CAMOUFLAGED Forgotten Stories from Battlefields
CAMOUFLAGED Forgotten Stories from Battlefields
Probal DasGupta
- Language: English
- Print Length: 336 Pages
- ISBN-10: 9353453459
- ISBN-13: 978-9353453459
Some prisoners pray, some weep, some just put down their heads and work themselves weary. Sudha Bharadwaj watched through the bars of her cell, and she wrote. This is her remarkably granular account of the world of women prisoners in Yerawada Jail in Pune. Bharadwaj was incarcerated here, in a high-security wing called Phansi Yard, from November 2018 to February 2020. She takes us through jail life, her own and the other women’s, from one season to the next, weaving in lively portraits of her fellow prisoners, their children and even their pets, and reflecting on everything from absurd rules, caste hierarchies, food, fistfights and friendships, to the dismal absence of legal aid for the most defenceless of women.
While Bharadwaj is an unflinching observer of the harshness of prison life, this is not a bleak book. It is written with warmth, compassion and impish humour. It is Bharadwaj’s tribute to the women around her who showed her ‘every single day’, she says, ‘how to survive injustice, how to remain hopeful . . . how to continue to live, love, fight and laugh, even behind bars.’
Some prisoners pray, some weep, some just put down their heads and work themselves weary. Sudha Bharadwaj watched through the bars of her cell, and she wrote. This is her remarkably granular account of the world of women prisoners in Yerawada Jail in Pune. Bharadwaj was incarcerated here, in a high-security wing called Phansi Yard, from November 2018 to February 2020. She takes us through jail life, her own and the other women’s, from one season to the next, weaving in lively portraits of her fellow prisoners, their children and even their pets, and reflecting on everything from absurd rules, caste hierarchies, food, fistfights and friendships, to the dismal absence of legal aid for the most defenceless of women.
While Bharadwaj is an unflinching observer of the harshness of prison life, this is not a bleak book. It is written with warmth, compassion and impish humour. It is Bharadwaj’s tribute to the women around her who showed her ‘every single day’, she says, ‘how to survive injustice, how to remain hopeful . . . how to continue to live, love, fight and laugh, even behind bars.’
Author Bios:
Sudha Bharadwaj is a respected trade unionist and human rights lawyer who has worked for over three decades for the rights of the poor in Chhattisgarh. Born in Massachusetts to parents who were academics, she gave up her American passport to become an Indian citizen. After a five-year Master of Science degree in Mathematics from IIT Kanpur, she went on to work in Chhattisgarh as a trade unionist. At thrity-nine, Bharadwaj also qualified as a lawyer.
In 2018, she was arrested, as were several scholars, lawyers and activists, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, on the charge of inciting violence in Bhima Koregaon village in Maharashtra. Bharadwaj is contesting the charges in court. Arrested in August 2018, while she was working as a visiting professor at the National Law University in Delhi, she was first put under house arrest, then taken to Pune and kept in police custody. She went on to spend over three years in prison, first in Yerawada Jail, Pune, followed by Byculla Jail, Mumbai, before being released on bail in December 2021. Bail conditions do not allow her to leave Mumbai or discuss her case.
Sudha Bharadwaj is a respected trade unionist and human rights lawyer who has worked for over three decades for the rights of the poor in Chhattisgarh. Born in Massachusetts to parents who were academics, she gave up her American passport to become an Indian citizen. After a five-year Master of Science degree in Mathematics from IIT Kanpur, she went on to work in Chhattisgarh as a trade unionist. At thrity-nine, Bharadwaj also qualified as a lawyer.
In 2018, she was arrested, as were several scholars, lawyers and activists, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, on the charge of inciting violence in Bhima Koregaon village in Maharashtra. Bharadwaj is contesting the charges in court. Arrested in August 2018, while she was working as a visiting professor at the National Law University in Delhi, she was first put under house arrest, then taken to Pune and kept in police custody. She went on to spend over three years in prison, first in Yerawada Jail, Pune, followed by Byculla Jail, Mumbai, before being released on bail in December 2021. Bail conditions do not allow her to leave Mumbai or discuss her case.
