New Delhi: The Unnao rape survivor has filed a transfer petition in the Supreme Court seeking the transfer of a criminal case filed against her in Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh, to Delhi.

Approaching the top court, she submitted that a non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued against her by the Unnao ACJM court in an FIR filed by the father of Shubham Singh, one of three men currently facing trial in New Delhi for the gang rape of the survivor.

She has called the case filed by the father of Singh, alleging that a proof of age document provided by her to the police was forged, a “counterblast FIR”.

She said that the case before the Unnao court is being pursued with the “oblique motive to intimidate, silence and harass” her and claimed that there is a grave threat to her life in Unnao.

“The criminal case in Unnao may be transferred to Delhi to prevent the judicial process from becoming an instrument of oppression and harassment. The transfer of the trial to Delhi will not prejudice the respondents whatsoever, and the same is in the interest of justice, equity and due process,” stated the plea while seeking transfer of the case.

The plea stated that she has filed an application before the ACJM Unnao for cancellation or withdrawal of the NBWs, saying that she is willing to appear before the court through video conferencing.

The plea further submitted the counter-case is an abuse of the criminal justice process to drag her out of New Delhi and bring her to Unnao, where she will not only be at grave risk of harm and injury but also tormented by the memory of being repeatedly raped.

“There is a clear, grave and real risk to the personal safety and life of the petitioner, if she is forced to appear before and face a criminal trial in Unnao district, where she was repeatedly raped and gang-raped in 2017, by powerful people enjoying political and social clout, who also deviously murdered the petitioner’s father with the connivance of police officers of PS Makhi,” the plea submitted.

The woman was kidnapped and raped by former BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh in 2017 when she was a minor.

On August 1, 2019, the apex court had transferred five cases pertaining to the rape and gang rape of the petitioner, as well as the murder and custodial death of her father, was transferred from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi. It had ordered the trial to be finished within 45 days.

The Supreme Court had also directed that the survivor, her mother, and other members of the family be provided security by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

On December 20, 2019, Sengar was sentenced to jail for the “remainder of his natural biological life” in the rape case. Sengar was convicted under Section 376 IPC and sections 5(c) and 6 of the POCSO Act.

On March 4, 2020, Sengar, his brother, and five others were convicted for the death of the rape survivor’s father in judicial custody and were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Courtesy: The Daily Siasat

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Can you imagine the horror and terror that this brave girl faced through the henchmen of the MLA Kuldeep Sengar who enjoyed patronage of all the political parties?
 
The issue of women’s safety should  be of paramount concern but look around, at the people. The b….. village is sleeping, not reacting, as if nothing happened. Where are the political parties in Uttar Pradesh? Why has the issue not been raised as sharply and powerfully as happened during the Nirbhaya case (2012)?  Can you even imagine how much misery has been brought upon the , this case has brought so much misery for the girl’s family? Her father was arrested, tortured and ultimately died in custody. The girl has been blaming herself for his death. Her mother has faced trauma. The girl and her mother were gang raped by the goons of Sanger. Her uncle too was arrested on false charges. And finally, when she did not leave her struggle and continued to fight for “justice”, the powerful MLA and henchmen planned a murder of the entire family so that the cases could be closed.
 
How poorly this reflects on our system when a victim nearly dies a case is closed. It is important that these thugs and cheats are boycotted publicly and punished by the courts of law.
 
The BJP moved after the high tone adopted by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and expelled Senger but with a faint heart. Of course, the party, will compensate his wife or brothers with some position  as they did to the politician who abused Ms Mayawati. Then she was rewarded with an elected MLA post. The woman is now a minister. Look at how the BJP leader Jagdambika Pal has defended Sengar by accusing the opposition of plotting the murder of the family of the Unnao survivor but has not uttered a word against the goons of the same fraternity ?
 
As I said before, we have all failed.
 
The Thakur leaders remained mute and in fact protected their own community goon masquerading as leader.  The Thakur community remained under the grip of their male leadership and did not stand up. The ‘others’ who felt that it is not an important issue since the ‘victim’ does not hail from a ‘marginalised’ or ‘minority’ community. This incident happened during the Kathua case. The ‘nation’ new about Kathua at the time but not Unnao. I do not say that Kathua incident was not important. I have all support for those brave legal fighters who fought and I can understand the limitations of ours, resources and everything but we do understand also the dilemmas of people. 
 
The Kathua verdict is already out. It was actively followed up and taken up by activists. But unfortunately the Unnao incident was not taken up that seriously resulting in state brutality. The state tried to muzzle her voice. She was desperately going from pillar to post. The case in the CBI court has not yet begun. Why? There was no judge appointed! Her uncle faced false charges while father was arrested, tortured and killed in police custody. In the meanwhile, the girl and her mother were also gang raped. This incident reveals just how powerful these terrorists are.
 
Frankly, in India, incidents become stories when the perpetrators of crime belong to other communities. Have you ever imagined what would have happened if, the criminals had belonged to other community particularly Muslim, in the case of Unnao ? I can bet we would have seen Karni Senas, Ram Senas, Kshatriya Senas, Hindu Yova Vahinis, Bajrangis and what not in the street and country would have been in the boil and prime time fake warriors would have been debating about this all the time instigating people to boycott or even take revenge.
 
But this is not the case with the Thakurs alone. We have seen this in all the communities including Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims too where certain matters are treated ‘internal’ and people do not speak up. Women’s issues are basically treated internally and become volatile only when the aggressor belong to another community. 
 
A crime is a crime is a crime and we need to stand up and speak against. This country is losing its soul, its conscience. My worry does not merely concern the constitutional court’s supremacy. Hopefully, both the girl and her lawyer will survive.
 
The real concern is selective anger and selective silence. The principles of ‘convenience’ need to be given a go by if we want to survive as a democratic nation which can truly be called civilised. 
 
I hope the brave girl of Unnao will survive and continue to speak up. Her story can only inspire many others who are forced to remain silent. I can only salute to this girl for her indomitable spirit, her courage in the face of adversity. She has lost so many family members. This is an insurmountable loss. However her strength is an abiding inspiration. Exemplary punishment to the perpetrators is one non-negotiable. The system needs to do more. The culture of impunity needs to be ruptured once and for all.
 
Will the Supreme court monitoring of this case, send the much-needed message to the all powerful who think they are above the law?
 
Let us see how our political parties take up this issue and ensure that no such leader is given any space in their parties. Will they rise up and make an operation clean up in their respective parties ? Will our society stand up when the matter comes from the communities. Will communities stand up and boycott who are found of such criminal acts.
 
The Supreme Court guided court verdict in this case will come soon and hopefully, within months we will have some semblance of justice. The larger question is for us all of us as a society ? Will the society remain mute to ‘internal’ violent crimes, human rights violations and only take to streets when crimes are committed by ‘others’?

This is the biggest challenge. Treat crime as a crime whoever does it is a criminal. Ofcourse everybody has a right to have a fair trial. We hope the terror regimes which have many enclaves like this in many places of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other parts of India will come to an end if there are clear cut guidelines. And hopefully, one day, these people will also called ‘terrorist’ by the government. Will they ? Not at all because, the action against Sengar has only happened after the outburst of the Supreme Court. 
 
If the Supreme Court can widen and monitor this case regularly and give an ambiguous order regarding the behavior of the police officer or investigating agencies, it will go in a long long way. Nothing substantial happened after Nribhaya case but now time has come when we all have to sit and ponder over as why we are unable to grow and become a civilised society. Dont leave everything for politicians and government to ‘think’ as larger ownership in this case is of the society which failed to rise up.

The post Selective Silence & Outrage: The Unnao Story appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: Reuters

The SC has also directed that the trials be conducted on a day-to-day basis and be concluded within 45 days. Additionally, interim compensation of Rs 25 lakhs is to be paid to the survivor. The court has also directed that she and her lawyer be provided security by CRPF personnel.

The four related cases are as follows:

• The first instance of rape where disgraced BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar is the key accused
• The gangrape of the survivor by Sengar’s henchmen a week after the first rape
• An Arms Act case slapped on the survivor’s father
• The case of his custodial death

The fifth investigation began after the vehicle in which the survivor was travelling with her lawyer and aunt was crushed by a truck. It is alleged that this was an attempt by Sengar to silence the survivor for ever. While the lawyer and her aunt were killed in the crash, the survivor is admitted to the King George Memorial Hospital in Lucknow where she is said to be in critical condition and on ventilator. The press release by Sadeep Tiwari from the hospital’s media cell may be viewed here:

This transfer is significant as the family fears that they will not receive justice under the Adityanath led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh. Their fear is the result of the impunity with which Sengar was able to operate. In fact, the first time there was some semblance of justice was when the Allahabad High Court directed the CBI to arrest Sengar in April 2018. A brief timeline of the Unnao case may be viewed here. 

It is still being debated if the survivor and her lawyer are strong enough to be transferred to a medical facility in Delhi. In fact the SC has directed the counsel for the survivor to seek opinion of the survivor’s family about shifting her. Similarly the amicus curae has been directed to seek opinion of the lawyer’s family.

Meanwhile, after much dilly-dallying, the BJP finally expelled Sengar on August 1. But it remains to be seen if the party is merely getting rid of political deadweight or if this is just a publicity stunt and Sengar will continue to enjoy the patronage of his political masters covertly. 
 

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Tragedy was our focus was never on Unnao because there were not much sensibilities about her but she is a brave woman and must be saluted for persisting the case. And this alone has become her biggest crime.

Her father was tortured in police custody and died. Now her uncles and aunts also met with the same fate. She is also battling for her life in a hospital in Lucknow. The Neta who should have been facing rape charges and behind the bar was let loose by the state and it is not possible if he did not have protection and patronage of the highest order.

He is still in the party. The nation, the party which shouted on the roof top, the chelas who virtually brought India to standstill during the Nirbhaya case, shamelessly remained silent. The women leaders who were so quick on Azam Khan’s abominable statement for which has apologised, have sealed their lips. Does this girl not belong to India. Does she not have a right to live life with dignity.

I know living a life of dignity for her will be very difficult as a nation and a society we are hypocrites. She is fighting despite all odds against her. No civil society, no activists because her story was not suitable for many but the incident two days back in which she and her family were attacked in a planned way is the eye opener.

These are politicians or thugs who are hatching such conspiracies. This is the chilling example of how our netas can do to eliminate you if you come in their way. The whole thing look like thriller from some film.

Who can trust the police given for your security. Now reports are coming that the security given to this brave girl, actually informed the goons of MLA who than planned the attack meticulously. Where are we heading for ? We have not heard much from top leaders of the BJP. They would rubbish it as any other story made to embarrass the government but they will not have the answer as why the MLA was still in the party, why he was not arrested and why the case has not been expedited.

Why the samaj at Unnao or its villages, not standing up with the woman who is seeking justice. Why have we become so dumb ? Will the Rajput Mahasabhas and Karni Senas stand up and speak for the cause of woman seeking justice from their own community neta who tried to kill her and her entire family ?

Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social activist

Courtesy: Counter Current

The post Unnao Story Is The Failure Of Indian system appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: PTI

June 2017 – April 2018: Girl’s family complains. Police refuse to even file an FIR. Family goes to court. Persists with the case for a long time. Hearing going on in the matter

April 3, 2018: Fight between girl’s family and MLA’s family in which girl’s father is beaten up. Two police complaints filed, one by MLA ‘s men and the other by girl’s family. Police acts only on one complaint, arrests father and sends him to jail.

April 8, 2018: Girl attempts suicide outside Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s home in Lucknow, accusing him of shielding the minister. 

April 9, 2018: Girl’s father dies at the district hospital where he had been brought the previous night after vomiting and abdominal pain.

Six policemen including police station officer of the area, inspector and four constables were suspended.

Police also arrested four men who were accused of assaulting the girl’s father. These are all associates of MLA Kuldeep Sengar.

A high-level inquiry was ordered into the incident.

April 10, 2018: Post-mortem report shows 14 injuries on girl’s father’s body in the Unnao case.

April 11, 2018: Case handed over to CBI.

April 12, 2018: BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Sengar charged with minor’s rape.

April 13, 2018: Allahabad HC orders arrest of the MLA. 

April 14, 2018: BJP MLA arrested and languishing in jail since then.

July 7, 2018: First chargesheet filed by CBI naming five people, including Sengar’s brother of murdering the rape survivor’s father.

July 11, 2018: CBI files chargesheet naming the MLA and Shashi Singh, the woman who allegedly lured the victim to BJP MLA. Separate chargesheet filed by CBI against five people, including the MLA’s brother Jai Deep Singh in  rape victim’s father’s death.

July 13 2018: In the third case, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Sengar and nine others for allegedly hatching a conspiracy and implicating the rape survivor’s father in an Arms Act case. Three policemen, including Ashok Singh Bhaduria, then station officer of Makhi police station, named in the chargesheet among others.

August 18, 2018: Mohammed Yunus, a key witness in the attack on the survivor’s father dies suddenly. Rape survivor’s uncle alleges that Yunus is poisoned to death. Buried with no Autopsy.

August 20, 2018: Uncle files complaint alleging MLA Sengar had gotten Yunus killed through his associates.

August 25, 2018: Yunus’s body exhumed for an autopsy.

November 21, 2018: The uncle of the victim arrested in an 18 year old gun-firing case during Panchayat elections in Makkhi village of Unnao in 2000. Sent to Unnao district jail.

December 26, 2018: FIR against the rape victim, her mother and uncle of fraud, forgery, tampering the documents (discrepancies in date of birth) with intent to frame innocent people in gangrape case.

July 4, 2019: The uncle of the girl is convicted in a 19-year-old case of attempt to murder and sent to 10 years of imprisonment by a district court. The case was filed by Sengar’s brother, Atul Singh.

July 28, 2019: The rape survivor and her lawyer were critically injured and two of her aunts were killed when the car in which they were travelling collided with a truck in Gurubakshganj area of Rae Bareli. One of the deceased aunts was a key witness in the case. They were on their way to visit the victim’s uncle lodged in Rae Bareilly jail. Security officer of girl not in the car. The number plate of truck is smeared in black paint.

July 29, 2019: A fresh FIR is lodged against BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar along with 29 others for criminal conspiracy to kill the survivor and eye-witness in a car accident.

The post Unnao rape case: A timeline of key developments appeared first on SabrangIndia.

We are academics and independent scholars from India and abroad, writing to express solidarity with, and to endorse the sentiments expressed by, forty-nine retired civil servants in their open letter to you of April 16^th 2018 (https://sabrangindia.in/article/honble-pm-modi-we-write-express-our-shame-anguish-and-rage).

Along with these civil servants and countless other citizens of India and the world at large, we wish to express our deep anger and anguish over the events in Kathua and Unnao and the aftermath of these events; over the efforts, in both cases, of those administering the relevant States to protect the alleged perpetrators of these monstrous crimes; over the subsequent profoundly distasteful efforts of rationalisation, deflection and diversion that have been so much in evidence in the reactions of your party’s spokespersons in the media; and finally over your own prolonged (and by now familiar) silence that was broken only recently with wholly inadequate, platitudinous, and  non-specific assurances of justice for the victims.

Kathua and Unnao are not isolated incidents. They are part of a pattern of repeated targeted attacks on minority religious communities, Dalits, tribals and women, in which rape and lynching have been employed as instruments of violence by gau rakshaks and others, in a sequence of events spread across Dadri in Uttar Pradesh (2015), Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir (2015), Bijapur and Sukma in Chhattisgarh (2015-16), Harda in Madhya Pradesh (2016), Latehar in Jharkand (2016), Una in Gujarat (2016), Rohtak in Haryana (2017), Delhi (2017), Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh (2017), and now Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh (2018).

Many of these events have occurred in States with BJP Governments, and all of them after the BJP assumed power at the Centre. This is not to associate violence exclusively with your party and with State governments presided over by your party. But there is an undeniable association with the ruling dispensation.

There is little evidence, in government action, of an appreciation of the importance of providing assistance to vulnerable sections of the society – whether through promotional measures aimed at enabling tribals and nomads to have access to forest and common property rights, or through preventive measures aimed at discouraging blatant breaches of the rule of law. Even the Allahabad High Court on April 12^th 2018 observed: “If this is the conduct of the police in the state, whom will a victim approach to register a complaint? If this is the stand you are repeatedly taking then we will be forced to observe in our order that law and order has collapsed in the state”.

We send you this letter because it is our duty to do so; so that we are not guilty of silence; and so that callousness and cowardice might finally draw the line at the broken body of a little girl and the rape of a young woman.
Signed:

List of signatories

1. N Abhilaasha, Centre for Urban Equity, Ahmedabad
2. Lila Abu-Lughod, Columbia University, New York, USA
3. Arnab Acharya, Independent researcher, Washington D.C.
4. Anindita Adhikari , Brown University, USA
5. Tanvir Aeijaz, Ramjas College, Delhi
6. Farzana Afridi, Delhi
7. Aftab Ahmad, Columbia University, New York, USA
8. Huma Ahmed-Ghosh, San Diego State University, CA, USA
9. Aniket Alam, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad
10. Seema Alavi, University of Delhi, Delhi
11. Meena Alexander, Hunter College/Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, USA
12. Dibyesh Anand, University of Westminster, UK
13. Anandhi, Chennai.
14. Krishna Ananth, SRM University – AP Amaravati
15. Mary Anderson: Harvard University and Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, USA
16. Aneesh, K.A., Jawaharlal Nehru Institute, New Delhi
17. Gil Anidjar, Columbia University, New York, USA
18. Anitha Kumary L, Trivandrum
19. Sundari Anitha, University of Lincoln,  United Kingdom
20. Annamalai, University of Chicago, USA
21. Shaik Dawood Ansari, Open Campus Madang, University of Papua New Guinea
22. Arjun Appadurai, New York University, New York, USA
23. Anjali Arondekar, UCLA, USA
24. Balveer Arora, Emeritus Professor and Chairman, Centre for Multilevel Federalism
25. P K Yasser Arafath, University of Delhi, Delhi
26. Shoba Arun, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
27. Arunima, JNU, New Delhi
28. Nina Asher, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, USA
29. Kiran Asher, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
30. Prashanth Asuri, Santa Clara University, USA
31. Jayadev Athreya, University of Washington, USA
32. Venkatesh Athreya, Social Activist and Retired Academic, Chennai
33. Madhav Badami, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
34. Amiya Kumar Bagchi, (Emeritus), Institute for Development Studies, Kolkata
35. Barnita Bagchi, Utrecht University, Netherlands
36. Neha Bagle, IIM Ahmedabad
37. Vidura Jang Bahadur, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
38. Amit R. Baishya, Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Oklahoma
39. Mira Bakhru, Retd faculty, IIM Bangalore, Bnagalore.
40. Aparna Balachandran, University of Delhi, Delhi
41. Radhika Balakrishnan, Rutgers University, U.S.A
42. Sai Balakrishnan, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA
43. Sujata Balasubramanian, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Hong Kong
44. Swethaa S. Ballakrishnen, New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE
45. Sibaji Bandyopadhyay, Retd Professor, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
46. Abhijit Banerjee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
47. Arindam Banerjee, Ambedkar University, Delhi
48. Chinmoy Banerjee, Emeritus, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
49. Sukanya Banerjee, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA
50. Sumanta  Banerjee, Independent Researcher, Hyderabad
51. Parama Barai, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
52. Syamal Kumar Basak (Retd), Presidency College/University, Kolkata
53. Rakesh Basant, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
54. Alaka Basu, Cornell University, U.S.A
55. Amrita Basu, Amherst College, Mass, USA
56. Deepankar Basu, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA, USA
57. Kunal Basu, University of Oxford, UK
58. Lopamudra Basu, University of Wisconsin-Stout
59. Kanika Batra, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
60. Amita Baviskar, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi
61. Rana P. Behal, University of Delhi, India.
62. Jyothsna Belliappa, Bangalore
63. Yael Berda, Hebrew University and Harvard University, USA
64. Amit Bhaduri, (Emeritus), JNU, New Delhi.
65. Monika Bhagat-Kennedy, University of Mississippi
66. Manu Bhagavan, Hunter College and the Graduate Center-CUNY, New York, USA
67. Alok Bhalla, Former Professor of English, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.
68. Sheila Bhalla, (Emerita): Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Visiting: Institute of Human Development, New Delhi
69. Brenna Bhandar, SOAS, University of London, London UK
70. Gauri Bharat, CEPT University, Ahmedabad
71. Ira Bhaskar, JNU, New Delhi
72. Saurabh Bhattacharjee, The WB National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
73. Baidik Bhattacharya, University of Delhi. Delhi
74. Neeladri Bhattacharya, Retd from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
75. Sucheta Bhattacharya, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
76. Debjani Bhattacharyya, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
77. Devaki Bhaya, Stanford, CA, USA
78. Bhangya Bhukya, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
79. Akeel Bilgrami, Columbia University, U.S.A.
80. A K Biswas, Former Vice-Chancellor, B R Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar
81. Bënil Biswas, Ambedkar University, Delhi
82. Moinak Biswas, Professor, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
83. Cavery Bopaiah, Bangalore
84. Mita Bose, retired, Indraprastha College, Delhi University and currently Adjunct faculty at ICFAI Business School, Gurugram, Haryana
85. Tirthankar Bose, Simon Fraser University, Canada
86. Saronik Bosu, New York University, New York, USA
87. Guillaume Boucher, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
88. Milind Brahme, Chennai, India
89. Vacha Brat, IIM, Ahmedabad
90. Carmen Bugan, writer and independent scholar, Long Island, USA
91. Eleanor Byrne, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
92. Maya Chadda, William Paterson University, NJ, USA
93. Kunal Chakrabarti, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
94. Achin Chakraborty, Institute for Development Studies, Kolkata
95. Chandrima Chakraborty, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
96. Lekha Chakraborty, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi
97. Madhurima Chakraborty, Columbia College Chicago
98. Pinaki Chakraborty, New Delhi
99. Rudrashish Chakraborty, Kirori Mal College, Delhi
100. Shouvik Chakraborty, PERI, University of Massachussetts Amherst, U.S.A
101. Ranabir Chakravarti, JNU, New Delhi
102. Paula Chakravartty, New York University, New York, USA
103. Mrinalini Chakravorty, University of Virginia, USA
104. Barnali Chanda, Techno India University, Kolkata
105. Sudhir Chandra, Historian
106. Vinita Chandra, Ramjas College, Delhi
107. P. Chandrasekhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
108. Tarun Chandrayadula, IIT Madras, Chennai
109. Charusheela,  University of Washington Bothell, USA
110. Sayaka Chatani, National University of Singapore, Singapore
111. Amita Chatterjee, Retired Professor of Philosophy, Jadavpur University
112. Ananya Chatterjea, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
113. Indrani Chatterjee, University of Texas at Austin, USA
114. Sreeparna Chattopadhyay, Bangalore
115. Suchetana Chattopadhyay, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
116. Ruchi Chaturvedi, University of Cape Town, South Africa
117. Amit Chaudhuri, Writer, Calcutta
118. Aparna Chaudhuri, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
119. Rosinka Chaudhuri, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
120. Sudip Chaudhuri, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.
121. Sukanta Chaudhuri, (Emeritus), Jadavpur University, Kolkata
122. Supriya Chaudhuri, (Emeritia). Jadavpur University, Kolkata
123. Wendy Chavkin MD, MPH, Columbia University, New York, USA
124. Ying Chen, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
125. Anuradha Mitra Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
126. Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
127. Dolores Chew, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
128. Anita Chikkatur, Carleton College, Northfield, MN
129. Camille Cole, Yale University, U.S.A
130. Andrew Cornford, Geneva Finance Observatory, Switzerland
131. Amrita Chhachhi, International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands
132. Jagdeep Chhokar, Professor (Retired), Indian Institute of Management,Ahmedabad
133. Sarah E. Chinn, Hunter College, CUNY, New York, USA
134. Deborah Choate, MD, Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Boston, USA
135. Noam Chomsky, ( Emeritus) Massachussetts Institute of Technology, and University of Arizona, U.S.A
136. Deepta Chopra, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
137. Elora Halim Chowdhury, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA
138. Indira Chowdhury Bengaluru, India
139. Indranil Chowdhury, University of Delhi, Delhi
140. Nusrat S Chowdhury, Amherst College, Massachusetts, USA
141. Sayandeb Chowdhury, Ambedkar University, Delhi
142. Francis Cody, University of Toronto, Canada
143. Karen Coelho, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai
144. Camille Cole, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
145. Jonathan R. Cole, Columbia University, New York, USA
146. Andrew Cornford, Geneva Finance Observatory, Switzerland
147. Romar Correa, (Retd from) University of Mumbai, Mumbai
148. Vedita Cowaloosur, Charles Telfair Institute, Mauritius
149. Vasudha Dalmia, (Emerita), University of California, Berkeley
150. Katyayani Dalmia, The New School for Social Research, New York, USA
151. Sumangala Damodaran, Ambedkar University, Delhi
152. Vinita Damodaran, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
153. Bijay K Danta, Tezpur, Assam
154. Jane D’Arista, U/Mass, Amherst, USA
155. Debapratim Das, Guwahati
156. Debarshi Das, IIT Guwahati
157. Mausumi Das, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi
158. Raju J. Das, York University, Toronto, Canada
159. Samantak Das, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
160. Shinjini Das, University of Oxford, UK
161. Amlan Dasgupta, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
162. Anirban Dasgupta, South Asian University, New Delhi
163. Indraneel Dasgupta, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
164. Sunanda Dasgupta, Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany
165. Sejuti Das Gupta, Michigan State University, USA
166. Tanya Das Gupta, Toronto, Canada
167. Minati Dash, ICSSR, New Delhi.
168. Manipadma Datta, TERI School of Advanced Studies( Deemed University), New Delhi
169. Ruth Davis, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA, USA
170. Subah Dayal, Tulane University, New Orleans, USA
171. Rohit De, Yale University, New Haven, USA
172. Ananya Debnath, Jodhpur, Rajastahn
173. Sowmya Dechamma C C, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
174. Narayana Delampady, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
175. Minoo Derayeh, Toronto, Canada
176. Manisha Desai, University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA
177. Radhika Desai, University of Manitoba, Canada
178. Jigna Desai, CEPT University, Ahmedabad.
179. Jigna Desai, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
180. Miki and Madhavi Desai, Ahmedabad
181. Renu Desai, Ahmedabad
182. Anirudh Deshpande, Department of History, Delhi University
183. Ashwini Deshpande, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi
184. Satish Deshpande, Delhi University, Delhi
185. Sudhanva Deshpande, LeftWord Books, New Delhi
186. Peter Ronald deSouza, CSDS, Delhi
187. Sanchia deSouza, University of Toronto, Canada
188. Devika, J. Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram
189. Ritu Dewan, Centre for Development Research and Action; Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai
190. Bikramjit Dey, The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
191. Meena Dhanda, University of Wolverhampton, U. K
192. Biswajit Dhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
193. Anubha Dhasmana, Bangalore
194. Roopa Dhawan, Ramjas​ College, Delhi University
195. Jean Dreze, (Visiting): Ranchi University
196. Rohan D’Souza, Kyoto University, Japan
197. Prasenjit Duara, Duke University, Durham, USA
198. Navroz K. Dubash, New Delhi
199. Vebhuti Duggal, Ambedkar University, Delhi
200. Durga Bhavani, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
201. Madhumita Dutta, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
202. Nandini Dutta, Miranda House, Delhi
203. Souraj Dutta, St Andrews University, UK
204. Nata Duvvury, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
205. Carolyn Elliott, Professor Emerita, University of Vermont
206. Meher Engineer, All India Forum on the Right to Education, New Delhi
207. Gerald Epstein, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
208. Pradeep Esteves, Context India, Bangalore
209. Richard Falk, (Emeritus): Princeton University, U.S.A
210. Alfredo Saad Filho, Department of Development Studies, SOAS University of London
211. Michelle Fine, CUNY, New York, USA
212. Nancy Folbre, PERI, University of Massachussetts Amherst, U.S.A
213. Geraldine Forbes, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita, State University of New York Oswego, USA
214. Colm Fox, Singapore Management University, School of Social Sciences, Singapore
215. Smitha Francis, New Delhi
216. Karen Gabriel, St Stephen’s College, Delhi
217. Rahul K Gairola, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
218. Toral Gajarawala, New York University, New York, USA
219. Rajmohan Gandhi, Gurgaon
220. Lata Gangadharan, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
221. Gangadhar, All India Forum for Right to Education
222. Debjani Ganguly, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
223. Geetanjali Shree, Writer
224. Maitreesh Ghatak, London Shool of Economics, U.K
225. Saran Ghatak, Professor, Keene State College, USA
226. Asher Ghertner, Rutgers University, USA
227. Professor Aisha K. Gill, University of Roehampton, UK.
228. Sayantan Ghosal, University of Glasgow, UK
229. Arunabh Ghosh, Harvard University, U.S.A
230. Devleena Ghosh, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
231. Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
232. Partha Ghosh, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi
233. Suman Ghosh, Florida Atlantic University , USA
234. Geetha Gokul, St. Thomas’ College, Trichur, Kerala
235. Priyamvada Gopal, University of Cambridge, UK
236. Radha Gopalan, Independent Researcher and Educationist, Goa
237. Gayatri Gopinath, New York University, New York, USA
238. Manu Goswami, New York University, New York, USA
239. Gregory Goulding, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
240. Paul Greenough, University of Iowa, USA
241. Sumit Guha, University of Texas at Austin, USA
242. Tapati Guha-Thakurta, Centre for the Study of Social Sciences, Calcutta, Kolkata
243. Akhil Gupta, University of California, Los Angeles
244. Bishnupriya Gupta, Warwick University, UK
245. Ruchira Gupta, New York University and University of California at Berkeley, U.S.A
246. Sayan Gupta, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai.
247. Smita Gupta, independent economist, New Delhi
248. Vikas Gupta, Department of History, Delhi University, Delhi
249. Vishal Gupta, Ahmedabad
250. Dean Gupta-Casale, Kean University, NJ, USA
251. Nira Gupta-Casale, Kean University, NJ, USA
252. Jaideep Gupte, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex UK
253. Shubhra Gururani, York University, Toronto, Canada
254. Abha Dev Habib, Miranda House, Delhi
255. John Harriss, Simon Fraser University and Centre for Modern Indian Studies, Goettingen, Germany
256. Farhat Hasan, University of Delhi, Delhi.
257. Zoya Hasan, (Emerita): Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
258. Rim Hassen, Warwick University, UK
259. Neeraj Hatekar, University of Mumbai, Mumbai
260. John C. Hawley, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA, USA
261. Himanshu, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
262. Indira Hirway, Center For Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad
263. Nalini Iyer, Seattle University, USA
264. Priyadarshini Iyer, IIM – Ahmedabad
265. Srikanth Krishnan Iyer, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
266. Vijay Iyer, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
267. Krati Jain, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India
268. Sanjay Jain, University of Oxford, UK
269. Sarandha Jain, Columbia University, New York, USA
270. Sheena Jain, formerly Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
271. Kathleen James-Chakraborty, University College, Deublin, Ireland
272. Sadia Jamil, Islamabad, Pakistan
273. Russell Janis, J.D., University of Massachussetts Amherst, U.S.A
274. Niraja Gopal Jayal, JNU, New Delhi
275. Jayaraj, retired economist, Chennai
276. Rajshri Jayaraman, ESMT Berlin, Germany
277. Katherine Jellison, Ohio University, USA
278. Praveen Jha, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
279. Gita Johar, Columbia University, New York, USA
280. May Joseph, Pratt Institute, New York, USA
281. Yogi Joseph, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
282. Chitra Joshi, Delhi University, New Delhi
283. Rutul Joshi, CEPT University, Ahmedabad
284. Amalendu Jyotishi, Amrita School of Business, Bangalore
285. Tanishka Kachru, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
286. K K Kailash, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
287. A. Kalam, C. K. Prahalad Centre for Emerging India, Loyola campus, Chennai
288. Vidya Kalaramadam, Willliam Paterson University of New Jersey, USA
289. Sangeeta Kamat, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
290. Uma S Kambhampati, University of Reading, Reading, UK
291. Milind Kandlikar, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada,
292. Kalpana Kannabiran, Council for Social Development, Hyderabad.
293. Ankur Kapoor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
294. Geeta Kapur, independent art critic, New Delhi
295. Manju Kapur, writer and ex faculty Miranda House College, Delhi University, Delhi
296. Ajit Karnik, Mumbai/Dubai
297. Massoud Karshanas, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, U.K
298. Malavika Kasturi, University of Toronto, Canada
299. Nilofer Kaul, Delhi
300. Nitasha Kaul, University of Westminster, UK
301. Rajender Kaur, William Paterson University, New Jersey, USA
302. Mukul Kesavan, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi
303. Prashant Keshavmurthy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
304. Rana Khan, Toronto, Canada
305. Stuti Khanna, IIT Delhi, Delhi
306. Sushil Khanna, (Retd.), Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.
307. Reetika Khera, IIT, Delhi
308. Ateya Khorakiwala, Princeton University, NJ, USA
309. Ayesha Kidwai, , Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
310. Viktoriya Kim, Osaka University, Japan
311. Praveena Kodoth, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum
312. Dean Kotlowski, Salisbury University, MD, USA
313. Ashok, Kotwal, (Emeritus): The University of British Columbia, Vancouver B.C, Canada
314. Ashutosh V. Kotwal, Duke University, Durham, USA
315. Astrid von Kotze, University of the Western Cape, South Africa
316. Jane Krishnadas, School of Law, Keele., UK
317. Preeti Krishnan, Bengaluru
318. Radhika Krishnan, IIT Hyderabad
319. Aishwary Kumar, School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University, USA
320. Arun Kumar, Institute of Social Sciences, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi
321. Avinash Kumar, Jawaharla Nehru University, New Delhi.
322. Deepak Kumar, JNU, New Delhi
323. Nita Kumar, Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, CA, USA
324. Udaya Kumar, Centre for English Studies, JNU, New Delhi.
325. Rachel Kurien, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
326. Somjita Laha, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
327. Nayanjot Lahiri, Ashoka University, Delhi
328. Vinay Lal, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
329. Rachel Lee, Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich, Germany
330. Roselyn Lemus, Mexico City, USA
331. Mark Liechty, The University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
332. Cynthia A. Leenerts, East Stroudsburg University, PA, USA
333. David Lelyveld, New York, USA
334. Karen Leonard, University of California at Irvine, CA, USA
335. Jinee Lokaneeta, Drew University, Madison, NJ, USA
336. Ania Loomba, University of Pennsylvania, USA
337. David Ludden, New York University, New York, USA
338. Ritty Lukose, Associate Professor, New York University, USA.
339. Anuja Madan, Kansas State University, Kansas, USA.
340. Punnappurath Madhavan, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad
341. Aruna Magier, New York University, New York, USA
342. Darshini Mahadevia, CEPT University, Ahmedabad
343. Swadesh M Mahajan, University of Texas at Austin, USA
344. Ram Mahalingam, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
345. Durairaj Maheswaran, NYU, New York, USA
346. Pushkar Maitra, Monash Business School, Monash University, Australia
347. Bipasha Maity, Ashoka University, Sonepat, Haryana
348. Rochona Majumdar, The University of Chicago, USA
349. Anshu Malhotra, University of Delhi, Delhi
350. Meenakshi Malhotra, Hansraj college, Delhi
351. Ashok Malla, McGill University, Canada
352. Mukul Mangalik, Ramjas College, University of Delhi
353. Anandi Mani, University of Oxford, UK
354. Preetha Mani, Rutgers University, USA
355. Nissim Mannathukkaren, Dalhousie University Canada.
356. Anuradha Marwah, Zakir Hussain College, New Delhi
357. Raveena Mascarenhas, Mangaluru
358. Manu V. Mathai, Bengaluru
359. John Mathew, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune
360. Shency Mathew, Gulati Institute of Finance & Taxation, Thiruvananthapuram
361. Navdeep Mathur, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
362. Deepak Maun, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
363. Ranjani Mazumdar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
364. Lyla Mehta, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex UK
365. Rushi Mehta, Utrecht, Netherlands
366. Uday S. Mehta, Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, USA
367. Gayatri Menon, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
368. Kalyani Devaki Menon, De Paul University, Chicago, USA
369. Ritu Menon, Women Unlimited, New Delhi
370. Kalyani Menon-Sen, Independent Researcher, New Delhi.
371. Tushar Meshram, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
372. Zain R. Mian, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
373. John Miller, Wheaton College, Massachussetts, U.S.A
374. Raza Mir, William Paterson University, NJ, USA
375. Payoshni Mitra, Independent researcher and activist, London, UK
376. Siddhartha Mitra, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
377. Sona Mitra, Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, New Delhi
378. Gautam Mody, New Trade Union Initiative
379. Nasreen A. Mohamed, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
380. Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Syracuse University, NY, USA
381. Mritiunjoy Mohanty, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Kolkata
382. Himansu S. Mohapatra, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
383. Bidisha Mondal, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi
384. Radhika Mongia, York University, Canada
385. Dilip Mookherjee, Boston University, Boston MA, USA
386. Sripad Motiram, University of Massachussetts, Boston, U.S.A
387. Sharun Mukand, University of Warwick, UK
388. Projit Bihari Mukharji, University of Pennsylvania, USA
389. Ankhi Mukherjee, University of Oxford, UK
390. Arun P. Mukherjee, Professor Emeritus, York University, Toronto, Canada.
391. Ashesh Mukherjee, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
392. Debashree Mukherjee, Columbia University, New York, USA
393. Debraj Mukherjee, Ramjas College, Delhi
394. Sajni Mukherji, Retd. Professor, English dept., Jadavpur University, Kolkata
395. Sanjukta Mukherjee, DePaul University, Chicago, USA
396. Upamanyu Pablo Mukherjee, Warwick University, UK
397. Harbans Mukhia, Former Professor of History and Rector, JNU, New Delhi
398. Akshaya Mukul, Delhi
399. Angelie Multani, Academic, New Delhi.
400. Kanta Murali, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
401. Maroona Murmu, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
402. Hema A Murthy, Dept. of CS&E IIT Madras
403. Ishwar Murthy, IIMB, Bangalore
404. M V N Murthy, Professor Emeritus, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai
405. Rajluxmi Vaish Murthy, IIMB, Bangalore
406. Milind Murugkar , researcher, Nashik , India
407. Barnali Nag, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
408. Richa Nagar, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, USA
409. Nagaraj, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai
410. Harini Nagendra , Bangalore
411. Ratna Naidu, Professor (retd.) University of Hyderabad and former Vice Chancellor,

SPMVV, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh

1. Sirisha Naidu, Wright State University, Ohio
2. Janaki Nair, JNU, New Delhi
3. Constantine Nakassis, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
4. Ashis Nandy, CSDS, Delhi
5. Gaura Narayan, Purchase College State University of New York, USA
6. Sudha Narayanan, Economist, Mumbai
7. Balmurli Natrajan, Willliam Paterson University of New Jersey, USA
8. Nandan Nawn, TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi
9. Nalini Nayak, Associate Professor (Retired), PGDAV (M) College, Delhi University
10. Nandini Nayak, Ambedkar University, Delhi.
11. Anuradha Dingwaney Needha, Oberlin College, OH, USA
12. Neeraja D, Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore
13. Anjali Nerlekar, Rutgers University (New Jersey), USA
14. Madhurima Nundy, Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi
15. Noreen O’Connor, King’s College, Pennsylvania
16. Rupal Oza, Hunter College, CUNY, New York, USA
17. Shivarama Padikkal, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
18. Debabrata Pal, New Delhi
19. Parthapratim Pal, IIM Calcutta, Kolkata
20. Amrita Pande,  University of Cape Town, South Africa
21. Bratati Pande, Retired, Delhi University, Delhi
22. Gyanendra Pandey, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
23. Rajyashree Pandey, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK
24. Kavita Panjabi, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
25. Ameet Parameswaran, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
26. Rajendra Parihar Ramjas College, Delhi
27. Parthasarathy, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai
28. Sujata Patel, National Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla
29. Krishna Patel, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
30. Shekhar Pathak, Historian and Editor, Pithorgarh, Uttarakhand
31. Vikram Pathania, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
32. Prabhat Patnaik, (Emeritus): Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
33. Ramesh Patnaik, Andhra Pradesh Save Education Committee,
34. Utsa Patnaik  (Emerita): Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
35. ​Sonali Perera, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York
36. Rosalind Petchesky, (Emerita):, Hunter College & the Graduate Center, CUNY
37. Geralyn Pinto, Mangalore
38. Justin Podur, York University, Toronto, Canada
39. Robert Pollin, University of Massachussetts Amherst, U.S.A.
40. Sheldon Pollock, Columbia University, New York, USA
41. Anupama Potluri, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
42. Gopalji Pradhan, School of Letters, Ambedkar, University Delhi
43. R.Prakash. ARTIC, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh.
44. Lokesh Malti Prakash, Activist & Writer, Office Secretary, All India Forum for Right to Education
45. Anup Pramanik, Indian Institute of Management, Indore
46. Madhu Prasad. New Delhi
47. Vijay Prashad, LeftWord Books.
48. Navtej Purewal, SOAS University of London
49. Jyoti Puri, Simmons College, Boston, USA
50. Bandana Purkayastha, Grafton, MA, USA
51. Meena Radhakrishna, former faculty, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
52. Raghavendra, N. Faculty, Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad
53. Harriet Raghunathan, Jesus and Mary College (retired), New Delhi
54. Rohit Rahi, London School of Economics, UK
55. Shirin M. Rai, Warwick University, UK
56. Rajeswari Sarla Raina, Scientist, New Delhi
57. Anisa Rahim, Jersey City, NJ
58. Arvind Rajagopal, New York University, New York, USA
59. Mrinalini Rajagopalan, University of Pittsburgh, USA
60. Advaita Rajendra, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
61. Prabina Rajib, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
62. Surampudi Bapi Raju, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
63. Priti Ramamurthy, University of Washington, Seattle
64. Bhavani Raman, University of Toronto, Canada
65. Usha Raman, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
66. Vasanthi Raman, Independent social scientist, New Delhi
67. Bharat Ramaswami, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
68. Sumathi Ramaswamy, Duke University, Durham USA
69. Kavitha Ranganathan, IIM-Ahmedabad
70. Malini Ranganathan, Assistant Professor, American University, Washington, DC
71. Surabhi Ranganathan, University of Cambridge, UK
72. Ajay Rao, University of Toronto, Canada
73. Anupama Rao, Barnard College, New York, USA
74. Govinda Rao, (Emeritus): National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Bangalore
75. Mohan Rao, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst MA, USA
76. Mohan Rao, JNU, New Delhi
77. Nitya Rao, University of east Anglia, Norwich, UK
78. Sumathi Rao, Harish-chandra Research Institute, Allahabad
79. Rashmi Kumari, IIM Ahmedabad
80. Manav Ratti, Salisbury University, MD, USA
81. Chitra Ravi, visiting faculty at the Azim Premji University, Bangalore, India.
82. Anushnath Ravichandran, Coimbatore
83. Vikas Rawal, Jawaharlal Nehru Uiversity, New Delhi
84. Debraj Ray, New York University, New York, USA
85. Raka Ray, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
86. Ranjan Ray, Economist, Melbourne, Australia
87. Aparna Rayaprol, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
88. Chandan Reddy, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
89. Gayatri Reddy, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
90. Rammanohar Reddy, (Visiting): Goa University, Hyderabad
91. Rohit Revi, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada
92. Shaunna Rodrigues, Columbia University, New York, USA
93. Dunu Roy, Director, Hazards Centre, New Delhi
94. Mallarika Sinha Roy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
95. Modhumita Roy, Tufts University, USA
96. Parama Roy, University of California, Davis
97. Satyaki Roy, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, New Delhi
98. Srila Roy, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
99. Srirupa Roy, University of Göttingen, Germany
100. Anamitra Roychowdhury, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
101. Marlene Rutzendorfer, Harvard University Visiting Scholar, Cambridge, MA, USA
102. Sachin N, Dyal Singh college, New Delhi
103. Niladri Saha, Basirhat College, West Bengal
104. Poulomi Saha, University of California, Berkeley, USA
105. Bhairabi Prasad Sahu, University of Delhi., Delhi
106. Arupjyoti Saikia, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.
107. Rajgopal Saikumar, New York University, New York, USA
108. Kalyani Samantray, Visiting Professor, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar
109. Padmanabh Samarendra, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
110. Preeti Sampat, Ambedkar University Delhi.
111. Samson, Nizamabad district, Telengana
112. Sudipto Sanyal, Techno India University, Kolkata
113. Aditya Sarkar, University of Warwick, UK
114. Sumit Sarkar, (Retired): Delhi University, New Delhi
115. Tanika Sarkar, (Retired): Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
116. Akshya Saxena, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
117. Susan Seizer, Indiana University,  Bloomington IN, USA
118. Abhijit Sen, Retd from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
119. Hari Sen, Ramjas College, Delhi
120. Nivedita Sen, Hansraj College, Delhi
121. Rukmini Sen, Ambedkar University, New Delhi
122. Sambuddha Sen, Shiv Nadar University, Delhi
123. Sanghita Sen, St Andrews University, UK
124. Abhijit Sengupta, University of Essex, UK
125. Debjani Sengupta, IP College, Delhi University, Delhi
126. Aaditeshwar Seth, IIT Delhi, Delhi
127. Puneet Seth, Beachwood, Ohio
128. Sanjay Seth, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
129. Svati P. Shah, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
130. Rachna Shanbog, Dublin, UK
131. Krupa Shandilya, Amherst College, USA
132. Arul Shankar, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
133. Shiva Shankar, Scientist, Chennai.
134. Alpana Sharma, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA
135. Jayeeta Sharma, University of Toronto, Canada
136. Shailja Sharma, De Paul University, Chicago, USA
137. Shilpa Sharma, University of Delhi, Delhi
138. Abhishek Shaw, Economic & Political Weekly, Mumbai
139. Samira Sheikh, Vanderbilt University, USA
140. Sherin B.S, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad
141. Parinitha Shetty, Mangaluru, Karnataka
142. Tim Shiell, University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA
143. Snehal Shingavi, Associate Professor, English, University of Texas, Austin
144. Anooradha Iyer Siddiqui, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, USA
145. Amritjit Singh, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
146. Harjinder Singh, IIIT- Hyderabad.
147. Natasha Singh, Oakland, CA
148. Pritam Singh, Oxford Brookes Business School, Oxford
149. Radhika Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
150. Supriya Singh, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
151. Upinder Singh, University of Delhi, New Delhi
152. Vidhu Singh, San Francisco, CA, USA
153. Dipa Sinha, Ambedkar University Delhi
154. Rita Sinha, Janki Devi Memorial College, Delhi
155. Shana Sippy, Centre College, KY, and Carleton College, MN, USA
156. Ajay Skaria, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
157. Sobha Rani, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
158. Srilata, K., Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai
159. Jeena T Srinivasan, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad
160. Krithika Srinivasan, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
161. Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
162. Ravindran Sriramachandran, Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana
163. Neelam Srivastava, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
164. Priyanka Srivastava, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA, USA
165. Hamsa Stainton, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
166. Domna C. Stanton, Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA
167. Abigail J. Stewart, University of Michigan
168. Catherine Stimpson, New York University, New York, USA
169. Sivagami Subbaraman, Washington D.C., USA
170. Binaya Subedi, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
171. K Venkata Subrahmanyam, Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai.
172. Banu Subramaniam, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA, USA
173. Lakshmi Subramanian, Institute of Advanced Studies, Nantes, France
174. Narendra Subramanian, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
175. Subramanian, Independent Scholar and former ICSSR National Fellow, Chennai.
176. Mita Sujan, Tulane University, New Orleans, USA
177. Nandini Sundar, Delhi University, New Delhi
178. Vivan Sundaram, artist, New Delhi
179. S. Sunder, retired professor, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai
180. Kaushik Sunder Rajan, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
181. Rajeswari Sunder Rajan, New York University, U.S.A.
182. Shamina Talyarkhan, New York, USA
183. Ashwini Tambe, University of Maryland, MD, USA
184. Tanima, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
185. Akshaya Tankha, University of Toronto, Canada
186. Anand Teltumbde, GIM, Goa
187. Tariq Thachil, Vanderbilt University, USA
188. Manish Thakur , IIM Calcutta, Kolkata
189. Binitha Thampi.. IIT Madras, Chennai
190. Susie Tharu, Hyderabad
191. Dania Thomas – University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
192. Thomas Joseph Thoomkuzhy, Gulati Institute of Finance & Taxation, Thiruvananthapuram
193. Miriam Ticktin, The New School for Social Research, NYC, USA
194. Ahmet Tonak, (Visiting): University of Massachussetts Amherst, U.S.
195. Nasir Tyabji, formerly with Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi
196. Sahana Udupa, Professor of Media Anthropology, University of Munich (LMU), Germany
197. Lalit Vachani, CeMIS, University of Göttingen
198. Ananya Vajpeyi, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi.
199. Vamsi Vakulabharanam, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
200. Achin Vanaik, Retd from Delhi University, New Delhi
201. Sarah Van Arsdale, NYU and Antioch University/LA
202. Hendrik Van Den Berg, (Emeritus): University of Nebraska, U.S.A
203. Poornima Varma, IIM, Ahmedabad.
204. Rahul Varma, playwright and artistic director of Teesri Duniya Theatre
205. Rashmi Varma, Warwick University, UK
206. Rohit Varman, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Kolkata
207. Ravi Vasudevan, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi
208. Sylvia Jane Vatuk, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago
209. Malathi Velamuri, Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai, India
210. Shikha Verma, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
211. K. Vijayan, Hindu College, Delhi
212. Bhaskar Vira, University of Cambridge, UK
213. Sujata Visaria, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong.
214. Gauri Viswanathan, Columbia University, New York, USA
215. Kamala Visweswaran, University of California San Diego, CA, USA
216. Shweta Wagh, KRVIA Mumbai
217. Gareth Wall , University of Birmingham, UK
218. Jini Watson, New York University, New York, USA
219. Amanda Weidman, Bryn Mawr College, USA
220. Thomas Weisskopf, (Emeritus): University of Michigan, U.S.A
221. Jeannette Wicks-Lim, PERI, University of Massachusetts, Amherst , USA
222. David Winter, (Emeritus): University of Michigan, USA
223. Pramod Yadava, Retd Professor, JNU, New Delhi
224. Louise Yelin, Professor Emerita, Purchase College, Purchase NY, USA
225. Nobuharu Yokokawa, Musashi University, Japan
226. Shundana Yusaf, University of Utah, USA

The post Over 600 academics, scholars from India and abroad express “deep anger and anguish” over Kathua, Unnao in an open letter to PM appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image: News18
 
The rally was led by the Nagar Panchayat President Anuj Kumar Dixit, who said, “It is a political conspiracy to defame our MLA. He is innocent and being framed in false charges. We demand a neutral and independent enquiry into the matter.”
 
This rally was dishearteningly similar to an incident in Kathua, where an organisation called the Hindu Ekta Manch held a rally, audaciously waving the Indian flag in support of the accused rapists in the case where an eight-year-old nomadic Muslim girl was gang-raped and murdered. Even more egregious was the presence of two local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers, Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga, at the rally. The two ministers have since resigned. 
 
Widespread public outrage, both from within and outside the country, seems not to have dampened the efforts of those supporting the people accused of these heinous crimes. When some sections of the public continue to align with and support such individuals, is it any wonder that sexual violence against women remains pervasive, and that a culture of impunity still persists?
 
In the Unnao case, the rape took place in June 2017. The survivor had subsequently filed an FIR against Sengar, but the police allegedly took no action. The case only drew attention after she attempted suicide outside UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence on April 8. When the Allahabad High Court questioned the government, its senior-most law officer had maintained that there was not enough evidence to arrest Sengar. The CBI detained him for questioning.
 
In fact, Sengar was only arrested in April 2018 after the Allahabad High Court questioned the Uttar Pradesh government’s tackling of the case, calling it “appalling,” and eventually directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to arrest, not just detain him. He was remanded to CBI custody following arrest, and his custody was extended by a week on April 20. Prior to his arrest, Sengar had “strutted around, denying the accusation, disparaging the girl and her family and hitting out at the media”. 
 
On April 5, the survivor’s father was taken into custody following an alleged scuffle which the survivor insists was actually a beating at the behest of Sengar’s brother. The survivor’s father was arrested with injuries and died in judicial custody just a day after his daughter’s suicide attempt. The post-mortem revealed brutal wounds, and found that he died due to shock and septicaemia. However, his death was allegedly made to look like it took place during a rioting incident while in custody. The victim had alleged that her father was “killed at the behest of the BJP MLA” who investigators now seem to have found was present in Unnao on April 3, the day the survivor’s father was attacked. Sengar’s brother was among those arrested for allegedly attacking the survivor’s father. An SIT probe was ordered into both, the rape case as well as the case of custodial torture and death.
 

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Some self-styled Indian patriots settled in UK have launched a petition seeking action against those who tore the Indian national flag recently.

Ever since Modi got elected as Prime Minister in 2014, attacks on religious minorities have grown. The BJP supporters frequently target Muslims and Christians, as well as so-called untouchables. Members of the Sikh minority fear assimilation, since the BJP considers Sikhs as part of the Hindu fold a claim that is vehemently denied by the Sikh leaders). Despite this, the BJP and Hindu Right organizations have been directly or indirectly involved in attacks on Sikhs in the past and during recent times.

The Indian government also reacted sharply to the “act of sacrilege,” and the UK has apologized for the incident.

It is understandable that people can be sensitive about national flags, but considering some recent developments in India, one can argue that this reaction is completely hypocritical.

In fact, the Indian state and its apologists outside the country have no moral right to grumble over what happened in London.

Do we need to remind them that the biggest disgrace to the flag was committed by supporters of the BJP when they rallied in support of those accused of the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl in Kathua? belonged to a nomadic community. Some Hindu fanatics conspired to rape and kill her to not only humiliate her community, but to force them to migrate. Clearly, sexual violence was used as a political weapon on an innocent child.

Those who rallied in support of the perpetrators were seen waving the Indian national flag. We need to ask those shedding tears for a torn flag, wasn’t this shameful? Where were these patriots when the national flag was used in defence of the rapists and murderers?

This wasn’t the first time that BJP supporters used the national flag in defence of those involved in heinous crime. Earlier, the dead body of a Hindu extremist who was convicted for the murder of a Muslim and had died due to illness was draped in the national flag. Why was such outrage missing when the coffin of a Hindu bigot was covered with the national flag?

A nation is not defined by a land mass, its boundaries or its national icons, such as flags or emblems. It is represented by its people. These patriots should rather be upset over what the current government and its supporters are doing to the citizens, by denying them equal rights, raping them and killing them with impunity, in complete contradiction to what the Indian constitution stands for. The fashionable patriots who are carried away by a symbolic gesture of protesters in London should rather ask themselves whether or not the Indian constitution is based on the principles of religious freedom and equality? If that is true, then their anger must be directed at Modi and his cohorts, instead of those who only wanted to draw international attention to the ongoing violence against minorities in India.

Gurpreet Singh is a Canada- based journalist who publishes Radical Desi- a monthly magazine that covers alternative politics.
 

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These data indicate the government move to prioritise a change to legislation that allows courts to grant the death penalty to rapists of children younger than 12 will not bring quicker or better justice because there is no plan to address conviction failures and court delays.
 
The new ordinance also adds a minimum punishment of 20 years to anyone who rapes a woman below 16.
 
Of 39,068 rape victims–including women and girls–in 2016, 43% (16,863) of the girls raped were minor, below the age of 18, while, 5% (2,116) were less than 12 years old, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

 
The union cabinet on April 21, 2018, approved an ordinance to the Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), allowing for harsher punishments to those committing sexual crimes against women and children. An ordinance is promulgated by the President of India when the union cabinet so recommends and used when Parliament is out of session to quickly pass legislation deemed urgent.
 
The amendments, known as the Criminal Law Ordinance 2018, come during a period of national uproar. April 2018 was a month where the high-profile rape cases of eight-year-old Asifa in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, and the alleged rape of a minor in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, allegedly by a BJP MLA, dominated the national media and fuelled much politicised debate along religious and ethnic lines.
 
Reporting may be deterred, rather than rape
 
There were 19,765 reported child rapes in India in 2016, or 54 every day, under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences  (POCSO) Act–an increase of almost 6% compared to 2014 when 18,661 cases were reported.
 

Source: National Crime Records Bureau
Note: Child rape cases in 2016 have been recorded under section 376 of the IPC and section 4 & 6 of the POCSO Act. In 2014 and 2015, these cases were recorded separately under IPC crimes and POCSO Act, and we have included them for comparison. Cases reported in 2012 and 2013 were only under section 376 of the IPC.
 
Madhya Pradesh reported the most 13% (2,467) child rapes nationwide in 2016, followed by Maharashtra (12%, 2,292 cases) and Uttar Pradesh (11%, 2,115 cases).
 
Sikkim reported the highest rate of rape, 32.5 rapes per 100,000 children, followed by Mizoram (26.7) and Delhi (14.5), as against the national average of 4.4 child rapes.
 
About 18-20% of child rapes occur in the family and 50% in an institutionalized setting, according to this 2013 paper published in the journal Psychological Studies.
 
Offenders were known to the victims–including both women and girl child–in 94% of the rape cases reported in 2016, NCRB data show. Most of them (29%) were neighbours, followed by ‘known persons on promise to marry the victim’ (27%) and relatives (6%); 30% were other known people.
 
The introduction of a death penalty for those accused of raping a child under 12 years could have a negative effect on reporting, as families fear ostracization and legal consequence for family members.
 
“The introduction of the death penalty is not a great move. In the family these cases will not be reported, so many of these things happen by known people, the community will protect them,” Flavia Agnes, a women’s’ rights lawyer and co-founder of MAJLIS, a Mumbai-based organisation that provides legal initiatives for women, told IndiaSpend.
 
“Reporting rates were definitely increasing, but now I believe more people will not report (rapes) for fear of the consequences,” she said.
 
Conviction delays and a 72% failure rate
 
Up to 90% of rape cases reported were pending trial at the end of 2016.
 
The conviction rate for child rape was 28%–inclusive of cases reported under section 376 of IPC and section 4 and 6 of POCSO Act–in 2016, compared to 34% in the previous year under section 376 of IPC, and 41% and 32% under section 4 and 6 of the POCSO act in 2015 respectively.
 
“Expedited trials are just not happening in India, it will take 20-30 years to improve the system,” said Ms Agnes. “Just one or two special courts is not enough; this is why so many cases are pending. Plus trials take too long.”
 
Six fast-track courts were set up in Delhi in 2013 after the gang rape of a 23-year-old paramedic student, to address the  high rate of unfinished investigations and encourage swifter convictions. However, in 2012, regular courts resolved 500 cases compared to 400 in fast track courts, which failed to serve their inherent purpose, Business Standard reported on December 14, 2014.
 
The last person to receive capital punishment in India for reasons other than terrorism was Dhananjoy Chatterjee who raped and murdered 14-year-old schoolgirl. Chatterjee was hanged in August 2004.   
 

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