The Elgar prisoners’ latest hunger strike marks a momentous victory for prison rights

The fact that seven Elgar Parishad/Bhima Koregaon prisoners succeeded in making their way to the inner gate from different barracks to raise their protest is remarkable, to say the least. ILLUSTRATION BY ARUN FERREIRA FOR THE POLIS PROJECT

On 24 October, the lawyers and activists accused in the Elgar Parishad/Bhima Koregaon case were brought to court from Taloja Central Jail for their hearing. This bare minimum satisfaction of their basic legal right to be present for their case had become far from routine. It happened for the first time in nearly two months, after many hearings held in their absence, and despite specific directions from the court for their production. In fact, it took a hunger strike by seven of the accused—the latest of numerous protests by the BK-16 over the denial of bare necessities and basic rights—for the prison administration to concede to their demands. This latest strike stands out, not only for the significance of what was achieved, but for the manner in which it was executed and the swiftness with which it delivered success. Six days before their production, on 18 October, the case had…


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Prashant Rahi is an electrical and systems engineer, who completed his education from IIT, BHU, before eventually becoming a journalist for about a decade in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. He was the Chairperson for Human Rights and Democracy at the annual Indian Social Science Congresses held between 2011 and 2013, contributing to the theorisation of social activists’ and researchers’ experiences. Rahi devoted the greater part of his time and energy for revolutionary democratic changes as a grassroots activist with various collectives. For seven years, he worked as a Correspondent for The Statesman, chronicling the Uttarakhand statehood movement, while also participating in it. He has also contributed political articles for Hindi periodicals including Blitz, Itihasbodh, Samkaleen Teesri Duniya, Samayantar and Samkaleem Hastakshep. From his first arrest in 2007 December in a fake case, where he was charged as the key organiser of an imagined Maoist training camp in a forest area of Uttarakhand, to his release in March 2024 in the well-known GN Saibaba case, Rahi has been hounded as a prominent Maoist by the state for all of 17 years. In 2024, he joined The Polis Project as a roving reporter, focusing on social movements.