‘I felt worry and loneliness’, activist Teesta Setalvad recounts time spent in jail

By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: During her two-month-long imprisonment at Sabarmati Central jail, she felt loneliness and worry. And the one aid got here within the type of letters she acquired from throughout the nation, mentioned rights activist Teesta Setalvad.

She was talking on the inaugural of the thirteenth nationwide convention of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.

“I used to feel fear and loneliness at Sabarmati central jail. But one thing that was with me besides my friends and family was the lovely letters that I got from across the country. I received 200 to 500 letters daily. A total of 2007 letters were received. These letters were given to me after censoring by the jail authorities. I used to read these letters taking three to four hours a day. My fellow prisoners used to ask me the secret behind getting all these letters. The workers of the All India Democratic Woman’s federation, Communist party and the All India Forest Working People were sending it,” she mentioned.

She mentioned when the outcomes have been popping out after the 2019 Lok Sabha election, her good friend Gouri Lankesh, who was later shot useless, referred to as her in anguish and requested what would occur sooner or later. “I told her what was to happen would happen,” Teesta mentioned.

“After 2019 the crime against women has grown. The regime that is now in power is a combination of political-social- religious right and far economic right. Under them, the crime against women is growing. But behind the crime against women, there are two things that stand out. Crime and violence were there earlier also. However, the level of cruelty and killing accompanied by the voyeurism – the happiness they felt by watching this – is a recent phenomenon. They are selectively showcasing some of these incidents that suit the mindset and ideology of the regime in power to further create an enemy within communities,” she mentioned.

Teesta additionally identified that this tendency began within the late Eighties after the neo-liberal insurance policies have been carried out and the motion for Ram Mandir began. “This was an unfinished agenda for them. This kind of politics created confusion even in the feminist movement. So we need to have clarity of vision and thought besides our struggle. Today India is denoted by a partially elected democracy and an electoral autocracy. But we need to understand that there was an assault in 1975-77 as well. To strengthen democracy people’s agitation should happen from time to time. Indian democracy is a work in progress. Our democracy has taken a jolt in the last ten years.”

“Today what we see is a rule by the executive and the police. And the worst is the criminalization and weaponization of laws. According to Article 39, Directive principle. good legal aid must be the right of every Indian. However, getting bail and justice becomes easy for some people. Our criminal justice system has yet to be democratized,” she mentioned.

Teesta additionally mentioned that the final 9 years of historical past may even be the advocation of the media. The media institution has utterly succumbed to corporatization, to authoritarianism and has grow to be a digital lackey of the federal government. They have grow to be a whole propaganda device of the central authorities.   

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: During her two-month-long imprisonment at Sabarmati Central jail, she felt loneliness and worry. And the one aid got here within the type of letters she acquired from throughout the nation, mentioned rights activist Teesta Setalvad.

She was talking on the inaugural of the thirteenth nationwide convention of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.

“I used to feel fear and loneliness at Sabarmati central jail. But one thing that was with me besides my friends and family was the lovely letters that I got from across the country. I received 200 to 500 letters daily. A total of 2007 letters were received. These letters were given to me after censoring by the jail authorities. I used to read these letters taking three to four hours a day. My fellow prisoners used to ask me the secret behind getting all these letters. The workers of the All India Democratic Woman’s federation, Communist party and the All India Forest Working People were sending it,” she mentioned.

She mentioned when the outcomes have been popping out after the 2019 Lok Sabha election, her good friend Gouri Lankesh, who was later shot useless, referred to as her in anguish and requested what would occur sooner or later. “I told her what was to happen would happen,” Teesta mentioned.

“After 2019 the crime against women has grown. The regime that is now in power is a combination of political-social- religious right and far economic right. Under them, the crime against women is growing. But behind the crime against women, there are two things that stand out. Crime and violence were there earlier also. However, the level of cruelty and killing accompanied by the voyeurism – the happiness they felt by watching this – is a recent phenomenon. They are selectively showcasing some of these incidents that suit the mindset and ideology of the regime in power to further create an enemy within communities,” she mentioned.

Teesta additionally identified that this tendency began within the late Eighties after the neo-liberal insurance policies have been carried out and the motion for Ram Mandir began. “This was an unfinished agenda for them. This kind of politics created confusion even in the feminist movement. So we need to have clarity of vision and thought besides our struggle. Today India is denoted by a partially elected democracy and an electoral autocracy. But we need to understand that there was an assault in 1975-77 as well. To strengthen democracy people’s agitation should happen from time to time. Indian democracy is a work in progress. Our democracy has taken a jolt in the last ten years.”

“Today what we see is a rule by the executive and the police. And the worst is the criminalization and weaponization of laws. According to Article 39, Directive principle. good legal aid must be the right of every Indian. However, getting bail and justice becomes easy for some people. Our criminal justice system has yet to be democratized,” she mentioned.

Teesta additionally mentioned that the final 9 years of historical past may even be the advocation of the media. The media institution has utterly succumbed to corporatization, to authoritarianism and has grow to be a digital lackey of the federal government. They have grow to be a whole propaganda device of the central authorities.