdays. The one in 2018 was still spent with family and friends, as Rao was under House Arrest. By the time his birthday came around in 2019, he was lodged in November 3 in Suraksha Block – Phansi Ghat in Yerawada (Pune) jail.
Venugopal recalls that the Pune Police had raided Rao’s house, searched for over seven hours, and arrested him to take him to Pune on August 28, 2018. However the Supreme Court intervened on August 29 and told police to release Rao and keep him under house arrest. Rao approached the court to seek relief, filing two petitions in Telangana High Court. Venugopal recalled that one petition was struck down after a couple of weeks. “The second petition was still under process but it was almost certain that it would also be struck down. Then came November 3, his 78th birthday and we wanted to make it a pleasant, memorable birthday celebration for him. As he always relishes being with people, we managed to bring in a number of family members, friends and lawyers. All the title pages of his 40 books were printed to display at home. Reprints of two of his translations of writings of Ngugi wa Thiongo were released on the occasion,” recalled Venugopal. The second petition was dismissed on November 16 and Pune Police arrested Rao on November 18.
SabrangIndia had reported that On August 28, police raided homes of several social activists across India, under the guise of investigating them for being involved in planning and instigating the Bhima Koregaon violence on January 1, 2018. These included the homes of Ranchi-based Father Stan Swamy, Mumbai based human rights activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves, Hyderabad-based activists Varavara Rao and Kranti. Varavara’s daughter Anala and her journalist husband Kurmanath were also not spared as their electronic items were also confiscated. Activists Gautam Navlakha and Karthik were raided in Delhi. Arrests followed on different dates.
Varavara Rao spent his 79th birthday was celebrated in Yerwada prison and this is how he Venugopal says the poet described it in his letters:
“All my co-prisoners in this block took care to bring me out from my feeling of loneliness and celebrated my birthday expressing wishes with Greeting Cards, sweets and snacks….” “..just like it happened one year ago during House Arrest, in this jail life of eleven months and a half, today my birthday celebrations began in the morning and continued till 1 pm tea time and 2.30 pm lock-up time with greeting cards, wishes, flowers, tea, snacks, etc. For some time now Vernon has been propagating that I complete 79 and enter 80 today. All co-prisoners from fundamentalist Sanatana Hindutwa prisoners to Islam fundamentalists offered me a variety of sweets, snacks, greeting cards ending the spree with chocolate at 2.30. Among them there are prisoners who are waiting for death penalty, Hindutwa believers, Hindu religious people, to innocent, implicated and convicted. Two Ambedkarites are there. Five are Muslims. Only two are political prisoners among them. One of the prisoners on death row is a good artist. He painted a black panther and wrote a caption ‘black is beautiful, black is hunter’ and gave it to me as a greeting card. People of such varied beliefs calling me uncle and celebrating my birthday so fondly brought tears to my eyes. A fundamentalist on death row, whose father died recently, tells me ‘you are my father figure’. He gave me a box of sweets and got emotional and turned back. I could not control my tears. “My father used to be your height, resembles you. Whenever I see you, I remember him,” he says. Another prisoner on death row walks along with me as many times as I walk. Except a Santana Hindutwa person, who came in Narendra Dabholkar murder case, all the others affectionately call me uncle. One is a Dalit Christian under-trial from Dharavi. Another is a Tamil Naidu under-trial who has a sister in Hyderabad. Yet other is an activist of Vanchit Agadhi, follower of Prakash Ambedkar… How strange are human relations…..” |
It is now his 80th birthday on November 3 2020, and Venugopal states that since his return to jail on August 25 with a “stable and normal” certificate Rao is still in frail health and is physically weak. He is given a sponge bath by co-prisoner Vernon Gonzalves. Rao still has a urine bag with a catheter attached. However, “despite the physical weakness and problems, he is in good spirits” the nephew states, adding “when Varavara Rao was asked about his health he spoke about Stan Swami, who is older than him, being brought to jail and suggested holding protests for Stan.”
On October 29 the Supreme Court asked Bombay High Court to expedite Varavara Rao’s bail application hearing on medical grounds. A bench comprising of Justices UU Lalit, Vineet Saran and S. Ravindra Bhat expressed concern about the bail application filed on medical grounds not having been listed before the Bombay High Court since September 17, 2020 and directed the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court to list the same at the earliest. The Court also directed the High Court to examine whether Rao would be required to be treated in a speciality hospital.
Though the Supreme Court did not itself order the release of the poet, it asked the aggrieved family to approach the Bombay court taking cognisance of the violation of his fundamental Right to Life due to inhumane jail conditions.
The three Judge Bench was hearing a plea filed by P. Varavara Rao’s wife, Pendaya Hemlatha who moved the Supreme Court on October 15 in a writ petition for the immediate release of her husband filed on behalf of Senior Advocate Sunil Fernandes, as reported by SabrangIndia. Her plea stated that Rao’s continued custody amounts to cruel and inhuman treatment, violating Article 21 of the Constitution of India and violative of his dignity in custody. It further states that his release from Taloja Central Jail is important because he suffers from various co-morbidities and that the jail environment is not exactly conducive to his feeble state of health.
Related:
List Varavara Rao’s bail plea at the earliest: SC tells Bombay HC
Activists, Opposition parties demand release of Bhima Koregaon accused