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Perils of repressing dissent

Criminalisation of protests is unsustainable for democracies in the long run. The sooner India realises it, the better

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Illustration: Binay Sinha

6 min read Last Updated : Jun 12 2020 | 12:53 AM IST

The Union government appears to have used the conditions of the Covid-19 epidemic to eliminate dissent, using the harshest law available to it to do so. It has done this by conflating the successful citizenship law protests with terrorism.

Under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which was amended last year, the state has the power to attribute criminality to any individual, group or action without restraint. Anything the government determines to be “unlawful activity” can be an act of terrorism. Last year, the law was amended to allow the government to designate an individual as a terrorist without a trial.

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Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper

Topics : Citizenship Bill Jawaharlal Nehru University Delhi Police Jamia Millia Islamia University dissent NRC Bill

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