Professor Hany BABU
Scholar and anti-caste activist Hany Babu continued to remain detained pending trial since his arrest in July 2020 (see Case lists 2023/2024, 2022 and 2021).
Babu is one of a group of 16 writers, scholars and activists, including poet Varavara Rao (see On Trial section below), referred to as the BK-16, targeted under India’s counterterrorism law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with their alleged association with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) organisation and involvement in ‘inciting violence’ at the Elgar Parishad, a public event held on 31 December 2017 by activists advocating for the rights of Dalits and other marginalised communities. One day after the event, riots erupted between Dalits and Hindu nationalists during a celebratory gathering to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, a significant cultural event among India’s Dalit community. Babu’s wife Jenny Rowena has flatly rejected his alleged connection to any such groups or the public event, and his family has issued an appeal asserting his innocence.
On 10 September 2019, Babu’s home was raided by police who seized his laptop, mobile phone and books on caste and social formations. The Pune police did not provide hash values for the devices seized during the raid, raising concerns that his devices may have been hacked and subjected to evidence planting. Arrested on 28 July 2020, Babu has repeatedly had his application for bail denied; his current bail application remains ongoing.
Held in grossly inadequate conditions in the notorious Taloja Central Jail, in May 2021, Babu has repeatedly been denied adequate medical treatment for a severe eye infection, eventually resulting in his temporary hospitalisation. On 15 December 2022, Babu underwent an operation at a private hospital under judicial custody at his own expense following loss of vision in his left eye. On 3 June 2024, PEN International raised serious concerns over Babu’s detention conditions in a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee that oversees compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Hany Babu, born on 16 August 1966, is an associate professor of language and linguistics at Delhi University and an anti-caste activist and advocate for greater protections of marginalised languages. In addition to his academic work, he has regularly used his writing to highlight the relationship between human rights and linguistic plurality.