The civil rights movement in India has emerged as an autonomous voice in defense of civil liberties and democratic rights of our people. The Peoples Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi, is one such organisation. It came into existence in 1977 as the Delhi unit of a larger national forum, PUCLDR, and became PUDR on 1 February, 1981.
Remembering Stan Swamy (26 April 1937 – 5 July 2021)
The state persecuted Stan Swamy under the UAPA, a punishment that precipitated his death as an undertrial in judicial custody. Stan Swamy was framed, fettered, and finally forced towards a fatal illness under due process of law called the UAPA.
Read: Framed to Die: The Case of Stan Swamy at Framed_to_
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Latest Press Statements
Process as Punishment
PUDR raises concern over the repeated denial of medical bail to septuagenarian E. Abubacker who has been languishing as an undertrial since September 22, 2022, in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Most recently, in July 2026, the special NIA court rejected Abubacker’s bail plea,...
Oppose the Maharashtra Ban on ‘Radical’ Literature
On August 6, 2026, the Home Department of the Maharashtra Government notified ‘forfeiture’ of 114 publications under S 98 of the BNSS (Power to Declare Certain Publications as Forfeited). The publications are shown as linked to terror organizations (IS/ISIS, ISKP,...
PUDR release its report, ‘Another Weapon in the Arsenal: A critique of the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Act, 2026 and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Act, 2026’
People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)’s report, ‘Another Weapon in the Arsenal: A critique of the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Act, 2026 and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Act, 2026’ examines two laws...
Khurram Parvez and Irfan Mehraj granted bail under strict conditions
PUDR welcomes the release of Khurram Parvez and Irfan Meharaj on bail but is alarmed at the restrictive and unreasonable bail conditions set forth in the order of the trial court. The NIA has registered two cases against Khurram Parvez, an activist with decades of...
Release of PUDR Report – REDDENING THE GREEN: COSTS, CONTEXTS, AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR IN BASTAR (2024-2026)
This report presents an account of 27 months of Operation Kagaar – security operations conducted jointly by the central and state governments between January 2024–March 2026 with the professed object of complete elimination of ‘Naxalism’ or ‘Left-Wing Extremism’....
Latest Publications
In Memory of Dr. Ramanadham
The late 1960s marked the first major crisis of Independent India at all levels of its economy and polity. This crisis gave birth to radical movements. Among these were the tribal and peasant struggles led by Marxist Leninist parties. Brutal state repression was...
41st Annual Ramanadham Memorial Meeting: Work Income and Rights in the Age of Dying Neoliberalism: Professor (Emeritus) Utsa Patnaik
The 41st Ramanadham Memorial lecture was delivered by Professor (Emeritus) Utsa Patnaik, formerly with Centre for Economic Studies and Planning at Jawahar Lal Nehru University on October 3rd, 2026. Title of her lecture “Work, Income, Rights in the Dying Age of...
Another Weapon in the Arsenal: A critique of the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Act, 2026 and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Act, 2026
This report examines two laws enacted by the recently elected BJP-led West Bengal government. The report highlights how the two laws that came into force on 13th July, construct a coercive apparatus that reaches deep into the ordinary civic and political life of the...
REDDENING THE GREEN: Costs, Contexts and Consequences of The War in Bastar (2024-2026)
On 24 August 2024, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the deadline of 31 March 2026 for the complete eradication of Naxalism from the country. This report presents an account of 27 months of Operation Kagaar – security operations conducted jointly by the central...
नन्द नगरी में उमरदीन की हत्या
समाज में आमतौर पर होने वाले आपसी विवादों/ झड़पों या मतभेदों को साम्प्रदायिक राजनीति के लिए चारागाह बनाने की दो मिसालें है- नंद नगरी और उत्तम नगर हस्तसाल जे जे कालोनी की घटना। साम्प्रदायिकता का मुख्य औजार लोगों को एक दूसरे के साथ घुलने मिलने की सामाजिक प्रक्रिया को...
Latest Prison projects
Testimony of Atikur Rahman
On October 5, 2020 the UP Police detained the four—social activist Atikur Rahman, journalist Siddique Kappan, student Masud Ahmed and Alam, the driver—at Mant Toll Plaza PS, a little before Mathura. They were arrested on their way to Hathras to show solidarity with...
Living Inside Tihar
This piece is a glimpse into the everyday life of people living in Tihar jail in Delhi and how they access to the most basic daily requirements. It is based on a series of interviews by PUDR in the months with three persons about their time in Tihar’s undertrial ward....
Testimony of Prashant Rahi
Prashant Rahi spoke with PUDR on a series of phone calls following his release from prison in March 2024. His testimony, reproduced with only stylistic edits, draws attention to the multiple challenges of incarceration in prisons and the presence/absence of judicial...