Teesta Setalvad

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Teesta Setalvad is an Indian journalist and a civil rights activist, who is known for filing litigations against the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government after the 2002 Gujarat riots. In July 2022, she was arrested by the Gujarat police ATS on the charges of presenting false pieces of evidence against Narendra Modi in court.Teesta Setalvad hails from a family of renowned lawyers. Her grandfather, M. C. Setalvad, was independent Indias first Attorney General of India (AG). He remained the Attorney General of India from 1950 to 1963. M. C. Setalvad, grandfather of Teesta Setalvad.In 1979, after completing her schooling, Teesta Setalvad initially pursued her graduation in law, but she dropped out of the law college to pursue her graduation in Philosophy (Honours), which she completed in 1983.Teesta Setalvad started her career as a journalist in 1983. She began working with renowned print news media outlets like The Daily (India), The Indian Express and the Business Magazine. She was hired as a columnist by the media outlets to write the news for their audience in Bombay.Teesta Setalvad got her first major break in journalism when she was given the task of covering the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The event was covered by her in great detail, earning her huge appreciation.In 1993 when the Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in Mumbai after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand, her husband, decided to leave their jobs as journalists to start their print media outlet named Communalism Combat. While giving an interview, Teesta said, The opportunity to report on the riots is very limited in the mainstream media. We were allowed to cover only a few aspects of the riots, whereas a larger part of the information on the riots was mostly censored. Therefore, me and my wife, we both decided to quit our jobs and start our own reporting magazine. The cover page of the news magazine Communalism Combat.In 1992, Teesta and her husband, Javed, founded another news agency named Sabrang. Through Sabrang, the couple published many articles such as Damning Verdict: Report of the Srikrishna Commission, Saffron on the rampage: Gujarats Muslims pay for the Lashkars deeds, The Foreign Exchange of Hate: IDRF and the American Funding of Hindutva, and many more. These articles were based on the reports which were published by several committees.In the early 2000s, while serving as a General Secretary of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Teesta Setalvad launched a series of protests against the nuclear tests being conducted by both India and Pakistan. Teesta Setalvad at a protest rally.On 1 April 2002, Teesta and Javed, established Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) that deals with upholding and safeguarding the civil rights of the citizens of India. The NGO was established by the couple in collaboration with other renowned personalities like Javed Akhtar (music composer), Rahul Bose (actor), Vijay Tendulkar, Anil Dharker (a journalist), Father Cedric Prakash (a catholic priest), and Alyque Padamsee. Citizens for Justice and Peaces logo.The NGO was established by Teesta Setalvad and Javed after the occurrence of the infamous 2002 Gujarat riots. The NGO aims to bring those involved in the 2002 Gujarat riots to justice. Through her NGO, Teesta Setalvad also supports equal civil rights under the constitution of India for the Dalits, Muslims, and women.