Gautam Navlakha

Gautam Navlakha is an Indian human rights activist and journalist. He has written on left-wing extremism and is a critic of army and state atrocities in Kashmir. He is a member of People's Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi. He is also an editorial consultant of the Economic and Political Weekly. He resides in New Delhi.

Activism Gautam Navlakha has worked as a secretary of the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), and has also been a convener of the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir. He has also worked in Kashmir, and in the recent times, his focus of work has been the areas of Chhattisgarh which are in the Maoists' influence.

His writings have appeared in Economic and Political Weekly and Sanhati.com.

Detention at Srinagar Airport quote="Corruption is a main policy adopted by India to consolidate its occupation in Kashmir. India is buying the people here and give them monetary benefits so as to get their support for maintaining its occupation." salign=right — Navlakha When asked to produce an order in writing, the police gave him an order signed by the district Magistrate which read that he was "prohibited from entering Kashmir under Section 144 of the CRPC." Farooq Abdullah commented, "what does that writer want – to burn Kashmir? Let them burn some other place in India." Following the incident, the International Tribunal for Human rights in Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP), Khurram Parvez criticised the government's decision. Navlakha responded by terming his detention a "paranoia unbecoming of the state authorities."

Litigation Navalakha is an accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence. On 8 April 2020, the Supreme Court rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde in the Elgar Parishad-alleged Maoist links case, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. They were instructed to surrender to the National Investigation Agency on 14 April. National Investigation Agency in the chargesheet stated that Navlakha met with Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai several times to "unite the intellectuals against government forces to defeat them both physically and otherwise.". Later the Supreme Court allowed him house arrest.

Works