Anand Teltumbde

Anand Teltumbde (born 15 July 1950) is an Indian scholar, writer, and civil rights activist who is a management professor at the Goa Institute of Management.[1][2][3] He has written extensively about the caste system in India and has advocated for the rights of Dalits.[4][5][6]

Anand Teltumbde
Anand Teltumbde in 2020
Born (1950-07-15) 15 July 1950
Rajur, Maharashtra, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materVisvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (B.Tech)

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (MBA)

University of Mumbai (PhD)
OccupationProfessor, writer
Spouse(s)Rama Teltumbde

Life and career

Teltumbde was born on 15 July 1950 in Rajur, a village in the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra state, to a family of Dalit farm labourers.[7][1][4][8] He is the oldest among eight siblings.[9][10] He is married to Rama Teltumbde who is a granddaughter of B. R. Ambedkar.[4][11] He earned a mechanical engineering degree from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology in 1973, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad in 1982 and a PhD from the University of Mumbai in cybernetic modelling in 1993 while working as an executive at Bharat Petroleum.[9] He was also awarded an honorary doctorate (D.Litt) from the Karnataka State Open University.[12]

Teltumbde was an executive at Bharat Petroleum and managing director of Petronet India Limited before becoming an academic.[4][13] He was a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and later became a senior professor at the Goa Institute of Management.[14][15][16] He contributes a column titled "Margin Speak" to Economic and Political Weekly,[17] and has also contributed to Outlook,[18] Tehelka,[19] and Seminar.[20][21]

Litigation

On 29 August 2018, the police raided Teltumbde's home, accusing him of having a connection to the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence and an alleged Maoist plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[1][22] Teltumbde denied the allegations but his petition was denied by the Bombay High Court. He was granted interim protection from arrest by the High Court, but he was arrested by the Pune police on 3 February 2019 and released later that day.[2][23] After his release, Teltumbde accused the government of harassment and of attempting to criminalize dissent.[24] In the course of the investigation, various others have been critical of the handling of the case; Supreme Court Justice D Y Chandrachud in September 2018, questioned the biased nature of the investigation by the Maharashtra Police.[25] Others such as counter-terrorism expert and Executive Director of the Institute for Conflict Management, Ajai Sahni suggested the evidence used against Teltumbde seemed fabricated.[26]

Teltumbde's mobile phone was hacked by Israeli spyware Pegasus through WhatsApp along with over a dozen other activists, lawyers, and journalists in India.[3][27] Teltumbe had noticed his phone had been "acting up" and was later contacted by Citizen Lab in October 2019.[28]

In February 2019, The Washington Post reported that Teltumbe was arrested as part of "a government crackdown on lawyers and activists" who are critics of Modi.[4] More than 600 scholars and academics issued a joint statement in support of Teltumbde, condemning the government's actions as a "witch-hunt" and demanding an immediate halt to the actions against Teltumbde.[29][30] In addition, over 150 organizations and intellectuals—including Noam Chomsky and Cornel West—signed a letter to United Nations secretary general António Guterres, describing the charges as "fabricated" and calling for the UN to intervene.[23]

On 16 March 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed Teltumbde's plea for anticipatory bail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.[31] The Court gave Teltumbde and Navlakha three weeks to surrender.[31] On 8 April, a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra ordered Teltumbde to surrender to the National Investigation Agency on 14 April.[32] Historians like Romila Thapar condemned the arrest[33] while Amnesty International India expressed its disappointment in light of the UNHCHR guidelines to release all political prisoners due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.[34]

Selected publications
  • The Radical in Ambedkar (ed.) (Penguin Random House, New Delhi, 2018) ISBN 978-0670091157[35]
  • Republic of Caste: Thinking of Equality in the Era of Neoliberalism and Hindutva (Navayana, New Delhi, 2018) ISBN 978-8189059842[36]
  • Dalits: Past, Present and Future (Routledge, London and New York, 2016) ISBN 978-1138688759
  • Mahad: The Making of the First Dalit Revolt (Aakar, New Delhi, 2015) ISBN 978-9350023983[37]
  • The Persistence of Caste (Zed Books, London, 2010) ISBN 9781848134492[38]
  • Khairlanji: A Strange and Bitter Crop (Navayana, Delhi, 2008) ISBN 978-8189059156[37]
  • Annihilation of Caste (Ramai, Mumbai, 2005) ISBN 978-9353040772[37]
  • Hindutva and Dalits: Perspectives for Understanding Communal Praxis (ed.) (Samya, Kolkata, 2005) ISBN 978-8185604756[37]
  • 'Ambedkar' in and for the Post-Ambedkar Dalit Movement (Sugawa, Pune, 1997) ISBN 978-8186182291

References
  1. Sampath, G. (16 February 2019). "Who is Anand Teltumbde, and why was he arrested recently?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. "Koregaon-Bhima case: HC rejects civil rights activist Anand Teltumbde's plea seeking quashing of FIR". The New Indian Express. 21 December 2018. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  3. Satheesh, Shone (1 November 2019). "Indian activists, lawyers accuse government of spying on them". Al Jazerra. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. Masih, Niha (21 February 2019). "He is a prominent anti-Modi intellectual. The Indian government wants him behind bars". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 9 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019. Teltumbde has been swept up in a government crackdown on lawyers and activists. The activists targeted in the investigation are advocates for India's most disadvantaged communities, including indigenous tribal people and Dalits, once called 'untouchables.' They also are vocal critics of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  5. Jodhka, Surinder S. (4 August 2018). "Caste in a New Mould". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  6. Bhatia, Tanushree (20 January 2019). "IIMA faculty speak up in solidarity with Anand Teltumbde". Daily News and Analysis. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  7. "Anand Teltumbde: Cards and letters for jailed India scholar as he turns 70". BBC News. 14 July 2020.
  8. Ghadyalpatil, Abhiram (11 May 2018). "The unusual annihilator of caste". Livemint. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  9. Lardinois, Roland (11 March 2019). "Glimpses into the Life of an Engineer, Scholar and Public Intellectual". South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal. doi:10.4000/samaj.5021. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  10. Kumar Maitra, Pradip (27 April 2011). "Who is Angela Milind Teltumbde". www.hindustantimes.com. HT Media Limited. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  11. "Elgar Parishad: Dalit Scholar Anand Teltumbde, Activist Gautam Navlakha Surrender Before NIA". Outlook India. 14 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  12. Deshmukh, Chaitraly (3 February 2019). "Court rules against Pune police's Elgaar arrest". Mid-day.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  13. "Anand Teltumbde – Executive Profile". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  14. "Anand Teltumbde". Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  15. Malkarnekar, Gauree (29 May 2018). "GIM's introduces country's first programme in Big Data Analysis". Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  16. "Anand Teltumbde". Goa Institute of Management. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  17. "Margin Speak". Economic and Political Weekly. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  18. Teltumbde, Anand (20 August 2012). "It's Not Red Vs Blue". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  19. Teltumbde, Anand (24 May 2011). "The false Dalit of capital". Tehelka. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  20. Teltumbde, Anand (28 February 2012). "Identity politics and the annihilation of castes". india-seminar.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  21. Teltumbde, Anand (30 July 2011). "Corruption and injustice". india-seminar.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  22. Kulkarni, Sushant (30 January 2019). "Elgaar Parishad: Prosecution claims to have evidence to show Teltumbde involved in insurgent activities". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  23. Schultz, Kai; Gettleman, Jeffrey; Kumar, Hari (20 February 2019). "Indian Professor Who Compared Modi to Hitler Is Waiting to Be Jailed". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  24. Chitnis, Purva (5 February 2019). ""Urban Naxal An Oxymoron," Says Activist Anand Teltumbde Accused In Koregaon-Bhima Case". NDTV. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  25. "Bhima-Koregaon Case: Justice Chandrachud Questions Maharashtra Police Impartiality In Elgar Parishad Probe". www.outlookindia.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  26. Sahni, Ajai (3 September 2018). "Urban Maoist Fakery". South Asian Intelligence Review. 17 (10). Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  27. Chishti, Seema (1 November 2019). "WhatsApp confirms: Israeli spyware was used to snoop on Indian journalists, activists". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  28. Mahale, Ajeet (1 November 2019). "Spyware targeted prominent human rights activists in Maharashtra". The Hindu.
  29. "Academics Demand Dropping Charges Against Teltumbde, Other Activists". The Wire (India). 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  30. "U.S., European scholars come out in support of Teltumbde". The Hindu. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  31. "Bhima Koregaon case: SC refuses anticipatory bail to Navlakha, Teltumbde, gives 3 weeks to surrender". Outlook. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  32. Singh, Vijaita; Saigal, Sonam (14 April 2020). "Elgar Parishad case | Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha surrender to NIA". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  33. "'Especially Inhuman': Romila Thapar, Others Write to CJI Bobde On Teltumbde, Navlakha". The Wire. Archived from the original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  34. "SC decision to send activists Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde to jail 'disappointing': Amnesty". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  35. Bhardwaj, Ashutosh (17 February 2019). "Radical Ambedkar: Analysing divergent personas of the leader". Financial Express. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  36. "Anand Teltumbde". Jacobin. 23 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  37. "Anand Teltumbde". Penguin Books India. Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  38. The Persistence of Caste – The Khairlanji Murders and India's Hidden Apartheid. University of Chicago Press. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
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