Do you want another nation? Bombay HC asks Urban Naxal

While hearing activist Vernon Gonsalves' bail plea in the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, Justice Sarang Kotwal questioned his senior counsel Mihir Desai about the books and CDs recovered from Gonsalves' residence. One of the CDs was titled 'Rajya Daman Virodhi Shahiri, Kabir Kala Manch (Poetry against state oppression, Kabir Kala Manch)'. "The title itself indicates something against the state," Justice Kotwal remarked, to which Desai retorted: "That doesn't mean I (Gonsalves) am a terrorist." Justice Kotwal remarked that the title is "definitely incriminating".

Gonsalves, along with activists Sudha Bharadwaj and Arun Ferreira, have been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for their alleged role in the Bhima Koregaon violence of January 1, 2018. They stand accused of making inflammatory speeches at Elgar Parishad in Pune on the previous day. Gonsalves, a former academic who is publicly critical of the government, and wrote regularly about Dalit and tribal rights, was arrested from his residence on August 28, 2018.

A member of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), a cultural organization based in Pune, said that the CD contains songs on topics such as state repression of KKM, atrocities on Dalits and farmer suicides. The group has been on the police radar for a while for its alleged links to Maoists.

Some of its members have also been jailed in the past.

Justice Kotwal also expressed reservation about some of the books recovered from Gonsalves' home, such as 'Saheb, Aamhala Dusra Desh dya (Saheb, give us a different country)' and 'Maovadhyancha Yuddha Kaushalya Kashasathi (Reasons behind the war tactics of Maoists).' "Do you want a different country?," asked Justice Kotwal. Other books recovered from the Andheri residence include 'Impact of Naxalbari on Indian Society', 'Dandarniya Adivasi and the story of their struggle', 'A fitting reply to Khairlanji' and 'War and Peace'. Among the CDs seized was the national award-winning documentary by Anand Patwardhan 'Jai Bheem Comrade' about the mass killings of Dalits in Ramabai Ambedkar Colony in Mumbai in 1997.

In June 2018, the police arrested retired professor of Nagpur University Shoma Sen, activist Rona Wilson, Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale and tribal rights activist Mahesh Raut in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence. In August 2018, Varavara Wilson, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira and Sudha Bharadwaj were also arrested. They are all charged with being urban Naxals.

The day's hearing ended with Desai saying he would explain the possession of these books and CDs by his client on Thursday.