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The renowned Telugu poet and political activist Varavara Rao has been in police custody since November 18 2018. The charges against him are: waging war against the state, conspiring to overthrow the government and plotting the assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Varavara Rao is one of India’s foremost intellectuals who has inspired two generations of activists, writers and students. He is one of the founders of the Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (Revolutionary Writers’ Association) or Virasam which has played a major role in the development of Telugu literature in the last half-century. His poetry has been translated into all major Indian languages.
Mr Rao is no stranger to harassment and imprisonment by authorities as he has spent his life challenging injustice and oppression by the State. He was first arrested in 1973 because the revolutionary nature of his poetry was seen as a threat by the government. At that time the Andhra Pradesh High Court had ordered his release, stating that writers cannot be arrested for simply giving expression to their imagination. He was arrested again in 1974 and then in 1985 but was on both occasions eventually acquitted of all charges.
Mr Rao’s most recent arrest was for his involvement in the Elgar Parishad rally which took place in December 2017. The event was alleged by police to have Maoist links and was held responsible for the Bhima Koregaon anti-Dalit violence that followed. Recently, in a letter addressed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, former information commissioners Shailesh Gandhi and M. Sridharacharyulu have stated that there is no evidence against Mr Varavara Rao. They have pointed out that the Pune police and the state investigation teams investigated the case for 16 weeks but could not collect “even an iota of evidence”.
The Maharashtra government, which recently came to power, had also declared that they would close his case file soon. But the union government hurriedly transferred the case to the National Investigation Agency, preventing any possibility of justice.
The persecution of Mr Rao under the Modi regime comes as no surprise. Writers and poets have always been at the forefront of political dissent under authoritarian and autocratic governments and are always among the first voices to be suppressed during such times.
Mr Rao is now 80 years old. He recently developed major health complications because of which he has had to be hospitalised. His continued imprisonment under such circumstances, as well as in the face of the risk posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, is unacceptable. Socialist Party (India) demands that Varavara Rao be released and all charges against him dropped immediately.
For a detailed profile of Varavara Rao click here.
Endorsed by:
| 1. A J C Bose, Associate Professor, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi |
| 2. Aakanksha Tiwari, Researcher – Environment and Climate Action, Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group, Chennai, India |
| 3. Aakar, Columnist, Bangalore |
| 4. Abdul Bari Masoud, Senior Journalist, Puber Kalom, New Delhi |
| 5. Abha Bhaiya, Women’s Rights Activist |
| 6. Abhijit Mitra, Professor, IIIT, Hyderabad |
| 7. Achin Vanaik, Retired Professor, University of Delhi, Delhi |
| 8. Aditya Yadav, Student, IIT(BHU), Delhi |
| 9. Adv. Philo Thomas, Lawyer/ Social Activist, Women’s Welfare Centre, Pune |
| 10. Ahamad Raza Khan, Student, Chhatra Chintak Sabha /Khwaja Moinuddin Chusti Language University, Lucknow |
| 11. Ajaz Shaikh, PhD Student, GU, Gujarat |
| 12. Akhtar Ehtisham, Orthopedic Surgeon, Private Practice, South Plainfield, NJ, USA. |
| 13. Aleyamma Joseph, Teacher, Dharuhera |
| 14. Alka Hingorani, Educator, IIT Bombay, Mumbai |
| 15. Alok Laddha, Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai |
| 16. Amarendra Pandey, Education, Gandhinagar |
| 17. Amin, Self Employed, Boston |
| 18. Amit Bhaduri, Former Professor Emeritus of JNU; also of other universities around the world, Delhi |
| 19. Amit Kumar Khoiwal, Student, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati |
| 20. Amit Singh, Teacher, IIT Bombay, Bombay |
| 21. Amitabha Basu, Retired Scientist, National Physical Laboratory (CSIR), New Delhi |
| 22. Amod Shah, PhD Researcher, International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands |
| 23. Anand Mathew, Cultural and Peace Activist, Prerna Kala Manch, Varanasi |
| 24. Anannya Bhattacharjee, NCR |
| 25. Anil Sadgopal, Educationist & Scientist, All India Forum for Right to Education, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh |
| 26. Anjana, Lawyer, S&A Associates, Hyderabad |
| 27. Annie Namala, Civil Society Platform , Wada Na Todo Abhiyan , Delhi |
| 28. Anshuman Singh, Student, Varanasi |
| 29. Anupam Pachauri, PhD, University of Sussex, Academic, NIEPA, New Delhi, Delhi |
| 30. Arati Chokshi, Housewife, Bangalore |
| 31. Arun Agnihotri, Vadodara |
| 32. Arun Kumar, Retired Professor, JNU, Gurugram |
| 33. Aruna Rodrigues, Environment and Strategy Planning, Sunray Harvesters, MHOW CANTT. MP India |
| 34. Aruna Roy, Political Activist, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan |
| 35. Ashima Singh, Retired Government Servant, Lucknow |
| 36. Ashish Kothari, Pune |
| 37. Ashok Dansana, Teaching (Professor), Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha |
| 38. Asmina Venkatesh, Thane |
| 39. Ateek Ahamad, Master of Social Work, Child Helpline Foundation Lucknow, Lucknow |
| 40. Atul, Student, NLU Delhi, Uttar Pradesh |
| 41. Bharat Jhunjhunwala, Columnist, Uttarakhand |
| 42. Bobby Ramakant, Public Health Activist, Co-Founder, Citizen News Service, Lucknow |
| 43. Cedric Prakash , Human Rights Activist , PRASHANT Centre for Human Rights Justice Peace!, Ahmedabad Gujarat |
| 44. Chinu, Trade Unionist, NCBE, Mumbai |
| 45. Claude Alvares, Environmentalist, The Goa Foundation, Mapusa, Goa |
| 46. D Parthasarathy, Academic, IIT Bombay, Mumbai |
| 47. D. Narasimha Reddy, Teaching(rtd), University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad |
| 48. D. Viveka, Education , Forum for Justice and Peace, Mumbai |
| 49. David, Social Worker, Ranchi |
| 50. Debarpita Manjit, Teacher, Delhi |
| 51. Deepak Kapur, Distinguished Professor, University of New Mexico, USA, USA |
| 52. Deepak Malghan, Academic, IIM Bangalore, Bengaluru |
| 53. Dev Nathan, Evonomist, Gurgaon |
| 54. Devika, Advocate, Chennai |
| 55. Dhananjay Tripathi, Teacher, UP Secondary Education Board School , Varanasi |
| 56. Dharmendra Vishwakarma, Social Worker, Star Krishi Magazine, Hardoi |
| 57. Dipak Dholakia, Convener, Indian Community Activists Network (ICAN), Delhi |
| 58. Dr Biswajit, Social Worker, Rashtriya Yuva Sangathan, Cuttack |
| 59. Dr K. Soman, Scientist (Retired), National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Thiruvsananthaapuram |
| 60. Dr Lubna Sarwath, Economist and Politician, Socialist Party(India), Hyderabad |
| 61. Dr Prof. Priya Ranjan, Teaching and Research, SRMU, AP, Mangalgiri, AP |
| 62. Dr R Kushwaha, Social Activist, Homeopractice, Akriti Foundation, Unnao |
| 63. Dr Vivek Kr Singh, Professor, DSMNR UNIVERSITY, Lucknow |
| 64. Dr Walter Fernandes , Social Scientist , North Eastern Social Research Centre, Guwahati |
| 65. Durgesh Kumar Chaudhary, Research Scholar, Dayal Singh College, Delhi University, Delhi |
| 66. Ekta Tomar, Student, National Law University, Delhi |
| 67. Elsa, Social Worker, Chennai |
| 68. Evelyn Menezes, Social Worker, International Christian Women Organisation, Mumbai |
| 69. Firoz, Delhi |
| 70. FORUM for Justice & Peace, Ranchi |
| 71. G N Devy, Writer, Karnataka |
| 72. Gautam Mody, New Trade Union Initiative, India |
| 73. Ghanshyam Shah, Academic, Retired Professor, JNU, Ahmedabad |
| 74. Goldy M George PhD, TISS, Mumbai, Consulting Editor, Forward Press, Raipur, Chhattisgarh |
| 75. Hans Raj Jakhu, Accountant, United Kingdom- Wolverhampton |
| 76. Hiren Gandhi, Social Activist, DARSHAN, Ahmedabad |
| 77. Hrithwik Singh, Law Student, NALSAR University of Law, Lucknow |
| 78. Hugo Gorringe, University Lecturer, University of Edinburgh, UK |
| 79. INS Vikrant, Student, Delhi University, Delhi |
| 80. Irfan Engineer, Mumbai |
| 81. Irfan Qayoom, Student, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur |
| 82. Ishwarbhai Prajapati, Retired Activist, Ahmedabad |
| 83. Jacob Peenikaparambil, Social Worker, Universal Solidarity Movement (USM) Indore, Indore City |
| 84. Jagdeep Chhokar, Professor (Retired), New Delhi |
| 85. Jagmohan Singh, Democratic Rights Worker, Association For Democratic Rights (Punjab), Ludhiana |
| 86. Jatin Sheth, Social Activist, Nagrik Sashaktikaran Manch, Ahmedabad |
| 87. Jayanti Panchal, Trade Unionist, Socialist Party (India), Ahmedabad (Gujarat) |
| 88. John Dayal, Writer, Independent, New Delhi |
| 89. Joseph Mattam, Emeritus Professor, Society of Jesus, Vadodara |
| 90. Josna, Publisher, Critical Quest, New Delhi |
| 91. Joya Roy, Freelance Editor, Ex-Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi, New Delhi |
| 92. K Babu Rao, Retired Scientist, Hyderabad |
| 93. K P Fabian , Distinguished Fellow, Symbiosis University, New Delhi |
| 94. K. Sudhir, Architect, Peoples Architecture Commonwealth, Chennai |
| 95. K.Chakradhar Rao, Retired Professor, Osmania University, Hyderabad |
| 96. K.P. Sasi, Film Maker, Visual Search, Bangalore |
| 97. Kanhaiya Pandey, Samajik Karyakrta, NAPM, Kushinagar |
| 98. Kennedy, Advocate, Citizen’s Right Forum, Trichy, Tamil Nadu |
| 99. Khairunnisha, Social activist, Parwaaz, Ahmedabad |
| 100. Krishnaveni K, Activist and Translator, Chennai |
| 101. Kumar Abhishek, Student, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya |
| 102. Kumar Sandeep, Lawyer, Patna High Court, Patna |
| 103. Kumkum Roy, Teacher, New Delhi |
| 104. M. Maqbool A. Mateen, Social Activist, United Citizens’ Forum, Hyderabad |
| 105. Maansi Shah, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
| 106. Madan Lal Hind, Journalist (Retired),The Hindustan Times, New Delhi |
| 107. Madha Prasad, Teaching, EFL University, Hyderabad |
| 108. Madhu Bhaduri, Retired from goverment service, Delhi |
| 109. Madhu Prasad, Associate Prof (Retd) Delhi University, All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRTE), New Delhi |
| 110. Madhusudhan Raman, Postdoctoral Fellow, TIFR, Mumbai |
| 111. Malathy, Hyderabad |
| 112. Mallika Sarabhai, Darpana |
| 113. Maneksha Varghese, President – NGO, Farmer & Entrepreneur, DESH Foundation, Ahmedabad |
| 114. Manju, Ranchi |
| 115. Mansee Bal Bhargava, Professor – Researcher, Ahmedabad |
| 116. Manzoor Ghori, Clinical Scientist, USA |
| 117. Martin Macwan, Activist, Navsarjan Trust, Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
| 118. Mary John, Researcher, New Delhi |
| 119. Meenakshi Saharan, PhD Scholar, IIT Kanpur, Delhi |
| 120. Mohammad Chappalwala, Admin, Sambhaavnaa Institute, Himachal Pradesh |
| 121. Mohammad Imran, Engineer, Certified Appraiser, Retired, New Jersey |
| 122. Mohini Mullick, Teacher, IIT Kanpur (retired), New Delhi |
| 123. Mukarram, Self Employed, India |
| 124. Naina, New Delhi |
| 125. Narayana Rao T, Consultant, Citizens Association Against Corruption, Hyderabad |
| 126. Natasha Badhwar, Writer, Film-Maker, New Delhi |
| 127. Navdeep Mathur, Academician, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad |
| 128. Neelima Sharma, Theatre, Nishant Natya Manch, NCR |
| 129. Nilesh Parmar, Student, Actor, Writer, Centre for Development Communication / Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. |
| 130. Niloufer Bhagwat, Lawyer, Vice President, Indian Association of Lawyers, Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| 131. Padma Velaskar, Academic, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Retd Prof), Mumbai |
| 132. Pankaj Bisht, Writer and Editor, Samayantar, Delhi |
| 133. Pankaj Kumar Choubey, Manager in a Private Firm, Alkhair Cooperative Credit Society Limited, Lucknow |
| 134. Parasuraman, Dean, Faculty of Sustainability studies, MIT World Peace University, Pune, Maharashtra, India |
| 135. Partho Sarothi Ray, Scientist, Professor, Kolkata |
| 136. Persis Ginwalla , Ahmedabad |
| 137. Philomena D’Souza, Women Activist, Maria Vihar, Nashik |
| 138. Poornima, Artist, Alumnus of Shantiniketan, Shimogga, Karnataka |
| 139. Prafulla Samantara, Socio-Political Activist, Lok Shakti Abhiyan, Bhubaneswar |
| 140. Prameela, Homemaker, PBEL CITY, BJMC, RANGA REDDY |
| 141. Prasad Chacko, Social Worker, Ahmedabad |
| 142. Prasad Jonathan, Wardha |
| 143. Prem Prakash Verma, Engineer, Jharkhand Nagrik Prayas, Ranchi, Jharkhand |
| 144. Prem Shankar, Software Engineer, Amazon, Seattle |
| 145. Probal Dasgupta, Retired Professor, Indian Statistical Institute Kolkata, Kolkata |
| 146. Prof Imtiaz Ahmad, Professor, JNU, Delhi |
| 147. Prof Pritam Singh, Academic, Visiting Scholar, Wolfson College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK |
| 148. Professor D M Diwakar, Researcher, A N Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna, Patna (Bihar) |
| 149. Purandar Bhaduri, Guwahati |
| 150. Pushkar Raj, Melbourne |
| 151. R Vidyasagar, Retd., Independent Researcher, Chennai |
| 152. Rajendran Narayanan, Assistant Professor, Azim Premji University, Bangalore |
| 153. Rajesh Azad, Teacher, Lok Shikshak Manch, Delhi |
| 154. Rajeswari Raina, Teacher, New Delhi |
| 155. Rajmohan Gandhi, Teaching, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA |
| 156. Rajvardhan Shankar, Lawyer, Nalsar University of Law, Delhi |
| 157. Ram Puniyani, Center for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai |
| 158. Ramswaroop Mantri, Journalist , SP(I) M. P. , INDORE |
| 159. Rashmitha Tulabandula Juvvadi, Hyderabad |
| 160. Ratna Day, USA |
| 161. Ravi Kumar, Senior Manager, UK |
| 162. Ravi Nitesh, Social Activist, New Delhi |
| 163. Rehan Khan, Medical Director, International Society for Peace and Justice, Baltimore MD USA |
| 164. Richa Singh, Community Work, SKMS, Sitapur Uttar Pradesh |
| 165. Rita Kothari, Professor, Ashoka University, New Delhi |
| 166. Rita, Retired, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Trichy |
| 167. Rohan Poojary, Kolkata |
| 168. Ronak M Soni, Physicist, Stanford University, San Francisco, USA |
| 169. Rudra Deosthali, Law Student, NALSAR University of Law, Pune |
| 170. S V Rajadurai, Writer, Freelancer, Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu |
| 171. S. Ashalatha, Activist, Hyderabad |
| 172. Sadhna Saxena, University Teacher (Retired), Delhi University, Delhi |
| 173. Sagari Ramdas, Veterinary Scientist, Food Sovereignty Alliance, India , Telangana |
| 174. Sahaya Philominraj, Advocate, Madurai |
| 175. Samar Bagchi, Retired from Science Museum in 1991, National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata |
| 176. Samuel Asir Raj, Professor, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu |
| 177. Sanal Mohan, Academic ( Director), Kerala Council for Historical Research, Thiruvananthapuram |
| 178. Sandeep Pandey, PhD, UC Berkley, Vice-President, Socialist Party (India), Lucknow |
| 179. Sanjay, Business, Bangalore |
| 180. Sarfaraz, Social Activist, PUCL, Patna |
| 181. Saroop Dhruv, Social Activist, Ahmedabad |
| 182. Satya Mitra Garg, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Delhi |
| 183. Satyanarayana R Ponamgi, Retd. Engineer, USA |
| 184. Satyapaul, Social Activist, South Asian Fraternity, New Delhi |
| 185. Saud ul Hasan, Freelance Photojournalist and Social Activist, Lucknow |
| 186. Saumya Chakrabarti, Professor of Economics, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan |
| 187. Shahana Bhattacharya, Delhi |
| 188. Shaji M K, Self-employed, New Delhi |
| 189. Shalini Gera, Advocate, High Court of Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur |
| 190. Shamsul Islam, Retd Faculty University of Delhi, NCR |
| 191. Sharad Behar, Civil Servant, Former Secretary, MP, Bhopal |
| 192. Sharad Jaiswal, Teaching, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya, Wardha, Maharashtra |
| 193. Shashi N Kumar, Scientist, ICMR, Delhi |
| 194. Sheeva Dubey, Researcher, Youth for Unity & Voluntary Action, Mumbai |
| 195. Shilpa, Researcher, Freelancer, Kolkata |
| 196. Shiva Shankar, Professor, IIT Bombay, Chennai |
| 197. Shobha Shukla, Public Health Activist, Co-Founder, Citizen News Service, Lucknow |
| 198. Shreekumar, Farmer, Sangatya Commune, Nakre, Karkala, Udupi, Karnataka |
| 199. Shuchita Kumar, Socialist Party (India), Sitapur |
| 200. Shyam Gambhir, University of Delhi , New Delhi |
| 201. Siddharth Ramachandran, Professor, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA |
| 202. Soumen Ray, Jhargram, West Bengal |
| 203. Srikanth Bandi, Software Developer, UK |
| 204. Srinivas K, Ahmedabad |
| 205. Sristy Agrawal, PhD Research Scholar, University of Colorado, Boulder, United States |
| 206. Srujana Bej, Hyderabad |
| 207. Subhasis Nibirh, Faculty, IIEST, Shibpur, Howrah |
| 208. Sudhir Chopra, Retired, New Delhi |
| 209. Suhasini Mulay, Actor/ Filmmaker, Mumbai |
| 210. Sujata Patel, Teacher, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune |
| 211. Sumeet Agarwal, Assistant Professor, IIT Delhi, New Delhi |
| 212. Sunil Kaul, Public Health Professional, Assam |
| 213. Supratik Chakraborty, Teaching and Research, IIT Bombay, Mumbai |
| 214. Surabhi Agarwal, MPhil, Hyderabad Central University, Spokesperson, Socialist Party (India), New Delhi |
| 215. Surbhi Karwa, Lawyer, Delhi |
| 216. Surinder Kumar, Visiting Professor, CRRID, Chandigarh |
| 217. Suroor Mander, Advocate & Activist, New Delhi |
| 218. Sushil Handa, Professional Engineer, IITK Alumni, Saint-Lambert |
| 219. Syed Tahseen Ahmad, Social Activist, Rahnuma Foundation, D, 250 A. F Enclave, Jamia Nager, New Delhi |
| 220. Tapan Bose, Filmmaker & Writer, South Asia Forum for Human Rights, India |
| 221. Tara Murali, Chennai |
| 222. Tiasa Bal, Student, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur |
| 223. Varghese Manimala, Professor, Vijnananilayam, Eluru A. P. |
| 224. Vasavi A.R., Teaching and Research, Punarchith, Chamarajanagar |
| 225. Vijay Kumar, Central Committee Member , CPI(M-L) Red Star, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh |
| 226. Vikas Dubey, Researcher, Kanpur |
| 227. Vimal Bhanot, Retired Professor, BITS Pilani, Pilani |
| 228. Xavier John Bosco, Priest, Loyola Public School, Guntur, AP |
| 229. Zafar Iqbal, Retired Scientific Advisor, Retired, Washington, USA |
| 230. Zainab Siddiqui, Social Worker, Mahila Yuwa Adhikaar Manch, Lucknow |
| 231. रामजनम, राजनितिक कार्यकर्ता, स्वराज अभियान, वाराणसी |
| 232. संदीप निमेश, सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता, बहुजन शोषित समाज संघर्ष संगठन, आगरा उत्तर प्रदेश |
| 233. केशव शरण, कवि, वाराणसी |
| 234. Sharada Ganesh, Bengaluru |
ప్రముఖ విప్లవ కవి, రచయత పి. వరవరరావుకి తక్షణం వైద్య నిపుణుల సహకారంతో చికత్స చేయించి తగిన వైద్య సహాయం అందజేయాలని మానవ హక్కుల వేదిక (హెచ్.అర.ఎఫ్.) సంబంధిత అధికార్లను కోరుతూ సోమవారం ఒక ప్రకటన విడుదల చేసింది . 80వ వడిలో ఉన్న వరవరరావు ఆరోగ్య పరిస్థితి చాలా ఆందోళనకరంగా ఉంది. సుమారు రెండు సంవత్సరాలుగా అండర్ ట్రయల్ ఖైదీగా ఉన్న వరవరరావు ప్రస్తుతం నవీ ముంబైలోని తలోజా సెంట్రల్ జైలులో ఉన్నారు.గుండె జబ్బు, ప్రోస్త్రేట్ ఎన్లార్జ్మెంట్, వెర్టిగో, పైల్స్, బి.పి. వంటి అనేక అనారోగ్య సమస్యలతో ఆయన బాధపడుతున్నారు. ప్రస్తుతం ఆయన శరీరంలోని పొటాషియం, సోడియం లెవెల్స్ పడిపోయి తీవ్ర అస్వస్థకు గురైనట్లు తెలుస్తోంది.
HRF విడుదల చేసిన పత్రికా ప్రకటనకు **ప్రజా సంకల్పం & link Media ** స్వాగతిస్తుంది.
Bapatla Krishnamohan
ప్రజా సంకల్పం