Release of Hemalataʹs Open Letter to Chief Justice of India
in a well-attended press conference here today, educationist Chukka
Ramaiah and senior journalist Potturi Venkateswara Rao, both
octogenarians, released the ʹOpen Letter to Chief Justice of Indiaʹ
written by P Hemalata, wife of imprisoned revolutionary poet Varavara
Rao. The open letter was endorsed by about 100 eminent personalities and
democrats in Telangana and Hyderabad and also the same online petition
posted on www.change.org was endorsed by more than 660 people from all
over the world.
The press conference was also addressed by some
signatories including renowned social scientists Prof G Haragopal, Prof D
Narsimha Reddy, Prof Rama S Melkote, academics Prof Vasanth Kannabiran,
Prof Susie Tharu, Prof Katyayani Vidmahe, senior poet and Sahitya
Academy awardee Devipriya, Indian Journalists Union chairman and Press
Council of India member Devulapalli Amar, Human Rights Forum president S
Jeevan Kumar, Siasat daily managing editor Zaheeruddin Ali Khan.
Here is the full text of the press release.
Press Release
Varavara Raoʹs wife seeks CJIʹs intervention to release Varavara Rao
Several democrats endorse her plea
Hyderabad,
March 26, 2019: In an Open Letter to Chief Justice of India, released
here today at a press conference, P Hemalata, wife of Varavara Rao, the
famous revolutionary poet and public intellectual, who is implicated in a
criminal conspiracy case and currently imprisoned in Yerawada Central
Prison, Pune, requested the CJI to intervene in the case and initiate
the process to release Varavara Rao.
Varavara Rao is shown as an
accused, along with others, in Bhima Koregaon violence case which was
later extended to criminal conspiracy and then to the Unlawful
Activities Prevention Act, she said. ʹWhile he has nothing to do with
the initial Bhima Koregaon violence (in fact the original perpetrators
are not booked at all), I strongly suspect that my husband is implicated
in the case just to silence his voice,ʹ she added.
As a college
lecturer over three decades Varavara Rao came into contact with
thousands of teachers and students and inspired them with his literary
and academic personality. Everybody who came into contact during this
long association in various capacities always found him friendly,
affectionate, concerned, emotional, sensitive and reaching out to help
others. His poetry for six decades is a glowing example of these
personal traits of him. He is well known as poet, literary critic,
social commentator and a renowned public speaker. He holds different and
alternative political views and has been an ardent speaker and writer
expressing those views. All through his life he stood for some values
and social concerns. He has been supporting all peopleʹs struggles
including Dalits, Adivasis, women, workers and minorities. He lent his
intellectual inputs to Telangana separate statehood movement. He also
acted as an emissary of a revolutionary party when the government wanted
to have talks with the party to usher in meaningful peace, she said.
She
said she was sure that he never ever involved himself in any criminal
activity in his 79 years of life. His innocence or non-involvement in
criminal activities was also pronounced by various law courts of the
land, she added. He was implicated in as many as 25 cases in the last 45
years and police accused him of several grave charges as is being done
now. But out of these 25 cases, the courts set him free finding him not
guilty in 13 cases after years of prolonged trial and the other 12 cases
were withdrawn by the state even before trial. Two conspiracy cases,
one went on for 15 years and the other for 17 years, finally ended in
his acquittal. This is a clear proof that the prosecution could not
prove a single charge in a single case against him. However, he had to
spend more than seven years of his precious life in various prisons as
an under-trial prisoner.
Now, the Pune police also charged him
with very serious and similar offences but we are certain that this case
also will not stand the scrutiny of law and he will come out unscathed.
In the meanwhile, he is also implicated in another case in Gadchiroli,
only to prevent him from coming out on bail in Pune case. But, the issue
that is worrying us a lot and the reason why we want to appeal to you
is his age and failing health. When he was implicated in and imprisoned
for all the false cases earlier, he was much younger and keeping good
health. In fact that previous unfounded incarceration took a toll of his
health and now at the age of 79 he is being subjected to another
imprisonment, she said.
She clarified that she was ʹnot at all
questioning the due process of law. but a person without any criminal
record, a person on whom police filed about 25 cases vindictively as he
was professing unpalatable views to the powers that be, a person on whom
a single charge could not be proved in a court of law, a person who is
ailing and 79, cannot be subjected to another round of incarceration and
harassment, just because a police official fabricated some so-called
evidence.ʹ
She requested the CJI to look into the mala fide
intentions and the manner in which the case is made out and also order
his immediate release pending the judicial trial. She requested the CJI
to take immediate action on humanitarian grounds depending on Varavara
Raoʹs age, health and stature as a public intellectual.
Hemalataʹs
Open Letter is endorsed by about 100 democrats in Hyderabad and
Telangana. The letter was also posted on the online petitions site
www.change.org and more than 660 people from all over the world endorsed
it.
The people who signed and endorsed the Open Letter include
Chukka Ramaiah (octogenarian freedom fighter and educationist), Potturi
Venkateshwar Rao, K Ramachandra Murthy, K Srinivas, Ch Prashanth Reddy, S
Veeraiah, Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, G S Vasu, K Satish Chandar, Devulapalli
Amar, K Sreenivas Reddy, Allam Narayana, Mallepalli Laxmaiah, Sumanta
Banerjee, V Vasantha Lakshmi, K Satyavati (editors and journalists), SV
Satyanarayana, K Seetharama Rao, S Ramachandram, N Gopi, N Linga Murthy
(vice chancellors and former vice chancellors), G Haragopal, Vasanth
Kannabiran, Rama Melkote, Jacob Tharu, Susie Tharu, B Vijaya Bharati, M
Kodanda Ram, E Revathi, V S Prasad, D Narasimha Reddy, M Vanamala, T
Papi Reddy, Ghanta Chakrapani, K Katyayani, Banna Ailaiah (academics),
Nandini Sidha Reddy, K Siva Reddy, Nikhileswar, Devipriya, Volga,
Kondepudi Nirmala, Kakarala, Rama Chandra Mouli, Yakoob, Aranya Krishna,
Allam Rajaiah (poets and writers), K Madhava Rao, P Lakshminarayana
(retired IAS officers), Laxman Aelay, Narsim (artists), G Devi Prasad, M
Raghavachary, Duddu Prabhakar, N Narayan Rao, J Koti, D V Ramakrishna
Rao (leaders of trade unions and peopleʹs organizations).
The 660
plus signatories on the online petition included people from several
countries including the US, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Portugal,
South Africa, Australia, Romania, Thailand, Qatar, Hawaii, Oman,
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka as well as various places from
India. The prominent among them include former Information Commissioner
Madabhushi Sridhar, academics Padmaja Shaw, Ghanshyam Shah, Harjinder
(Laltu) Singh, SAR Geelani, Bhangya Bhukya, K Laxminarayana, K Suneetha
Rani, Satish Poduval, Rekha Pappu, Uma Bhrugubanda, Nandita Narain,
Seshaiah Sepuri, S Jeevan Kumar, Zeena Oberoi, Bhavana Goparaju, social
activists Stan Swamy, Uzra Bilgrami, Meera Sanghamitra, Darshan Pal,
writers Freny Manecksha, John Dayal, Ravi Shanker, Tushar Kanti, Divi
Kumar, Kothapalli Ravibabu, Vasireddy Naveen, RM Umamaheswar Rao,
Chandra Kanneganti, Narayanaswamy Venkatayogi, Ravi Veerelly, Khadar
Mohiuddin, Datla Devadanam Raju, Kaasi Raju, S Haragopal, KN
Malleeswari, Vivina Murthy, Jamindar Buddiga, Velpula Narayana, Sajaya,
Sudhakar Unudurti, C Kaseem, Bammidi Jagadeeswara Rao, Githanjali, Mercy
Margaret, Desa Raju, Srinivas Goud, advocates Chikkudu Prabhakar, R
Mahadevan.
