Indian Artist Srishti Gupta Jailed After Noida Workers' Protest

On April 11, Srishti Gupta, a 28-year-old visual artist, was arrested at a Noida metro station while participating in a protest involving 40,000 factory workers advocating for fair wages. Gupta broadcast her arrest live on Instagram through Mazdoor Bigul. Her attorney, Ali Zia Kabir Choudhary, argues that the detention was unlawful, citing the lack of an arrest memo and the absence of female officers. Gupta, alongside others, remains in custody as Choudhary points to a trend of 'criminalisation of dissent' since 2014. A printmaker and poet educated at Delhi University and Visva-Bharati University, Gupta, a member of the Progressive Artists' League, received the Takshila Fine Arts Scholarship in 2024. Gupta and theatre artist Akriti Choudhary are facing multiple FIRs, with Choudhary charged under the National Security Act, and their bail applications have been rejected.