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Gautam Navlakha is a famed author, civil rights activists, human rights activist, journalist, an Editorial Consultant at the Economic and Political Weekly, the Convenor of the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir and the Secretary of the People’s Union for Democratic Rights. He has been a vocal critic of the Government through his left-wing activism while working in Kashmir and Maoist regions in Chhattisgarh. He has also criticized the draconian Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act for being vague and opposed to constitutional values.
In 2010 and 2011, he was refused entry at the Srinagar Airport and was compelled to return to Delhi by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir as they believed that his presence could cause a law-and-order problems in Kashmir. He also addressed a press conference at Srinagar in December 2011 where he stated that those in the government responsible for the disappeared persons in Kashmir should be brought to book.
In the 2018 Bhima Koregaon, Gautam Navlakha was named an accused and his anticipatory bail pleas were rejected by the Supreme Court on 8th April 2020, under the UAPA Act. His case was malafidely transferred from the Pune Policy by the Bharatiya Janata Party to the National Investigation Agency in January 2020. On 14th April 2020, Gautam surrendered before the National Investigation Agency after the Supreme Court refused to extend his plea in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gautam is a near-blind, ageing prisoner whose spectacles were stolen in the Taloja Prison (Mumbai) on November 27 even as he continues to suffer from several ailments. His family sent him a fresh pair of glasses in a parcel which was rejected by the prison authorities. Currently, his blood pressure his unstable and he is in chronic distress.
We demand that the government, which is clearly acting with malefide intent in this case, and which has even failed to ensure the dignity and wellbeing of Gautam Navlakha in jail, release him immediately.
(Written by Priyanka Preet, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow)
Launched by Socialist Party (India)
Endorsed by:
- Priyanka Preet, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow
- Sandeep Pandey, PhD, UC Berkeley; Visiting Faculty, IIT Kanpur, IIT Gandhinagar, BHU Varanasi, IIM Ahmedabad
- Lubna Sarwath, PhD and Former Visiting Lecturer, Trisakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Bobby Ramakant, Citizen News Service
- Shreekumar, PhD, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; taught at National Institute of Technology Karnataka
- Surabhi Agarwal, MPhil, Hyderabad University
| 7. Aakar Patel, Bangalore, Columnist |
| 8. Aakash, Kolkata, |
| 9. Abha Bhaiya, Himachal Pradesh, Women’s Rights Activist |
| 10. Achin Vanaik, New Delhi, Retd. Professor |
| 11. Afzal Ahmad Khan , Lucknow , Social Service after Retirement |
| 12. Ahamad Raza Khan, Kushinagar uttar pradesh , NSUI president kushinagar |
| 13. Akhil Kumar, State College, Pennsylvania, USA, Professor of Information Systems |
| 14. Akhter Sadiq, Mortongrove, IL – USA, Retired |
| 15. Amit Kumar, New Delhi, Student, Law Centre II, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi |
| 16. Amrendra Narayan Bharat, Ara, Bihar, Veer Kunwar Singh University |
| 17. Anant, Varanasi, Joint Action Committee |
| 18. Ankit Goyal, Chandigarh, Chemical engineer |
| 19. Anurag Bhaskar, Sonipat, |
| 20. Apoorva, India, |
| 21. Ashim Mukherjee, Varanasi, Retired Professor, IIT-BHU |
| 22. Asmina Venkatesh, Mumbai, |
| 23. Azima, Ahmedabad, Social worker |
| 24. Beena Choksi, Mumbai, |
| 25. Bhawna Satauri , Canada , Self employed |
| 26. Cedric Prakash, Ahmedabad, Human Rights & Peace Activist |
| 27. Deepak Malghan, Bengaluru, IIM Bangalore |
| 28. Dimple Oberoi Vahali, Shimla, |
| 29. Dipankar, Mumbai, Scientist |
| 30. Dr B Karthik Navayan, Hyderabad , Advocate |
| 31. Dr Biswajit, Cuttack, Rashtriya Yuva Sangathan |
| 32. Dr. Rohan D’Souza, Japan, Kyoto University |
| 33. Feroze Mithiborwala , Mumbai, National President, Bharat Bachao Andolan |
| 34. Harbans Mukhia , Gurgaon , Retired teacher |
| 35. Harishchandra bind, Mirzapur Uttar Pradesh, Gram sudhar sangharsh samiti GS3 |
| 36. Hasan Abdullah, Delhi, Writer |
| 37. Himani , Delhi, Design |
| 38. Idrus Shaikh, Singapore, IT project Manager |
| 39. Jacob Peenikaparambil, Indore , Social worker and writer |
| 40. Jaikumar Radhakrishnan, Mumbai, Computer Scientist |
| 41. Jatin Sheth, Ahmedabad, Social Activist |
| 42. Jayant , Varanasi , Social Work |
| 43. Jayant Nandapure, Yavatmal Maharashtra, Agreeculturist |
| 44. Jayati Ghosh, India, Economic Research Foundation |
| 45. JK, Visakhapatnam, AP, |
| 46. Joe Victor, Siliguri, Social Worker |
| 47. Joseph Mattam, Anklav, Anand Dt 388510, Gujarat, Emeritus Professor |
| 48. Judith Siqueira, India, |
| 49. K Uma, Bangalore, |
| 50. Kalpana Aravamuthu , Bengaluru, |
| 51. Kamayani स्वामी , Araria, Bihar , Social Worker |
| 52. Karamat Ali, Karachi, Executive director, PILER |
| 53. Karthik Inzamam Prasad, Goa, |
| 54. Koel Das, Kolkata, Faculty |
| 55. Lata Pratibha Madhukar, Goregaon Mumbai, Researcher Activist |
| 56. Lorraine Mathias , Mumbai , Retired |
| 57. M. Rajaullah Quraishi, Chicago area, retd. engineer |
| 58. Mahendra Dixit, Lucknow, Yes Ek Soch Foundation |
| 59. Manju, Patna, Forum for Justice and peace |
| 60. Manoj Kumar Jha, New Delhi, MP, Rajya Sabha |
| 61. Masihuddin Sanjari, Azamgarh, UP, Freelance Journalist and Translator |
| 62. Meenakshi Joshi, Ahmedabad, Social Activist |
| 63. Melan, India, Humanity |
| 64. Mohammad Imran, Lucknow, India and NJ USA, Retired Engineer |
| 65. Mohini Mullick, New Delhi, Teacher |
| 66. Mohsin Alikhan, Virginia, USA, Individual–retired |
| 67. Motika Anand, Chicago, Swaraj Abhiyan Chicago |
| 68. Mujahid Nafees, Gujarat , Minority Coordination Committee |
| 69. Mukhtiar Singh, Winnipeg, Canada, Retired |
| 70. Muniza Khan, Varanasi, Gandhian Institute of Studies |
| 71. Navdeep Mathur, Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Management |
| 72. Neelima Sharma, NCR, Nishant Natya Manch |
| 73. Nidhi Kumari, Delhi, Student, National Law University, Delhi |
| 74. Nilkantha Mandal (Neel), West Bengal, Student |
| 75. Nisha Biswas, Kolkata, |
| 76. Ole Reitov , Denmark, Human Rights Defender. Expert advisor to a.o.UN |
| 77. P.S.Ajay Kumar , Anakapalli AP, Activist |
| 78. Pamela Philipose, New Delhi, Journalist |
| 79. Parveen Talha, , Former Member UPSC |
| 80. Prabhat Patnaik, 124, National Media Centre Campus, Gurgaon-122002, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-110067 |
| 81. Pradeep H. Gohil, Varanasi, Retired professional |
| 82. Prafulla Samantara, Bhubaneswar, Socio-Political activism |
| 83. Prasad Chacko, Ahmedabad, Freelance Consultant |
| 84. Pratap Antony, Hyderabad, Freelance |
| 85. Praveen, Lucknow, Activist |
| 86. Praveen Srivastava, Lucknow, Activist |
| 87. Prithviraj Sharma, USA, Doctor |
| 88. Prof. G. Haragopal, Hyderabad, Former Dean, School Of Social Sciences, University Of Hyderabad |
| 89. Prof.Mohan Rao, Bangalore, Independent Public Health Researcher |
| 90. Pulin B Nayak, New Delhi, Economist |
| 91. R I Mandal, Varanasi , |
| 92. Rahul Kanwar, Noida UP, Media |
| 93. Rahul Pandey, Bangalore, CLE Trust |
| 94. Rajeev Yadav, Lucknow, Rihai Manch |
| 95. Rajendra Sahai, Berkeley, CA 94708, USA, Researcher, Institute for Critical Study of Society |
| 96. Rajmohan Gandhi, Urbana, Illinois, USA, professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| 97. Rakesh Agarwal, Delhi, President, Nyayabhoomi |
| 98. Ram Puniyani, Mumbai, Center for Study of Society and Secularism |
| 99. Ravi Kiran Jain, Akashpuri Colony, Allahabad, Senior Advocate |
| 100. Rejula Santhi, Dhansoi – Buxar, |
| 101. Richa Mishra, Mumbai, Self employed |
| 102. Rita, Bangalore, IWTF |
| 103. Romi Mahajan, USA, Poklonnaya Foundation |
| 104. Ronak M Soni, San Francisco, CA, USA, Stanford University |
| 105. Roop Rekha Verma, Lucknow, Saajhi Duniya |
| 106. Sagar Dhara, Hyderabad, |
| 107. Samar Bagchi , Kolkata, NAPM, West Bengal |
| 108. Samar Bagchi , Kolkata , Member NAPM, West Bengal |
| 109. Sami Uddin, USA, |
| 110. Sarada Chintala, Hyderabad, Software Engineer |
| 111. Satyapaul, 6,Lajpat Bhawan. Lajpat Nagar iv, New Delhi–110024, President, South Asian Fraternity |
| 112. Sayandeb Chowdhury, Delhi , Ambedkar University |
| 113. Shahid Saeed, Mecca, Obsrever |
| 114. Shahzeb Jamal, New Delhi, Civil Engineer |
| 115. Shamsul Islam , NCR, Rtd faculty Delhi University |
| 116. Shanti Picardo, West Bengal, Teacher |
| 117. Sharad Behar, Bhopal, Former Chief Secretary, Government of MP |
| 118. Sharad Raj, Mumbai, Film Director |
| 119. Sharmila Roy, Naperville, Illinois, USA, Attorney |
| 120. Shashank , Delhi , Advocate |
| 121. Shiv Narayan Sharma @Krantiveer, Mumbai, Bhrashtachar viruddh jagruti abhiyan |
| 122. Shiva Shankar, Chennai, |
| 123. Shuchita , Sitapur, Socialist Party (India) |
| 124. Siddharth Ramachandran, Boston, MA, USA, Professor, Boston University |
| 125. SIndhu S, Ahmedabad, Student |
| 126. Snigdha Pilli, Visakhapatnam, Student |
| 127. Sonika Krantiveer, ऐरोली, Social activist |
| 128. Srinivasan G, Bangalore, Software Professional |
| 129. Srivats, Mumbai, Business |
| 130. Sruti, Boston, MA, |
| 131. Sunita Viswanath, Taos, Nm, Hindus for Human Rights |
| 132. Surbhi , Karwa, |
| 133. Surekha, pilani, teaching |
| 134. Surendra Gadekar Ph.D. , Sampoorna Kranti Vidyalaya, Vedchhi , |
| 135. Swapnil, Kolkata, Film Critic/The Image Book |
| 136. Syeda Hameed, New Delhi, |
| 137. Theramma Prayikalam, Kerala, Religious |
| 138. Tushar Gandhi, Mumbai, Peace andRights Activist |
| 139. Usha, Bangalore, Independent |
| 140. Usha Eani, Chennai, Consultant |
| 141. Usmangani, Wankaner, Social worker |
| 142. Vaibhav Kumar, Uttar Pradesh, Civil Society Worker |
| 143. Vijay Bharatiya, Ahmedabad, Mitra Sahayogi |
| 144. Vijaya Chauhan, Mumbai—India, Yusuf Meherally Center, Mumbai |
| 145. Vijayaraghavan Cheliya, Kerala, Editor , Patabhedam Magazine |
| 146. Vivek, Bangalore, Researcher |
| 147. Vivek Mukherjee, Hyderabad, Assistant Professor, NALSAR Hyderabad |
| 148. Y Srinivasa, Tiruchirapalli, Bharathidasan University |
| 149. Ziaul Hasan, U.S.A., Retired Professor, University of Illinois, Chicago. Former Lecturer, I.I.T, Delhi. |
| 150. मदन लाल हिन्द, दिल्ली, पत्रकारिता |
| 151. रामजनम, वाराणसी, स्वराज अभियान |
The arrest of all ieaders under the pretext of “Distruction of Peac, Social Harmony , in perticular incident of Bheema Koregaon is not based on facts and therefore I demand immediate release of Gautam Navalakha and others like Prof Varavara, Sudha Bhardwaj, Anand Teltumde and all others who are arrested under UAPA.
Gautam is champion of human rights, he is not criminal. He must be granted bail immediately.
Release political prisoners asap.
The Indian Authorities must respect international human rights standards. India has obviously not done so in this case
One cannot suppress dissent by suppressing dissenters – a historical lesson. If the government is so convinced of rightness of its arguments, be bold enough debate, rather than silencing the opposing thoughts.