03/03/2021
Why did the Indian state go to the exceptional lengths of planting false pieces of evidence – as we now know from the Arsenal Foresensic's investigation in the case of Rona Wilson – to incriminate Dalit leaders in the Bhima Koregaon case? They picked the stalwarts of the Dalit movement who are renowned lawyers, poets, academics, activists, journalists, and turned them into 'terrorists' overnight. What does the Indian state, economy, and society achieve by creating fear around Dalit Human Rights work?
The current regime often knits baseless stories around various resistance movements, as if Dalit folx cannot protest another way except through unlawfulness and non-constructive violence. More heartbreaking for Dalit folx is how easily the public opinion was swayed against the resistance movement. The state didn't have to work very hard and the judiciary, media, and civil society worked in connivance with the state to build this monolith of lies.
Join us for a panel discussion featuring Nihalsing Rathod, Siddhesh Gautam, Santvana Kumar, Buffalo Intellectual, and moderated by Meena Kandasamy, as they voice their anger and heartbreak over the Indian state’s ploy to criminalize dissent and its impact on the future of the Dalit movement.
