Sudhir Dhawale

Sudhir Dhawale is an Indian activist, actor and publisher of the bi-monthly Marathi magazine Vidrohi. He is a resident of Byculla area of Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Activism

A dalit himself, he has been fighting the caste system in India, and specifically atrocities against dalits since 1995. He campaigned for the effective implementation of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. In particular he took up the cause of dalits in violent incidents such as the Ramabai Nagar Dalit Hatyakand in Ghatkopar in Mumbai (1997), the Kherlanji massacre, Rohidas Tupe murder, Baban Misal murder, the Manorama Kamble gang rape and murder case in Nagpu and the Sahebrao Jondhale murder. Through his editorial, journalistic and stage work he tried to emphasize the plight of dalits in this day and age as some claim that he had no sympathies, much less showed support for, naxalites. They claim that he was a believer in doctorines of democracy and had therefore pursued the role of an activist rather than taking part in any armed struggle. His funding is also claimed to have come from fellow activists, donations and contributions from various people, including those that he tried to help. His wife was an activist for women's rights before marriage and afterwards took up nursing to support their family while he pursued activism.

He is a founding member of the Republican Panther Jaatiya Antachi Chalwal formed on 6 December 2007, for the elimination of the caste system in India, mostly as a reaction to the state action against 2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra.

Arrest and controversy

He was arrested from Wardha railway station by a team of Gondia police and a team from the Nagpur division of ATS, while trying to board a train to Mumbai. He was taken to Gondia and produced before a local court which awarded police his custody until 12 January 2011. Subsequently he was booked for waging war against the state under section 121 of the Indian Penal Code and charged with sedition (Sec 124) and booked under Sections 17, 20 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). This put Dhawale at the center of a human rights controversy.

His arrest is controversial due to:

1. allegedly illegal entry and search of his Mumbai apartment, carried out when his wife was away at work and only his two children, aged 10 and 15, were at home.
2. the seizure and inventorying of seized articles was allegedly done in the absence of credible independent witnesses and his wife was made to sign the list allegedly under duress.

Activists and media are drawing attention to parallels with perceived persecution of Dr. Binayak Sen from Chhattisgarh due to alleged but unproven links with the naxal movement and social activism.