Sudhir [Dhawale] is a relentless activist, and his work is solely stirred by atrocities against the Dalits. I have known him for 15 years, and all I can say is that he has been working hard against repression of Dalit voices. Yes, Sudhir has his own understanding of Maoism, but in India having an opinion [about a movement] is not illegal," said Feroze Mithiborwala, national convenor of the Bharat Bachao Andolan, who has lambasted the state machinery for linking the Dalit movement with Maoism. Mithiborwala, a self-proclaimed progressive Ambedkarite following the Gandhian school of thought, is shocked at the unexpected turn of events over the last week.

On Wednesday, the police arrested five Dalit activists - Dhawale from Mumbai, Roma Wilson from Delhi, and Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut and Surendra Gadling from Nagpur - for their alleged links to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoists). Soon after, reports surfaced that the CPI (M) had allegedly helped fund the Elgaar Parishad event, held in December last year to mark 200 years of the Bhima-Koregaon battle.