‘The Incarcerations’: Alpa Shah’s book about the Bhima Koregaon-16 portrays faces of resistance

June 4 was a significant day for India. After ten years of unfettered access to power, the Bharatiya Janata Party lost its majority mandate, leading to another era of coalition politics. Liberal critics of the party published long articles on the scent of the renewed hope wafting over the country. The voters have spoken – they will not hand over custody of our nation’s values to one person or party.

However, this election was also a stark reminder for critics that their battle is far from over. The BJP was still able to win a third term with 240 seats in the Lok Sabha. Almost as soon as the results were announced, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi approved orders to prosecute writer Arundhati Roy and Kashmiri academic Sheikh Showkat Hussain under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for comments made in 2010. It will be long before India can restore its democratic credentials fully, as India’s persecution of academics and dissenters continues unabated.

Alpa Shah’s book, The Incarcerations reminds us of this and more. She traces the lives of the Bhima Koregaon-16 – a group of poets, lawyers writers, Jesuit priests, grassroots activists and English educators arrested under the anti-terror law. Shah is a Professor of Anthropology at the London School...

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