When Words are Used against You: The Case of Varavara Rao and the Right to Expression

Abstract

This research paper is a legal examination of the work Captive Imagination: Letters from Prison, a collection of letters by the poet Varavara Rao. Written while in prison, the letters not only tell the story of his imprisonment, they also serve as a critique of the legal and judicial apparatuses of the Indian state. The inquiry investigates the laws under which Rao was allowed to be imprisoned multiple times, particularly under preventive detention laws and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The broad and vague definitions of these laws have been a subject of criticism. These laws will be examined with reference to the constitutional rights to free speech and personal liberty and the presumption of innocence. The paper carries an analysis of the literary imaginings of Rao, alongside the legal processes that helped in his confinement, to understand how law can be unjust while being just and vice versa. The letters of Rao reveal how prolonged detention without the trial affected him psychologically as well as existentially. Even in darkness, they resist the erasure of political dissent through poetry and philosophy. Captive Imagination turns the prison into a site that challenges the ideological content of the state narrative, helping to re-establish the dignity of the imprisoned subject. This legal-literary analysis demands a humane legal system, which should provide accountability. The need for the same has been highlighted in the context of political prisoners and dissenters within democracy.