On the third death anniversary of Stan Swamy, who died in custody as an undertrial in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case after being denied bail on medical grounds, Outlook examines the journey of Hem Mishra. Mishra, a former JNU student, spent over 10 years in prison over alleged Maoist links before being acquitted in March.
Mishra recounted his early years as a cultural activist, inspired by poets and activists from Uttarakhand who spoke of the struggles of ordinary people. He later joined the student movement at JNU. He also described his ordeal in prison, which took over a decade of his youth, leaving him at a crossroads.
Three years after the death of activist and Catholic priest Stan Swamy, his name has not been cleared of the allegations related to the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case. Of the 16 people charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the case, 7 remain in prison. Several other political prisoners, including students and activists arrested during the anti-CAA protests and subsequent communal violence in Delhi, have also been denied bail under the UAPA.
Reporter: Vikram Raj
videographer: Tribhuvan Tiwari
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#StanSwamy #BhimaKoregaon #HemMishra #JNU #Student #Activists #PrisonOrdeal #PoliticalPrisoners #UAPA #CAAProtests
Mishra recounted his early years as a cultural activist, inspired by poets and activists from Uttarakhand who spoke of the struggles of ordinary people. He later joined the student movement at JNU. He also described his ordeal in prison, which took over a decade of his youth, leaving him at a crossroads.
Three years after the death of activist and Catholic priest Stan Swamy, his name has not been cleared of the allegations related to the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case. Of the 16 people charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the case, 7 remain in prison. Several other political prisoners, including students and activists arrested during the anti-CAA protests and subsequent communal violence in Delhi, have also been denied bail under the UAPA.
Reporter: Vikram Raj
videographer: Tribhuvan Tiwari
Follow us:
Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/
X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia
Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia
#StanSwamy #BhimaKoregaon #HemMishra #JNU #Student #Activists #PrisonOrdeal #PoliticalPrisoners #UAPA #CAAProtests
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NewsTranscript
00:00I don't call it an arrest. I was abducted.
00:16Dr. Prakash Amte, who has worked with Swastu in tribal areas.
00:25I wanted to talk to him and understand his work.
00:30How did he do his work in such a difficult situation?
00:34As soon as I was coming out of Ballard station,
00:38I was thinking of going to Himalakasa, where Prakash Amte's hospital is.
00:44I was thinking of taking a bus and coming out.
00:48Suddenly, people in civilian clothes came and abducted me.
00:55I was not able to understand anything.
00:57I told them that I don't have any enmity with anyone.
01:00For three days, I was kept in an air-raid shelter in different places.
01:03I was blindfolded and taken to different places.
01:07I was not allowed to sleep for three days.
01:11I was not allowed to travel in peace.
01:15On 23rd August, 2013, I was presented to the magistrate court in Aheri.
01:23I am from Uttarakhand.
01:26When I came to the campus, Uttarakhand had become a state.
01:29But after becoming a state, the issues were,
01:32what kind of a state should it be?
01:34What kind of a state should we demand?
01:36All the issues related to this were discussed in Uttarakhand.
01:39I was also affected by this.
01:42Cultural activists like Girish Tiwari Girdha were also present in the protest.
01:46In Girdha's songs, it is said that
01:48whatever will happen in Delhi, it will be like washing utensils in a hotel.
01:51He had to bear such atrocities.
01:55I could see the pain of the people in Girdha's songs.
02:05I was affected by those songs and I came to this protest.
02:09At that time, we used to raise awareness among students.
02:13Through cultural activities, I used to participate in all the protests.
02:20I used to participate in the fight for social justice.
02:26I used to raise my voice for the political prisoners who are being imprisoned.
02:35This is the reason why I was imprisoned for the first time.
02:41I could see the pain of the people in Girdha's songs.
02:50I was affected by those songs and I came to this protest.
02:54I could spread the message of awareness among the people through my songs.
03:04Spreading this message is not illegal in the eyes of the constitution.
03:13I have always felt that I have been deceived.
03:17This is the misfortune of our generation.
03:20The media, social media, big companies and the government
03:28show the dreams of the youth.
03:30They show the dreams of being a customer of a product.
03:33They show the dreams of cars, bungalows and houses.
03:35But what is the reality?
03:37Even today, we say that we are a developed country.
03:39On the other hand, 80 crore people are given ration for free for 5 years.
03:44Why do they need to be given this ration?
03:47Because they do not have the capacity to buy it.
03:49This is the picture of a developed country.
03:52We are increasing our ideology.
03:54The space for anti-social ideologies is getting depleted.
03:59The people who speak against human rights are also being put in jail.
04:05The space for human rights that people have achieved by fighting for justice is getting less.
04:15The people who accused us yesterday, we used to put them in jail.
04:22Today, the space for such accusations has increased.
04:25The people who are against human rights are also being put in jail.
04:31There are people in the judicial system who like justice.
04:41But the justice system that we call the biggest democracy in the world is yet to achieve its goal.
04:51I feel that people will have to live on their willpower.
05:00They will have to fight for justice in the jails.
05:04When I was punished, I felt that I will have to stay in jail for a long time.
05:10I knew that I have not committed any crime in a democracy that is considered a crime.
05:16But despite that, I had to stay for a long time.
05:19There are flaws in the justice system.
05:22But I have faith in the justice system.
05:24I came here with a dream of studying in a premier institute like Jaharlal Nehru University.
05:33Today, I have more than 10 years of academic experience.
05:37So, if I look at it personally, I would say that it is a big loss.
05:44But I have just come out of jail and I have 10 years of experience.
05:48I will have to think about my future.
05:53I don't know if I will be able to tell you.
06:07For more UN videos visit www.un.org