Sudha Bharadwaj

Sudha Bharadwaj (born 1 November 1961)^[2] is a trade-unionist, activist and lawyer who has lived and worked in Chhattisgarh for over three decades. She is an active member of the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (Mazdoor Karyakrta Committee).^[3]

Sudha Bharadwaj
Bharadwaj in 2020
Born	(1961-11-01) 1 November 1961 (age 63) Massachusetts, U.S.
Nationality	Indian
Occupation(s)	Trade unionist, activist, lawyer
Mother	Krishna Bharadwaj[1]

She was among the activists, lawyers and academics arrested on 28 August 2018 under UAPA in the contentious Bhima Koregaon case. On 8 December 2021, she was granted bail by a special NIA Court.^[4]

Life

Early life

Sudha was born in Boston and lived in the United States and United Kingdom as a child.^[5] Sudha's mother, Krishna Bharadwaj, was a well known academic and economist, who had founded the Centre for Economics Studies and Planning at Jawaharlal Nehru University. At age 11, she moved with her mother to Delhi.^[6]

She joined the integrated mathematics (five year) program of IIT Kanpur in 1979.^[6] At IIT Kanpur she joined NSS, teaching in the caste-ridden rural neighborhood.^[7] After finishing the program at IITK in 1984, she taught at DPS, for a couple of years in Delhi.^[7]

Arrest

On 28 August 2018, along with other lawyers, writers and activists, Sudha was arrested and charged with UAPA in the Bhima Koregaon case.^{[8][9][10][11][12]} A special NIA court granted Sudha Bharadwaj, accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, bail, on a surety of Rs 50,000 on 8 December 2021 after an incarceration of over three years.^[13]