Tag Archives: Kabir

Oct4

Armed with revolutionary poems, Kabir Kala Manch activists want to fight against state

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GAYATRI JAYARAMAN  MUMBAI,
Kabir Kala Manch poster
Kabir Kala Manch poster

Aasaman te rachat 

Nahin jaade mein rajaai 
 
Signal pe teri duniya 
Khadi dhoop mein hai bhai
 
Indica mein firte kutte 
Mercedes mein ghoomte kutte 
 
Tujhe biscuit ki bheek 
Aisa kyon hai? Aisa kyon hai? Aisa kyon hai?
Above the bustle of dense Pune city traffic, at a roadside tapri, the sweet voice of primary poet and composer of cultural activism group Kabir Kala Manch, Deepak Dhengle, 38, resurrects these, the first words of revolution he ever penned a decade ago. Three others of the group, Jyoti Jagtap, 27, Siddharth Bhonsle, 27 and Rupali Jadhav, 28 share one cup of tea between them, and listen to the lyrics that are their only weapon against a State that labels them naxals.
All of them have spent the last two years underground, but courted arrest in May this year, and are currently out on bail. Their colleague, poet Sheetal Sathe, nine months pregnant and incarcerated at Byculla jail in Mumbai under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, is released on bail a day after this meeting. Rupali’s husband, Sagar Godkhe, and Jyoti’s husband, Sachin Kale, remain behind bars.
Dhengle, a small time motor mechanic who found employment with the government in Pune after he came to the city when his father was displaced after TELCO shut down in Bhimashankar, in 1996, joined the Manch after the Gujarat riots. He found them singing about the removal of caste, class and community differences. He began to compose and sing too.
Arrested under sections 465, 387, 419, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120 B of the IPC, section 10, 13, 17, 18, 18A, 18 B, 20, 21, 38, 39, 40 (2) of the UAPA, Dhengle’s defence claims that he was tortured in custody to the extent that he faces potential paralysis and was forced to confess sympathy for Naxal. He has never picked up a gun or received arms training, he says. He has been suspended from service and survives on the goodwill of friends.
This is not the intellectual activism of the well-ensconced elite. The crackdown of the State is so intense, to continue is not an easy or obvious choice to make. But he, and those with him, will continue to sing of these issues at colleges, in slums, he says, come what may.
“There is a difference between the ahimsa of Gandhi and the ahimsa of Buddha. Buddha spoke of attadippa bhava (annihilation). It is a whole philosophy of opposition that ends oppression. The youth in its enthusiasm wants instant change. The voice, with which we sing, is the vidrohi voice (the counter culture, the voice of opposition). It is drawn from a long history of Dalit literature and activism that prompted social betterment. If this has us branded naxals, then so be it. If Babasaheb Ambedkar was alive today, maybe he would have accepted the Communist party.” Dhengle says.
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Jun18

Anti Nuke song by Kabir Kala Manch – English Translation

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This is a song is from the  second CD of Kabir Kala Manch called  –Rajya Daman Virodhi shahiri, ok aadhar par khadha jan andolan – song is called -JAITAPURCHYA NAVAN  by RAMESH GAICHOR, who is now languishing in arthur road jail in Mumbai

Chernobyl was destroyed, Fukushima was ruined

Now the nuclear disaster is scheduled to hit Jaitapur (2)

Nuclear power is very dangerous

The Uranium tender is destructive

Toxic nuclear waste of thousands of years –

How will we deal with the explosion of the nuclear reactor?

Nuclear science experts are goddamn liars,

Riding a wave of delusive science.

(Refrain)

All pimps have gathered here,

opposition parties with saffron flags

This is a market of ravens,

one corrupt than the other

Thieves and dacoits surround us,

Some adorn khadi, some wear khaki

(Refrain)

The radiation poisoning will spread

Konkan will soon be converted into a crematorium

This poison called radiation will spread into how many things?

Poison will enter the alphonso mangoes

Poison will enter flesh of the jackfruit

Poison will enter cashews and jamun

Poison will enter Palm trees

Poison will enter parboiled rice

Poison will enter raagi roti

Poison will enter karavanda (black berries), kokam

Poison will enter unshelled rice

Poison will enter fish curry

Poison will enter prawns and other clams and crabs

Poison will enter cow’s milk

Poison will enter sweet honey

Poison will enter suru-forest

Poison will enter flowers and leaves

Poison will enter festival of shimga (holi fire)

Poison will enter grains and particles

Poison will enter sea waves

Poison will enter farms, fields and irrigation water canals

Poison will enter soil of Konkan

Poison will enter folks of Konkan

Mother’s milk will be poisonous

The Western Ghats will turn poisonous

(Refrain)

The mall owners need high voltage of electricity

And also three star and five star hoteliers

Bungalow owners, high and mighty people

They will drive away all locals

They will make a beggar out of the king of the sea

To embellish their lavish lives

(Refrain)

Let us carry the flag of Bharat

Let us remember Kabir’s sacrifice

We will light the fire of movement

Will knock them back if they knock us

No looking back now, let us march forward

Let us walk the path of Nandigram

(Refrain)

  Translation – Jayashree Joshi

Listen to the song below

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Jun9

#India- Why Is This Pregnant Woman Still In Jail ? #Vaw #Womenrights #mustshare

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Denied bail again, Sheetal Sathe may give birth behind bars. Is this the human face of justice?

ANAND PATWARDHAN

15-06-2013, Issue 24 Volume 10

ON 2 JUNE, eight months pregnant,  (KKM) activist was denied bail by the Mumbai Sessions Court. Sheetal, along with her husband and other members of the cultural group, had come overground in full media glare in April this year after being accused by the Anti- Terror Squad of the Mumbai police of being Naxalites.

They had courted arrest voluntarily, and had chosen to face the due process of law. But clearly, this system is faulty. Bail is usually denied when there is a possibility of the accused running away, but in this particular case, since the accused gave themselves up there are no grounds to suggest that they are going to run away.

Denying bail to somebody who is eight months pregnant is inhuman. It looks increasingly certain that Sheetal and Sachin’s child will be born in jail. We all know what conditions in jail are like. The food is extremely poor at the best of times. Hygiene is non-existent. Though Sheetal is getting medical checkups, her nutrition remains a major cause for concern.

There is not much to prove that these people — youths who use music and poetry, not guns, to protest the institutionalised inequalities rampant in our country — are Naxalites. Even if you assume that they were in some way attracted to the ideology, the Supreme Court has established that mere membership of a banned organisation is not something punishable by itself, in that there is a distinction between active and passive membership of a banned outfit. In fact, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Deepak Dengle and Siddharth Bhonsle, two other members of the KKM who were arrested in 2011 in the same case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, saying that sympathy for an ideology does not incriminate someone. It was that decision that gave Sheetal and Sachin hope for a fair hearing.

These people have not committed a violent crime. Even the State does not accuse them of having committed one. They are being victimised for what they think, or to put it more accurately, what the State assumes they think. By restricting people from singing songs, performing plays or speaking out against injustice, it is reducing the space for dissent a democracy naturally allows. If people are not allowed to voice their grievances publicly, they will be pushed underground. So, in effect, the State is forcing people like them to go against the law.

The  attack in Chhattisgarh has also negatively impacted the general atmosphere. If anyone is accused of being a Naxalite in these volatile times, it becomes a very hard thing to overcome in court or in society.

We are trying to go to the High Court as soon as possible, hopefully before the baby is born. In Sheetal’s case, of course, bail is urgent, but it is important to remember that this is not just an injustice to her. It is an injustice to all the accused who were expecting a chance to have their side of the story heard. In a country where people accused of masterminding the fixing of lucrative cricket matches are given bail in no time, why are radical musicians and performers, one of whom is pregnant, being denied bail? Does justice in this country depend on one’s bank balance?

Patwardhan is a founding member of the Kabir Kala Manch Defence Committee.

(As told to Nupur Sonar)

letters@tehelka.com

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Jun5

Pregnant Sheetal Sathe of Ka bir Kala Manch denied bail

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Express news service : Wed Jun 05 2013,

A SEWREE fast track court Tuesday rejected radical musical group Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) activist Sheetal Sathe’s bail application. After being underground for over two years, Sathe (27), who is eight months pregnant, surfaced outside Mantralaya in April along with her husband Sachin Mali (27) and had courted arrest.

They were declared absconding accused in a case registered in 2011 against 15 persons for their alleged role in supporting and funding Naxal activities in the state. Sathe and Mali are facing charges under several sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their alleged involvement with the banned organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist). While seven persons were arrested in 2010, Sathe, Mali and six others were declared absconding accused.

Her lawyer Vijay Hiremath had moved the bail application on humanitarian grounds soon after her arrest. Sathe and Mali had gone underground in the wake of arrests of other KKM members in 2010. However, following their release on bail, the couple courted arrest. They were arrested on April 2 by Maharashtra ATS. A month later, two more KKM members courted arrest.

“Sympathy for Maoist philosophy with a likelihood to indulge in various violent activities is not sufficient ground to conclude that the accused are presently active members of the terrorist organization,” the Bombay High Court had held while granting bail to four KKM members last year.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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Jun4

Sheetal Sathe’s Baby maybe Born in Prison, Bail Rejected #Injustice

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Photo: Sheetal's bail was rejected this morning without further arguments. The prosecution lawyer was not even present. Obviously what is appearing on TV and in the news in the aftermath of the Chhatisgarh attack last week has completely influenced the court. Our next resort is to move the High Court and hope for justice and humanity there.</p><br /> <p>Sheetal's baby may have to be born in jail after all as there is just over one month to go. The only logic for denying bail is that the accused may run away. Here the accused themselves came forward to be arrested so there was no question of running away. Neither are they accused of any violent crime. Shame on the system. We have no choice but to fight on to make our democracy behave like one.

June 3, 2013

Sheetal’s bail was rejected on June 2, 2013 at the Session Court Mumbai . This was  the third bail  hearing, earlier, also there was no public prosecutor and  it was adjourned and this time again  prosecution lawyer was not  present. Obviously what is appearing on TV and in the news in the aftermath of the Chhatisgarh attack last week has completely influenced the court. Our next resort is to move  for Bail at teh Bombay  High Court and hope for justice and humanity there.

Sheetal’s baby may have to be born in jail after all as there is just over one month to go. The only logic for denying bail is that the accused may run away. Here the accused themselves came forward to be arrested so there was no question of running away. Neither are they accused of any violent crime.

Shame on the system.

We have no choice but to fight on to make our democracy behave like one.

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May9

Dharna and protest meet in support of KKM at Lucknow

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 Protest at Gorakhpur in support of KKM

Lucknow, U.P. 4 May, 2013

 

Jan sanskriti Manch called a day long dharna and protest meeting at GPO park, Lucknow to protest repression on Kabir Kala Manch demanding immediate release of Sheetal Sathe & Sachin Mali and withdrawal of false cases against KKM activists. Many litterateurs, journalists and representatives of different progressive organizations joined the protest. Poet Naresh saxena, theatre artist Rakesh of IPTA, Tahira hasan, national Vice president of AIPWA, Ramayan Ram, U.P. state president of AISA, poets Bhagwan Swaroop Katiyar of Jan Sanskriti Manch, Ajay Singh and Pragya Pandey, literary critic Virendra Yadav of PWA,   Ashish Tripathi of PUCL,  O.P. Sinha of Workers’ Council, K.K. Vats of Alag Duniya addressed the protest meet. Kaushal Kishore, convenor of Jan sanskriti Manch , Lucknow conducted the meeting. Subhash Rai, Chief Editor, ‘Samkalin Sarokar’, writers Usha rai, R.K. Sinha, Shyam Ankuram, B.N. Gaud, veteran communist trade unionist Ganga Prasad from  Lenin Pustak Kendra, Rajeev Yadav of Rihai Manch, AISA activists Seema Chandra & Sudhanshu Vajpai participated in Dharna and protest meet among others.

 

Released by Kaushal Kishore, convenor, JSM, Lucknow , Contact- 08400208031

 

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May8

Kabir Kala Manch activists surrender, deny having any links with maoists #KKM

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<kkm4 pic courtesy- indian exppress -Ramesh Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe and their wives Jyoti Jagtap and Rupali Jadhav outside Oval Maidan Tuesday. Ganesh Shirsekar

The Hindu, May 7, 2013

In a theatrical turn of events which included, singing revolutionary songs in the office of Maharashtra’s Home minister RR Patil after being asked for the same by him, posing with him for photographs and waiting for more than three hours for the officers from Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) to come and arrest, two alleged Maoists on Tuesday surrendered in Mumbai.

Four members of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), a cultural group alleged to be having links with Maoists, on Tuesday afternoon staged Satyagraha near Mantralaya in South Mumbai. They are being accused as Maoists and absconders by the police under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

“We are artists. We perform for people and we sing songs which highlight the plight of people and of those who fight against the corrupt system. We are being falsely implicated in cases and wrongly framed as Maoists. We have done nothing but to sing songs,” said Ramesh Gaichor, one of the members of KKM.

All four, Rupali Jadhav, Hyoti Jagtap, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor were accompanied by members of KKM Defence Committee, which included film-maker Anand Patwardhan, Adv Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Dr. BR Ambedkar and president of Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh and Prakash Reddy of Communist Party of India (CPI).Ramesh Gaichor (28) and Sagar Gorkhe (27) along with their wives Jyoti Jagtap (26) and Rupali Jadhav (27) came to Oval Maidan at 3 pm.For two hours, they sang protest songs and gave out audio CDs to the crowd near the statue of B R Ambedkar. The group, along with Prakash Reddy of CPI, film maker Anand Patwardhan and Bharipa Bahujan Mahasabha‘s Prakash Ambedkar, went to Patil’s office at Mantralaya at 5 pm.https://kabirkalamanch.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=467&action=edit&message=10#category-add

Ms. Jagtap, another member of KKM said that the four are staging satyagraha because they want their name to be cleared from the ATS wanted list. “We want to sing once again, but want to do it openly. We want all the accusations against us to be cleared because we are not Maoists,” she said.

Ms. Jadhav alleged that ATS teams have been visiting her house and threatening her mother. “They told her that I was killed in encounter in Gadchiroli. I see no reason in torturing our families. We are artists and not criminals,” she said.

To the surprise of all, none of the officials from state ATS turned up to arrest the alleged Maoists, two of whom are named wanted in the charge sheet filed in the court.

All four were then taken to the office of the Mr. Patil, where he was presented with an audio CD of group’s songs after which he even asked them to sing one of the songs. Mr. Patil even called all four of them for a group photograph. It was only after the home minister of Maharashtra informed the ATS chief Rakesh Maria over the telephone, that the ATS came to know about the satyagraha of ‘wanted’ Maoists, inside the administrative headquarter of Maharashtra.

The ATS team arrived at the office of Mr. Patil at 6 PM, after which it was informed that the custody of two females is not required and then can go home.

“We demand that all members of the KKM who have voluntarily come forward to face interrogation, must be granted bail speedily. There is no logic to detaining people who give themselves up, as they are obviously not going to run away,” said the statement issued by KKM Defence Committee.

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May7

Torch light Procession and protest meet in support of KKM at Gorakhpur

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 Protest at Gorakhpur in support of KKM Gorakhpur, U.P.,4 May, 2013   The cultural activists and intellectuals of Gorakhpur under the banner of Jan sanskriti manch ,brought out a torchlight procession on saturday evening protesting state repression on the revolutionery Dalit cultural organisation Kabir kala Manch of Pune, Maharashtra. Before taking out the procession they assembled at Press club at 4 p.m. and conducted a protest meeting. Speakers at the meeting passed a resolution seeking immediate release of Sheetal Sathe & Sachin Mali, revocation of all false cases  against KKM, social security for their family members and demanded unfettered freedom to continue their cultural activities  . Apart from Jan sanskriti Manch, representatives of IPTA. PUHR and other mass organisations also participated in the meeting as well as torchlight procession. Speakers narrated how repression against KKM started with the arrest of Deepak Dengle and Siddhaarth Bhonsale of KKM under UAPA by the ATS in May 2011 forcing other activists of KKM to go underground. As soon as the bail was granted to Dengle & Bhonsale, Sheetal & Sachin were arrested from the premises of Maharashtra state Assembly where they were on ‘Satyagrah’ asserting their  ‘right to expression’. Speakers highlighted the fact that KKM activists had emerged from the poor, labouring class and dalit background and their  cultural work is directed towards harnessing peoples’ opinion and raising popular consciousness  against social oppression,  economic exploitation, loot and plunder of natural resources by transnational capital and state repression on struggling people. It is this orientation of their cultural work which has prompted Anti-people government to dub them ‘naxals’ or  ‘Maoists’ and frame them under draconian laws.  The imperialist and state agencies stage costly and vulgar shows in the name of culture and seek to co-opt the artists and intellectuals into the system. The cultural movements such as KKM  run counter to such hegemonic cultural strategies of the ruling classes. The torchlight procession started immediately after the meeting. It passed through district court chauraha, chetna tiraha, Golghar , townhall and culminated at press club from where it had started.  Manoj Kumar Singh, Natonal Secretary, Jan sanskriti Manch ,Noted novelist Madan Mohan, literay critic Anil Rai, poets Pramod Kumar, Ved Prakash and Ramu Siddhartha, Dr. Mumtaz Khan of IPTA, Prof. Asim Satyadev, CPI(ML) district secretary Rajesh Sahni, AIPWA district secretary Jagdamba, Advocate Subhash Pal, Ashok Chowdhary, district convenor, JSM, cultural & social  activists Rajaram Chowdhary, Shivnandan Sahay , Anand Pandey, Baijnath Mishra, Haridwar Prasad, R.K. Singh, Syed Akhtar Ali, Maneesh Chowbey, Ashish Kumar, Arun Kumar, Arvind Kumar Barnwal , Niten Agrawal and several others participated in the meeting and procession. Released by Manoj Kumar Singh, National secretary, Jan sanskriti Manch .

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Apr29

Meena Kandasamy accepts award in the name of Sheetal Sathe and others #womenrights

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Meena Kandasamy at the India Today Woman Summit 2013, awards were given out to those women who had broken the glass ceiling and had reached the top of the pyramid with their hard work.:


Thank you India Today. I’ve never got a prize before and I would like it to sort of remain that way. So, instead of collecting this India Today Woman’s Storyteller Award in my name, I want to collect it in the name of women who are saying all the bitter truths. And at this juncture, because these are few words I get to speak to very powerful women and men, I want to take this in the name of Sheetal Sathe, of Kabir Kala Manch, who was writing poetry and singing songs about all the problems and who is now being alleged of being a terrorist or a naxalite. And in the name of Rinu Srinivasan and Shaheen Dada who put up a facebook post and had to go to jail for that. And in the name of all the journalists like Shahina who was covering the Madani case and was legally persecuted for that. Story telling, even if it looks like a very leisurely pastime has a lot of repercussions and not everybody gets away with speaking out their mind telling the truth. This award is not for any individual. I think whenever there is a moment of crisis, we are acting as a collective. I can take this award only in the name of all Indian women who are speaking out, and facing persecution.

 

You can watch the video  here http://indiatoday.intoday.in/video/india-today-woman-awards-2013-winners/1/266664.html

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Apr24

Musical Protest for release of Kabir Kala Manch Members

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Hirawal at Gandhi Maidan against arrest of KKM activists

Jan Sanskriti Manch Against Arrest of Kabir Kala Manch Activists

 

On 17th April, Jan Sanskriti Manch issued a statement calling for immediate release of the cultural activists Sheetal Sathe and Sachin Mali of Kabir Kala Manch of Maharashtra. Sheetal Sathe and Sachin Mali and the Kabir Kala Manch are remarkable public performers of revolutionary music against caste, class and gender oppression, corporate land grab, and state repression. Their organization has been branded a Maoist outfit and its activists had been pushed underground for a long time. Recently, they defied the ban on their organization and performed openly, after which Sheetal and Sachin were arrested. JSM called for protests all over the country against this attempt to silence the revolutionary music of KKM.

On 22 April, Hirawal organized a musical protest at Gandhi Maidan against the incarceration of Kabir Kala Manch activists. Hirawal on this occasion performed Sheetal Sathe’s song Bhagat Singh Tum Zinda Ho, followed by several other revolutionary songs. Hirawal will conduct a campaign from May 1-5, during which they will distribute leaflets and perform music among people, demanding that the voices of Sheetal and Sachin be freed.

JSM and AISA held a protest march and mass meeting in Allahabad against the arrest of Sheetal and Sachin and against rape and sexual violence, in which Janmat editor Ramji Rai, JSM General Secretary Pranay Krishna, Meena Rai, manager of Janmat, Prof. Rajendra Kumar, AISA leader Ramayan Ram participated.

JSM will hold protest programmes at several other places also, in the near future.

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