India: RSF on the recent repressive cases
We hereby share a statement published by the Revolutionary Students’ Front (RSF).
A nationwide fascist campaign is presently underway, aiming to suppress democratic and dissenting voices. Comrade Manish Azad, a renowned political activist and writer, was arrested yesterday, on 5th December, by the Uttar Pradesh Police’s Anti-Terrorist Squad. Furthermore, he has been charged under the notorious Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). For a long time, comrade Manish Azad has been vocal in his criticism of the anti-people government. He is the founder president of Inquilabi Chhatra Morcha. In 2019, he and his wife, Comrade Amita Shirin, were arrested on false charges in an attempt to silence them. However, they were eventually granted bail, and the government’s efforts to muzzle them proved unsuccessful.
On January 3rd, 2025, Comrade Bachcha Singh, a trade union activist from Jharkhand, was arrested by the NIA in a fabricated “Ranchi Conspiracy” case. As a member of the Mazdoor Sangathan Samiti (MSS), a trade union organization, Bachcha Singh has been an active advocate for workers’ rights. In 2023, the Jharkhand government declared the MSS an illegal organization in an attempt to crush their movement. Since then, Bachcha Singh, Damodar Turi, Kaladas Daharia, and several other democratic activists have faced false charges.
In recent months, we have witnessed repeated instances of the NIA, in collaboration with state police forces like the STF-ATS, conducting raids and arrests in various states, including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Telangana. This is part of the central government’s notorious Surajkund scheme, designed to crush democratic forces. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has explicitly stated that the country’s people are the battlefield. The government has been waging war against its own people to serve corporate interests.
We, the Revolutionary Students’ Front, demand the immediate and unconditional release of Comrade Manish Azad, Comrade Bachcha Singh, and all the political prisoners. The government’s Surajkund scheme must be stopped. The fascist Indian state’s mercenary terrorist organization, the NIA, and the colonial-era draconian law, UAPA, must be scrapped. Build militant resistance movement against this anti-people government ! It is the duty of every conscious citizen to build a movement for the unconditional release of the comrades and to raise these rightful demands!
