Devangana Kalita is an M.Phil student at JNU, a women human rights defender and a founding member of Pinjra Tod (Break the Cage), a student association working on women’s freedom, gender equality and other social issues. She is best known for her role in the anti-CAA protests.
Wiki/Biography
Devangana Kalita was born on Friday, June 17, 1989 (31 years old in 2020) in Dibrugarh, Assam, India. In 2010, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English from Miranda House University, Delhi.
Devangana Kalita and her friend Namisha Aggarwal after graduation in 2010
She then went to the UK to pursue a Master of Arts (MA) in Gender and Development at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. After completing her postgraduate studies in the UK, she returned to India as she had no intention of staying there. She returned to Delhi to pursue an MA in History at the Centre for Historical Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Currently, she is pursuing an MA at the Centre for Women’s Studies at JNU.
appearance
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
Family and caste
Devangana Kalita was born into an Assamese family.
Parents and siblings
Kalita’s father, Dr. Hem Chandra Kalita, is a cardiologist practicing at Assam Medical College and Hospital, while her mother is a housewife.
relation
Devagana met her future husband (name withheld) during her internship at Seva Mandir, an NGO in Udaipur. The couple later got married in the UK in 2014.
Pingela Todd
In 2015, Jamia Milia Islamia, a central university in Delhi, changed the late night entry time for girls to 8 pm from 10 pm previously and changed the curfew for girls in hostels to 8 pm, while boys were not subject to such restrictions. Girls at Jamia protested against the decision. Inspired by the Jamia protest, similar protests broke out in other universities and led students to take to the streets. Devangana and her friends created a Facebook page called “Pinjra Tod: Break the Hostel Lock”. The campaign received a huge response, with women from different parts of India saying they would post their stories on the Facebook page. The movement, which started online to free women from the hostel hours, has now expanded to fight against various social issues prevalent in the society. Below is a video where Devanagana discusses the story behind the rise of Pinjra Tod.
Arrest and prosecution
On May 23, 2020, Devagana, her roommate and another Pinjra Tod activist, Natasha Narwal, were arrested by the police on FIR 48/2020 for participating in a sit-in protest against CAA-NRC on February 22 and 23 (a day before the Delhi riots). The next day, on May 24, 2020, a Delhi court granted them bail, saying there was no evidence of their role in inciting violence. The court also vacated the non-bailable provision of Section 353 of the Indian Penal Code (preventing a public servant from discharging his duty by assault or violence) against them, saying it was “not maintainable” and that they were “only protesting against the NRC and CAA”. The release did not last long. On the same day, the Crime Branch’s Special Investigation Team filed another FIR (50/2020) containing serious charges of murder, attempt to murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy, and sought to arrest them again. The court remanded them in custody for two days. On May 30, 2020, Devangana was arrested again in a third FIR (250/2019), this time related to the violence that broke out in Delhi’s Daryaganj area. On June 2, 2020, the court again granted them bail. On June 5, 2020, the Delhi Police again arrested Devangana Kalita and Narwal in a fourth FIR (59/2020) and imposed the strict anti-terror law UAPA on them. She was arrested three times in ten days. The Delhi Police charged them with 33 charges including murder, terrorism, rioting, robbery, criminal conspiracy and sedition. Three months later, on September 1, 2020, the Delhi High Court granted her bail in FIR 50/2020, saying her detention was illegal. (Click here to read the judgment) Devangana remains lodged in Tihar jail as the court is yet to grant bail in the remaining one of the four FIRs registered against her. On January 29, 2021, a Delhi court rejected her bail plea in the Northeast Delhi riots case; while rejecting the bail plea, Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat said that the allegations against Kalita appeared to be true on their face.
Facts/Trivia
- While studying at Miranda House University in Delhi, Devanagara successfully contested the student elections as an independent candidate and was elected as the Vice-Chancellor.
- Devangana is never content with the status quo and always wants to question the existing system to make changes for the better of the society.
- She is interested in poetry, stargazing, and supporting progressive politics.
- She enjoys relieving stress through artistic activities such as painting.
Artworks by Devangana Kalita
- Fish, duck, pork and rice are Devangana’s favourite dishes.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education