The Bhima Koregaon 16: Which Activists Were Imprisoned For 'Waging War Against Government Of India'?

More than five years after caste-based violence in Pune triggered the arrests of 16 leading activists, lawyers, scholars and artists and a long-drawn investigation into an alleged conspiracy to provoke violence between different communities, the Supreme Court today granted bail to two activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. The activists, infamously known as the BK-16, were charged under the repressive Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for alleged links to banned Maoist groups and for being involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While some died in custody, and others have been granted bail, the accused have been languishing in jail under a repressive law with little hope in sight of being freed.

The case pertains to the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which according to the Pune police was funded by Maoists. Police had alleged that the inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune the next day.

Here are brief profiles of the ‘Bhima Koregaon 16’

1. Sudha Bharadwaj

The lawyer and trade union activist was arrested on August 28, 2018 under UAPA charges. She has lived and worked in Chhattisgarh for over three decades and consistently advocated for the rights of the marginalised. She has acted as legal representation in several cases of extrajudicial executions of adivasis and has represented adivasis and activists before the National Human Rights Commission of India. She was released on bail on December 9, 2021.

2. Surendra Gadling

A Nagpur-based human rights lawyer and General Secretary of the Indian Association of the People’s Lawyers, Gadling was arrested on June 6, 2018. He has represented numerous human rights defenders who were arrested on fabricated charges. Until his arrest, he was handling the case of G.N. Saibaba, a Delhi University professor and wheelchair user who was jailed for alleged Naxal links. He was charged under UAPA for “spreading controversial pamphlets” that incited the violence and is currently lodged in the Taloja Central Prison, Navi Mumbai, and is awaiting trial.

3. Varavara Rao

A Telugu poet, activist, teacher and writer, Rao was arrested on August 28, 2018. He used to regularly take part in various social activism activities and often spoke publicly on human rights issues. He was also at the forefront of mobilising democratic support to the widespread mass movements in northern Telangana during post-emergency days. After being denied bail multiple times, Rao was finally released on bail by the Supreme Court of India, on medical grounds in August 2022. 

4. Sudhir Dhawale 

A Dalit rights activist and editor of the Marathi magazine ‘Vidrohi’, Sudhir was arrested on June 6, 2018. Along with campaigning for the effective implementation of the SC ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, he often took up the cause of Dalits in violent incidents such as the Ramabai Nagar Dalit Hatyakand in Ghatkopar in Mumbai (1997). He is currently lodged in the Taloja Central Prison, Navi Mumbai, and is awaiting trial.

5. Mahesh Raut

A former Prime Minister's Rural Development (PMRD) Fellow and activist working on tribal issues, Raut was arrested on June 6, 2018. He has advocated for the rights of Adivasis and fought against the displacement of marginalised communities in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. He is the youngest accused in the case and is still awaiting trial. 

6. Shoma Sen

 A professor and activist associated with women's rights and Dalit causes, Sen was arrested on June 6, 2018. She was actively involved in supporting the workers during the textile strike in Mumbai of the 1980’s and was an active member of the national collective, Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS). Sen has been lodged in Byculla’s women’s prison in Mumbai, and is awaiting trial.

7. Rona Wilson

An activist and member of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP), Wilson was arrested on June 6, 2018. He has worked with people accused in terrorism cases, including those booked under the UAPA. He had also collectively worked with activists for release of G.N. Saibaba who was convicted in 2017 for alleged connections with Maoists. Wilson is currently lodged at Taloja Central jail, and is awaiting trial.

8. Arun Ferreira

An activist and lawyer, Ferreira was arrested on August 28, 2018. He used to run a student organisation that undertook campaigns for the rights of students and other oppressed sections. He also began working as a lawyer in December 2016 and then became a part of the ‘Indian Association of People’s Lawyers’ and the ‘Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights’ – which worked to gather lawyers who were involved in the legal support of collective struggles for people’s rights and in situations of gross rights violations. He was granted bail today.

9. Vernon Gonsalves

A writer and activist, Gonsalves was arrested on August 28, 2018. A trade unionist and academician, Gonsalves also writes extensively on Dalit and Adivasi rights, the conditions of prisons in India and the rights of prisoners. He was released on bail today.

10. Anand Teltumbde

 A scholar, writer, and civil rights activist, Teltumbde’s house was raided on 29 August 2018 by the police after accusing him of having a connection to the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence. The Washington Post had then reported that Teltumbde was arrested as part of "a government crackdown on lawyers and activists" who are critics of Modi. He has written extensively on Dalit rights caste system in India. He is currently lodged in Taloja Central jail, and is awaiting trial.

11. Gautam Navlakha

 A civil liberties activist and journalist, Navlakha was arrested in the case on August 28, 2018. A member of People’s Union for Democratic Rights, and an editorial consultant of the Economic and Political Weekly, Navlakha’s work is focussed on the army and state atrocities in Kashmir. He is currently lodged in Taloja jail, and is awaiting trial.

12. Ramesh Gaichor

 An anti-caste activist and member of the cultural troupe Kabir Kala Manch, Gaichor was arrested on September 7, 2020. Gaichor is lodged at Taloja central jail, and is awaiting trial. The Kabir Kala Manch was a cultural organisation that was formed in Pune, Maharashtra, India, after the Gujarat riots in 2002. Through music, poetry and theatre, the organised aimed to spread an "anti-caste, pro-democracy message."

13. Sagar Gorkhe

An anti-caste activist and member of the cultural troupe Kabir Kala Manch, Gorkhe was also arrested in September 2020. He started writing songs and poetry to talk about people’s rights and justice. Gorkhe is lodged at Taloja central jail, and is awaiting trial.

14. Jyoti Jagtap

A musical performer, anti-caste activist and member of the cultural troupe Kabir Kala Manch was arrested in September 2020. She is held in Mumbai’s Byculla jail, and is awaiting trial.

15. Hany Babu

A former Delhi University professor and an anti-caste activist, Babu was arrested in January 2020. He used the RTI to expose the reservation system in DU wherein colleges were availing funds under OBC expansion but not implementing reservations. Babu is lodged at Taloja Central jail, and is awaiting trial.

16. Father Stan Swamy

A Jesuit priest and tribal-rights activist based in Jharkhand, Swamy was arrested in October 2020.  He worked among the tribals of central India for over three decades and had questioned the non-implementation of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which proposed the setting up of a Tribes Advisory Council with members solely belonging to the Adivasi community for their protection, well-being and development in the state. Swamy died in prison, in July 2021, at the age of 84, awaiting bail on medical grounds.