Bela Bhatia

Bela Bhatia (born c. 1964) is a human rights activist and author working in the Bastar district in the state of Chhattisgarh in Central India. Her work with Adivasi and Dalit communities has brought threats against her life, which resulted in police protection and support from chief ministers of Chhattisgarh.

Biography

Bhatia was born c. 1964. She studied for a PhD at Cambridge University and then worked at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi and an Honorary Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay. She then lived in Bastar district in the state of Chhattisgarh in Central India, working as researcher on counter-insurgency methods and human rights abuses in Adivasi and Dalit communities.

In 2017, Bhatia joined a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) investigation interviewing women who had filed First information reports regarding sexual assault by police officers. Soon afterwards, a mob of 30 people went to her house in the village of Parpa near Jagdalpur and threatened her with violence. She was forced to leave within 24 hours. She made a police complaint which stated the vigilantes came from a local group which opposed human rights workers. This led to her receiving police protections and assurances for her safety from Chief Minister Raman Singh.

She received support from the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel after she was denied access to a client at Jagdalpur prison in 2019. In the same year, she learnt that she was under surveillance by the Inidian government using Pegasus spyware.

Bhatia is co-editor (with Jean Drèze and Kathy Kelly) of War and Peace in the Gulf: Testimonies of the Gulf Peace Team published in 2001 and her book India's Forgotten Country: A View from the Margins was published in 2024 by Penguin India.

Selected works

References

  1. ↑ "Why a top Indian activist is facing threats to her life". BBC News. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  2. ↑ Raman, Anuradha. "Why Chhattisgarh wants this researcher out". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 Mahaprashasta, Ajoy Ashirwad. "Academic Bela Bhatia Attacked, Threatened in Bastar". Wire.in. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  4. ↑ Chaudhary, Manira (22 April 2016). "Let Bela Bhatia tell you the truth about Chhattisgarh". Newslaundry. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  5. ↑ Mishra, Ritesh (29 January 2017). "A week after threat, tribal rights activist Bela Bhatia files police complaint". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  6. ↑ Govindarajan, Padmapriya (2 February 2017). "Bela Bhatia's Story Highlights Ongoing Problems in India's Chhattisgarh". The Diplomat. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  7. ↑ "Bela Bhatia protests against jail authorities for shabby treatment". The Times of India. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  8. 1 2 Sharma, Ashutosh (9 April 2025). ""Thousands of Adivasis Are Jailed Under False Charges": Bela Bhatia on Bastar's Militarisation and Mining Crisis". Frontline. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  9. ↑ Goel, Vindu; Perlroth, Nicole (9 November 2019). "Spyware Maker NSO Promises Reform but Keeps Snooping". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2026.