The Fast and the Party After

Hazare detained before his fast; supporters detained; protests spread

The Guardian, “Anna Hazare: anti-corruption activist’s arrest sparks protests,” 16 Aug 2011.

Hazare leaves jail and continues public fast amid mass support

Reuters, “India graft activist leaves jail to huge cheers,” 19 Aug 2011.

Hazare taken into custody on 16 Aug; walked out of Tihar on 19 Aug (three days later) and went to Ramlila Maidan, where he had permission to fast for two weeks

Al Jazeera, “Indian activist set for public hunger strike,” 19 Aug 2011. aljazeera.com.

10 Oct 2026 detentions and the CJP leaders’ bond

Reuters via The Jakarta Post, 11 Oct 2026, thejakartapost.com (“more than 2,000” detained in Delhi, per an anonymous home ministry official; police did not comment); Khaleej Times, 11 Oct 2026, khaleejtimes.com (preventive arrest; released on a ₹50,000 bond, “no breach of peace for one year”). The Hindu, via AFP, reported up to 3,000, unverified.

Also cited in chapter 7

Protest timeline; December 2013 Lokpal Act

The Indian Express, “A look at Anna Hazare’s protests throughout the years”

Hazare’s detention: s.144 orders, ss.107/151, bond

Governance Now, “Hazare, aides arrested in morning crackdown ahead of fast”, 16 Aug 2011, governancenow.com; IANS via Assam Tribune, “Laws under which Anna Hazare was detained”, 16 Aug 2011, assamtribune.com. Notes: police said “prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC” covered JP Park; Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat: “Anna Hazare denied to sign the personal bond and has been sent to seven days judicial custody in Tihar jail.” “Colonial-era power carried into the 1973 Code” is the safe wording; its exact descent (1861/1898) is not sourced.

Delhi Police report to the Union Home Ministry

National Herald, “Delhi Police lose reputation and credibility and the Union Home Ministry must share the blame.” nationalheraldindia.com.

Also cited in chapter 6

Aseem Trivedi arrest and charges; government position; public protest

Human Rights Watch, “India: Drop Sedition Charges Against Cartoonist,” 12 Oct 2012.

Sedition: 1870 origin, 2022 abeyance, BNS s.152

SC Observer, “Sedition in India: a timeline”, 27 Apr 2022, scobserver.in (added by James Fitzjames Stephen in 1870); The Wire, full text of the SC order of 11 May 2022, thewire.in; PRS, Legislative Brief on the BNS 2023, 4 Dec 2023, prsindia.org (“broadens the range of acts”); BOOM, Ritika Jain, 14 Aug 2025, boomlive.in (Rangarajan: “The name of the section may have changed, but 124-A has become 152.”). The official text of s.152 was not opened (India Code blocked); the phrase “endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India” is from the section’s title as quoted by BOOM and PRS.

Also cited in chapter 4

IT Act s.66A and s.69A: 2008 amendment; Shreya Singhal; cases after 2015

Internet Freedom Foundation, “How A Bill Becomes A Zombie?”, 18 May 2020, internetfreedom.in (Lok Sabha passed it 22 Dec 2008 “sans debate”/“21 minutes”; Rajya Sabha 23 Dec without debate); Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, Shreya Singhal v Union of India, 24 Mar 2015, globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu; IFF, 15 Jul 2021, internetfreedom.in (1,307 cases in 11 states in six years after the judgment, against 681 while in force); LiveLaw, 5 Jul 2021, livelaw.in (Justice Nariman: “It is shocking.”). s.69A and the 2009 Blocking Rules: CIS copy of the Rules, cis-india.org.

Also cited in chapter 4, chapter 7

Bombay High Court criticism; state drops sedition charge; other proceedings continued

The Indian Express, “Maharashtra to drop sedition charge against cartoonist Aseem Trivedi,” 12 Oct 2012.

Maharashtra dropped sedition on 12 Oct 2012 on the advocate general’s advice; charge under s.2, Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 continued. HRW (S04) lists all three original charges incl. IT Act s.66A

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, “Sedition Charges Dropped Against Aseem Trivedi,” 26 Oct 2012. cbldf.org.

Palghar arrests, Nov 2012

Christian Science Monitor, 19 Nov 2012, csmonitor.com (IPC 505(2), IT Act 66A, IPC 295A); PTI via Business Standard, 27 Nov 2012, business-standard.com (R. R. Patil: “Wrong sections were applied against the girls”; two officers suspended). Charges dropped by closure report, 18 Dec 2012 (IANS). Government: Prithviraj Chavan’s Congress–NCP coalition.

Satish Acharya

Open Magazine, “Revenge of the Cartoon”, updated 3 Oct 2011, openthemagazine.com (Pawar cartoon in Mid-Day, 5 Sep 2011; “He threatened to slap Section 69 of the IT Act against me.”); South First, ~10 Mar 2026, thesouthfirst.com (MeitY order to X under s.69A, two cartoons); The News Minute, 29 Sep 2026, thenewsminute.com (“pursuant to legal requirements”; “Meta is crawling to please the government”); South First, 5 Oct 2026, thesouthfirst.com (restored). Note: no source found for a 2015 split with Mid-Day; his documented split was with Mail Today in Aug 2018 (Scroll, scroll.in).

Also cited in chapter 5

August 2012 blocking

Pranesh Prakash, CIS, “Analysing Latest List of Blocked Sites (Communalism & Rioting Edition)”, 22 Aug 2012, cis-india.org (four orders, 18–21 Aug 2012, 309 items, 18 Twitter accounts); LiveMint, Surabhi Agarwal, 24 Aug 2012, cis-india.org (journalists Kanchan Gupta and Shiv Aroor on the list).

“Caged parrot”

Ummid, 8 May 2013, ummid.com. Justice R. M. Lodha, with Justices Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph, coal-block allocation hearing: “It is a caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice.”

UPA prime ministerial tenure

Government of India, Prime Ministers of India: Manmohan Singh.

Audit estimate and later CBI trial / appeal timeline

CAG, Performance Audit Report on 2G Spectrum, 2010; Indian Express, Delhi High Court admits CBI appeal, 22 Mar 2024.

CAG estimate reported as about US$39 billion at the time

John Ribeiro, IDG News Service, “India downplays 2G licenses scam,” Computerworld, 7 Jan 2011. computerworld.com.

2G appeal still pending

The Tribune, “CBI pushes for urgent hearing in 2G allocation case”, 15 Feb 2025, tribuneindia.com (CBI says the appeal is “ripe for hearing”; Justice Vikas Mahajan listed it for 18 Mar 2025). Checked 18 Oct 2026: no later judgment found, but the latest status report found is from Feb 2025.

Kalmadi arrest on allegations; an arrest is not a finding of guilt

The Guardian, “Delhi Commonwealth Games chairman arrested,” 26 Apr 2011.

Kalmadi granted bail almost nine months after his April 2011 arrest, in the timing-scoring-results case

CNN, report on Kalmadi’s bail, 19 Jan 2012. edition.cnn.com.

The timing-scoring-results (TSR) trial against Kalmadi was still pending at the evidence stage in May 2025; no acquittal reported

ThePrint, “Another closure report in 2010 CWG ‘scam’. Here’s what happened to the 19 FIRs filed since 2010,” 1 May 2025. theprint.in.

Kalmadi died in Pune on 6 Jan 2026

The News Minute, “Suresh Kalmadi, former union minister and Congress leader, passes away at 81,” 6 Jan 2026; Deccan Herald, 6 Jan 2026. thenewsminute.com.

CAG’s estimated financial gains and Manmohan Singh’s response to the calculation

CAG, Coal Blocks Allocation and Production, 2012; Prime Minister’s statement in Parliament, 27 Aug 2012.

Ashok Chavan and Adarsh

Scroll, 12 Feb 2024, scroll.in (“In 2010, Chavan resigned as the chief minister after allegations surfaced against him in the Adarsh housing scam”; the housing society was meant for war widows and retired defence personnel; in Jan 2018 the Supreme Court stayed the trial against him after the Bombay High Court quashed the governor’s sanction to prosecute). ETV Bharat, 13 Feb 2024, etvbharat.com (joined the BJP on 13 Feb 2024). Deccan Herald, Feb 2024, deccanherald.com (BJP’s Rajya Sabha candidate from Maharashtra; headline seen in search, page not opened). He has not been convicted; the narration says “allegations”.

Also cited in chapter 8

BJP president Nitin Gadkari: “BJP is with Anna Hazare on the issue of corruption and supports his movement.”

The Assam Tribune, “BJP extends support to Anna’s bill,” 25 Aug 2011. assamtribune.com.

Also cited in chapter 7

2014 and 2024 seat results; NDA majority

Election Commission of India, statistical reports and Reuters, 2024 results.

Also cited in chapter 7

Jana Sangh / BJP history and Vajpayee’s terms as Prime Minister

Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee biography; BJP history.

Campaign slogans, outreach format and Citizens for Accountable Governance / Prashant Kishor’s role

India Today, “The minds behind Modi’s ‘achhe din’ and ‘Chai pe Charcha’ campaign,” 20 May 2014; Indian Express, campaign team report.

BJP’s declared publicity and media-advertising categories; not total campaign spending

Association for Democratic Reforms, 2014 party publicity expenditure report.

Arithmetic: ₹1.76 lakh crore × (CPI 2025 233.1 ÷ 2010 100) ≈ ₹4.1 lakh crore; ÷ ≈ ₹88.35 per US$ (simple average of RBI monthly rates, Apr 2025–Mar 2026) ≈ US$46 billion. Uses 2010 as the base year; the allocations were in 2008. Different methods give different dollar figures

World Bank, Consumer price index (2010 = 100), India, FP.CPI.TOTL; RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy, Table 205 (rupee per US dollar, monthly averages).

Article 14 sedition database

Scroll, 2 Feb 2021, scroll.in. 2010–2020: 405 people accused of sedition for criticising politicians and governments, 96% of cases filed after 2014; 149 over remarks about Modi, 144 about Adityanath.

UAPA: history, 2019 votes, arrests and convictions

Act 37 of 1967 (Meghalaya Police copy), megpolice.gov.in (s.43D(5) “prima facie true”); LiveLaw, 21 Feb 2024, livelaw.in (2004, 2008, 2012, 2019 amendments); The Wire, Lok Sabha passage 287–8 with Congress walkout, 24 Jul 2019, thewire.in; Deccan Herald, Rajya Sabha 147–42 with Congress voting in favour, 2 Aug 2019, deccanherald.com; The Wire, 31 Jul 2025, MHA reply in Rajya Sabha of 30 Jul 2025 (NCRB data): 8,947 arrested 2018–2022, 252 convicted, thewire.in. Caveat: convictions in a period are not only from that period’s arrests. Indira Gandhi as PM in 1967 is general knowledge, not separately sourced.

Also cited in chapter 7

PMLA and the Indian Express investigation

Scroll, Supriya Sharma and Arunabh Saikia, 5 Jul 2022, scroll.in (passed under a BJP-led government; in force 1 Jul 2005; 2009 and 2012 amendments “widened the law’s scope”; 2019 changes). Indian Express, 20 and 21 Sep 2022 (not opened; figures via Newsclick/ADR): adrindia.org (CBI: 43 of 72 under the UPA, 118 of 124 under the NDA); newsclick.in (ED: 14 of 26 under the UPA, 115 of 121 under the NDA).

2014 status: Free

Freedom House, India: Freedom in the World 2014.

2024 status: Partly Free; assessment of pressure on critics

Freedom House, India: Freedom in the World 2024.

First rated Partly Free in the 2021 report (67/100, from 71). 2024 report: 66/100, Political Rights 33/40, Civil Liberties 33/60. Scores out of 100 from 25 indicators

ThePrint (opinion), “Why India has slipped to partly free category on freedom index, how countries are scored,” Mar 2021; Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2024: India. theprint.in.

Account blocking at scale

Scroll, 9 May 2025, scroll.in (X: “over 8,000 accounts”; “Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content.”); Al Jazeera, 9 Oct 2026, aljazeera.com and RSF, rsf.org (about 195,000 blocking orders to Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, Mar–Jul 2026, roughly one every 68 seconds, citing Indian Express data). The original Indian Express story was not opened.

Balaghat journalists’ Instagram accounts

Scroll, 9 Sep 2026, scroll.in; MediaNama, Sep 2026, medianama.com. Suspended 6 or 7 Sep (reports differ), restored 9 Sep; no cause established.

IT Rules 2021, 2026 amendment, Fact Check Unit

PIB release on the 2021 Rules (via Embassy of India, Cairo), eoicairo.gov.in; iPleaders on G.S.R. 120(E), notified 10 Feb 2026, in force 20 Feb 2026, blog.ipleaders.in (takedown window 36 hours → 3 hours); LiveLaw, 26 Sep 2024, livelaw.in (rule 3(1)(v) struck down). Supreme Court refused to stay that ruling on 10 Mar 2026 (Verdictum).

Sahyog portal

Bar & Bench, 24 Sep 2025, barandbench.com; Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu; LiveLaw, 29 Sep 2025 (X says it will appeal). Appeal status not confirmed.

Malviya “manipulated media”

Scroll, 2 Dec 2020, scroll.in. Alt News: “an attempt to water down the force used by police against the protestors.”

Karnataka BJP video, May 2024

Scroll, 7 May 2024, scroll.in; Scroll, 22 Jun 2024, scroll.in. FIR of 5 May on a Congress complaint against JP Nadda, Amit Malviya and BY Vijayendra; EC told X to remove it on 7 May.

Congress’s own cell

BOOM, 1 Apr 2019, boomlive.in (687 pages and accounts “connected to individuals associated with an INC IT Cell”; Facebook also removed 15 assets tied to Silver Touch, linked to a pro-BJP page); Scroll, 4 May 2024, scroll.in (Arun Reddy, AICC national social-media coordinator, arrested 3 May 2024). An arrest is not a finding of guilt.

Theft reporting

IDFC Institute SATARC survey of 20,597 households, via IndiaSpend/The Quint, 27 Sep 2017, thequint.com (“Only 6-8% of victims of theft in four major Indian cities lodged a first information report”; Delhi: 30% thought police would not entertain the complaint).

Street harassment in three smaller cities

Asia Foundation, Safetipin and Centre for Social Research, “Women and Mobility: A Case Study of Bhopal, Gwalior & Jodhpur”, asiafoundation.org. 219 women; 29% (62) sexually harassed in a public place in the past year (p. 17); “none of the female respondents stated having reported incidents of harassment to the police” (p. 18); top reason (65%): it happens too often. Small sample.

Help-seeking after violence at home

Ghoshal R. et al., “Factors associated with help-seeking by women facing intimate partner violence in India: findings from NFHS-5 (2019–2021)”, BMC Global and Public Health, Apr 2024, doaj.org. 14.2% of women who experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner sought any help; 6.94%–8.43% went to police. Covers partner violence only. The primary NFHS-5 report (IIPS & ICF, 2022, ch. 15.9, p. 650, dhsprogram.com) was not readable from here; check p. 650 before the figure goes on screen.

RTI activists killed

The Week, “RTI Act at 20”, 4 Oct 2025, theweek.in, citing CHRI’s tracker: “at least 107 activists” killed. CHRI’s own page not opened; treat as “as of late 2025”.

Journalists killed in small towns

Newslaundry, Shweta Desai, 18 Jul 2023, newslaundry.com, citing CPJ: of 47 journalists and media workers killed 2010–2023, “Over 90 percent … took place in small towns and rural areas”. Not checked against CPJ’s own database.

Jagendra Singh

CPJ, “Journalists Killed in 2015: Jagendra Singh”, refworld.org (burned in a police raid 1 Jun 2015, died 8 Jun; dying statement named a police officer; police said suicide; he had accused an SP minister); Forbidden Stories via The Namibian, 20 Jun 2019, investigations.namibian.com.na (complaint withdrawn 23 Jul 2015 after a “compromise”); IPI, ipi.media. The family’s allegation of a payment is not used in the narration. The minister is not named in the narration; he called the complaint “bogus”.

Mukesh Chandrakar

CPJ profile, cpj.org; Newslaundry, 19 Mar 2025, newslaundry.com (chargesheet names contractor Suresh Chandrakar as prime accused; road project); Business Standard, 5 Jan 2025, business-standard.com (BJP’s deputy CM said the contractor was linked to Congress; Congress said he had joined the BJP). The case is at the chargesheet stage; no verdict.

Political pressure on investigations

Common Cause and Lokniti-CSDS, Status of Policing in India Report 2019 (about 12,000 police personnel, 21 states), via PARI, ruralindiaonline.org : 28% say pressure from politicians hampers crime investigation.

Police Act 1861

PRS, “Police Reforms in India” (data as of 2016), prsindia.org : “police in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland is regulated under the Police Act, 1861”; “some states have modelled their laws” on it. Not checked whether these four have changed since 2016.

Prakash Singh directions and compliance

Prakash Singh v Union of India, 22 Sep 2006, indiankanoon.org; The Leaflet, 29 Sep 2021, reporting CHRI’s report of 21 Sep 2021, theleaflet.in : “neither a single State, nor the Union Territories comply fully”.

Delhi Police and the Union

Delhi Police Act 1978, s.4 (superintendence vests in the Administrator appointed under Article 239), humanrightsinitiative.org; Constitution, Art. 239AA(3)(a); PRS, DFG analysis 2026–27, Home Affairs, prsindia.org (“functions under the administrative control of the MHA”).

Alliance context and state results

Reuters, 2024 election result analysis and Akashvani News, Uttar Pradesh results.

Yatra route and seat results; not proof of causation

The Indian Express, “How Congress, allies performed along the routes of two Bharat Jodo yatras,” 8 Jun 2024.

Campaign issues and reported pressure on BJP support

Reuters, “A humbled Modi needs allies, and answers to India’s unemployment, inflation,” 4 Jun 2024.

CJP = Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led movement. Rahul Gandhi led a march he called for on 12 Oct; police detained thousands over the weekend; the Election Commission denies wrongdoing

Al Jazeera, “Indian opposition protesters in New Delhi call on election chief to quit,” 12 Oct 2026. aljazeera.com.

The voter-list revision

AP via WFTV, 8 Oct 2026, wftv.com : the Special Intensive Revision has removed more than 130 million names; the Election Commission denies wrongdoing.

Section 163 BNSS

Outlook, 21 Jul 2026, outlookindia.com (“the BNSS equivalent of the erstwhile Section 144”); PTI via DT Next, 6 Oct 2026, dtnext.in (prohibitory orders under s.163 in force in New Delhi).

Rahul Gandhi detained

PTI via DT Next, 6 Oct 2026 (link in S72: about 260 detained including 10 MPs, among them Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi); AP, 7 Oct 2026 (“his second detention in two days”), via WFTV link in S71.

Congress manifestos

2019: India Legal, 6 Apr 2019, indialegallive.com (“Omit Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code … that has been misused and, anyway, has become redundant because of subsequent laws”). 2024 Nyay Patra, official PDF, manifesto.inc.in : p.21 “We promise to de-criminalise the offence of defamation”; p.22 “We promise to put an end to the weaponisation of laws, arbitrary searches, seizures and attachments, and arbitrary and indiscriminate arrests”. A keyword search of the 2024 PDF found no mention of sedition, UAPA, PMLA or the IT Rules.

Examples involving activists, journalists and political opponents

Human Rights Watch, World Report 2024: India.

Telangana arrests

Scroll, Mar 2025, scroll.in; CPJ, 17 Mar 2025, cpj.org. Pulse News’s Revathi Pogadadanda and Thanvi Yadav arrested 12 Mar 2025; complainant a Congress worker; organised-crime charge rejected by the court; bail 17 Mar.

Judge vacancies and pending cases

Business Standard, 3 Aug 2026, business-standard.com (Union law ministry figures: as of 1 May 2026, 25 High Courts had 796 working judges against a sanctioned 1,122, so 326 vacancies, nearly 29%; NJDG shows more than 5.03 crore cases pending in all courts). Moneylife, Lok Sabha reply, moneylife.in (5.39 crore pending as of 31 Dec 2025). The narration says “more than five crore”, which both support.

Former Supreme Court judge Pinaki Chandra Ghose appointed first Lokpal chairperson in March 2019; Act got assent 1 Jan 2014; “over five years” to set up

JURIST, “India establishes anti-corruption ombudsman,” 21 Mar 2019. jurist.org.

Prasada was twice a minister in the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government; joined BJP 9 Jun 2021. Scindia switched from Congress to BJP in March 2020

Scroll, “Congress leader Jitin Prasada joins BJP ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections,” 9 Jun 2021. scroll.in.

RPN Singh, former Union Minister of State for Home, joined BJP 25 Jan 2022; Scindia present as Union Civil Aviation Minister

Gulf News, “India: After resigning from Congress, RPN Singh joins ruling BJP,” 25 Jan 2022. gulfnews.com.

Ajit Pawar split the NCP and became Deputy CM in the Shinde-led Shiv Sena–BJP government

Onmanorama, “NCP splits, Ajit Pawar joins hands with BJP government in Maharashtra,” 2 Jul 2023. onmanorama.com.