A FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE

A FINALIST FOR THE MOORE PRIZE

A NEW STATESMAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

“A gripping and rigorous crime story about the murder of a once thriving democracy, exposing an arsenal of lethal weapons, some wielded on the streets, others in the courts and press” - NAOMI KLEIN

“Essential reading” - YANIS VAROUFAKIS

The largest democracy in the world faces its greatest challenge since the end of British colonialism in 1947.

“The Incarcerations” reveals the remarkable and shocking story of the Bhima Koregaon case, in which 16 human rights defenders (the BK-16) – professors, lawyers, journalists, poets – have been jailed, without credible evidence and without trial, as Maoist terrorists. Alpa Shah analyzes how these alleged terrorists were accused of inciting violence at a public celebration in 2018, charged with “waging war” against the Indian state and plotting to kill Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. By thoroughly exploring the case, Shah uncovers some of the most shocking revelations of cyberwarfare investigations, showing not only the surveillance of the BK-16’s emails and mobile phones but also the planting of electronic evidence used to convict them.

Through the biographies of the BK-16, Shah delves deep into the issues for which they fought and narrates the story of three main minorities in India – Adivasis, Dalits, and Muslims – and what the search for democracy means for them. Substantive and urgent, “The Incarcerations” reveals how this case is a wake-up call for the collapse of democracy in India, as for the first time in the country’s history, there is a multidimensional, coordinated attack on key defenders of the various pillars of democracy.

“A harrowing, meticulously documented account of the arrest and ongoing trial of some of India’s most extraordinary citizens. “The Incarcerations” shows us that the BK-16 are a threat to the current regime of Indian nationalists not for what they have done, but because they dare to dream differently about what kind of country India should be. Alpa Shah’s book is about the criminalization and incarceration of dissent. It does us a great service” - Arundhati Roy

Pages: 672, Dimensions: 12.9x12.9cm