Sudha Bharadwaj: ‘A lot of democratic space has been lost’

The human rights lawyer and activist says that while in jail, she saw the human cost of a dysfunctional justice system.

The lawyer and activist, spent three years and three months in jail following her arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on August 28, 2018. Her book From Phansi Yard is about her days in Pune’s Yerawada Jail.

In jail, Bharadwaj fought hard against the isolation. The 76 portraits of women prisoners in her book tell a familiar story—convicts and undertrials with neither state nor family to rely on. These women were Bharadwaj’s subjects and also her inspiration. They taught her “how to survive injustice, how to remain hopeful, how to help one other, and how to continue to live, love, fight and laugh... even behind bars”.

To read the full interview, click here.