Saurav Banerjee, founder of the How We Ought to Live (HOWL) Collective in Dewas, walked out of jail on October 16 after spending nearly three months in custody on charges of outraging religious sentiments. The Madhya Pradesh High Court granted him bail a day after his mother’s death on October 15.
Justice Subodh Abhyankar ordered Banerjee’s release, noting that the chargesheet had been filed and that the trial would take considerable time. Banerjee, a journalist and activist who had been working with tribal and marginalised communities in Shukrawasa village for five years, was arrested on July 24 following accusations of religious conversion by right-wing groups.
Banerjee said confusion over his surname fuelled the allegations. According to a report in The Wire, he explained that local leaders with criminal backgrounds politicised the HOWL group after the Panchayat elections for their own interests. His surname sounded Christian to opponents, and this misunderstanding spread rapidly among Hindutva groups and even police officers. Their ignorance led them to assume he was Christian, making it easy to construct a narrative around religious conversion.
The collective had faced violence before. In 2023, a mob of around 150 armed people gathered at the HOWL premises, but the attack was resisted by members. An FIR was lodged and a memorandum submitted to the District Magistrate, but no action was taken against the perpetrators, mainly Nilesh Patel and Brahmanand Choudhary of Shukrawasa village.
Tensions escalated in late May when Lok Swami, a local evening daily, published a full-page article accusing HOWL of promoting religious conversion, intoxication and Naxalite activities. The collective, along with the Parvatpura Panchayat Development Committee (PPDC), had been working on healthcare access, literacy programmes and land rights for tribals.
On July 22, a police team led by DSP Sanjay Sharma raided the HOWL premises without a warrant, assaulting four members. Two days later, Banerjee organised a press conference at Indore Press Club with nine Panchayat Samiti members and documents to counter the allegations. Right-wing activists disrupted the event, assaulting Banerjee. When members regrouped at a newspaper office, activists again attacked them with chairs and belts, blackening their faces. Barotha Police detained Banerjee the same day. An FIR was filed on July 26.
The chargesheet, submitted on September 23, listed as evidence an 88-page Hindi book on fascism and a 70-page book on the communist movement. HOWL member Pranay Tripathi said the collective maintains books on philosophy and history, including many Hindi translations. Police also alleged that Banerjee’s accounts received funds in US dollars.
Following his detention, the HOWL premises including a library, kitchen, cultural centre and PPDC office were demolished.
Banerjee’s lawyer, Jwalant Singh Chouhan, denied all charges. “My client, a Hindu by birth, has been falsely accused. The foreign payment was for legitimate translation work, fully disclosed in tax filings. There is no mention of religious conversion in the FIR,” he said.
While in custody, Banerjee was kept isolated and could not speak to his ailing mother even once during three months. “I was kept alone in a barrack meant for 50 people. It felt like solitary confinement. I thought about my mother whenever despair struck,” he said. His mother, living at the Shukrawasa campus, was distressed by his imprisonment and would plead with visitors for his freedom. She died on October 15. Banerjee could only see her through a video call at the cremation pyre.
