It’s an Orwellian nightmare for dissenters and critics. A dystopian world of an overbearing and merciless State where people can be behind bars for simply stating a fact that cow urine cannot cure Covid, or protesting against a highly discriminatory piece of legislation. That is now. But the story of India as a totalitarian state is not new. Over the years, governments—both at the Centre and states—led by parties of all hues have used harsh laws like UAPA or NSA to detain dissenters and political rivals. How do different states stack up in the index of using these draconian laws? A walkthrough across the Indian landscape….
(L to R) Gour Chakraborty, Prasun Chattopadhyay, Kushal Debnath—all booked under UAPA—and Maoist leader Kishanji
WEST BENGAL
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