Image Courtesy: Indian Express
Even as the state government’s repression on Bhim Army continues, most of its leaders still in jail and some forced to leave Saharanpur, a committee has been formed for the defense of Bhim Army. (For background information, please see the ‘Note on Bhim Army’, appended at the end of this post, which carries links to informative videos as well). A group of activists and committed lawyers have been following up the legal struggle practically at their own expense – which at the moment involves getting the arrested activists, including the founder-President Chandrashekhar out of bail as the topmost priority. Some of the activists have started getting bail many still remain, including just ordinary people simply picked up by the people and framed by the police as Bhim Army activists.
However, getting the jailed activists out on bail is simply the first step in a long battle. The deliberate campaign of vilification that has been going on about Bhim Army has tried to paint the organization as ‘antinational’ and ‘instigators of violence’ who apparently have ‘Naxalite’ connections. Even though none of this could be substantiated and thus brought by the police into their charges against the jailed activists, the campaign of demonization has nevertheless continued through some sections of the media. Needless to say, such misleading campaign is meant to incite popular feelings against such groups who have been working mainly for education and self respect among the Dalit population in their area. Such a campaign of vilification cannot but affect the chances of wining the legal battle as well. It also ends up driving people who may have initially been sympathetic to their cause by sowing doubts about them in the popular mind.
It is with this concern in mind that a large number of citizens from different walks of life have come together to form the Committee for the Defense of Bhim Army, in order to mobilize all possible support for the embattled activists.
The Committee for the Defence of Bhim Army has been constituted comprising the following members from different walks of life:
Coordinators: Pradeep Narwal and Sanjeev Mathur
Treasurers: Presenjit Gautam and Nakul Singh Sawhney
Anand Teltumbde, Civil rights thinker and activist, Mumbai
Jignesh Mewani, Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch
Kancha Ilaiah, Political scientist, thinker and writer, Hyderabad
Chandrabhan Prasad, Dalit thinker
Radhika Ramaseshan, Senior journalist with Business Standard
Harsh Mander, Human rights activist and Director, Centre for Equity Studies, Delhi
Syeda Hamid, Former member, Planning Commission
Om Thanvi, Senior journalist, former editor, Jansatta
Sambhaji Bhagat, Cultural activist, Maharashtra
Meera Velayudhan, Academic, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum
Martin Macwan, Social activist, Gujarat
Ratan Lal, Academic, Hindu College, Delhi University
Sachin Mali, Cultural activist
Sheetal Sathe, Cultural activist
S.R Darapuri , Former IPS officer, social activist
Colin Gonzalves, Lawyer
Anand Patwardhan, Film maker
Anil Chamadia, Journalist
Subhash Gatade, Writer and social activist
Akram Hassan, Social activist, Shamli
Surender, Dalit youth activist, Delhi University
N. Sukumar, Academic, Delhi University
Rehana Adib, Social activist, Saharanpur
Banojyotsna Lahiri, Academic and independent researcher
Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub, Actor
Amar Singh, SC/ST Trade Union, Delhi University
Dr. Mahesh Chandra, Bhim Army
Sanjay Tegwal, Bhim Army
Zakia Soman, Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan
Presenjit Gautam, Jati Todo Manch, Ghaziabad
Pradeep Narwal, Dalit youth activist, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Saroj Giri, Academic, Delhi University
Tushar Parmar, IRS
Sanjeev Mathur, Journalist
Nakul Singh Sawhney, Film maker
Praveen Verma, Research scholar, Delhi University
Aditya Nigam, Academic, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi
Amar Paswan, Ambedkarvadi Chhatra Sabha, Gorakhpur
Dhirendra, Poorvanchal Sena
Anil Yadav, Rihai Manch
Sagar Raghunath, Chhatra Bharati activist
Dr J.K. Gautam, Doctor
Dr. Sushil Kumar Gautam, Dalit Youth Activist, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut