⚡️Here’s a master thread ⚡️of a ten day curation on #AntiTerrorLaws & #UAPA led by @GuneetKaurAhuja & @aimanjkhan who brought to fore critical inputs from Sahana Manjesh, Parijata @mrinpinshar, @SarimNaved & @meeracomposes: 1/
Day 1: on the colonial legacy of the legal concept of “unlawful association” which underpins contemporary anti-terror laws in India: 2/
Day 2: on the development of anti-terror legislation in independent india of the 60s, the introduction of the Terrorist & Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1985 (TADA) and the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) 3/
Day 3: POTA was repealed in 2004 due to a recognition of its misuse, but this thread shows how many of these repressive features were incorporated in the UAPA through amendments after 2004 4/
Day 3, thread 2: on the arbitrariness embedded in the process of banning of organizations under UAPA, with inputs from advocate Sahana Manjesh: 5/
Day 4: on the way the system of sanctions - included in the UAPA to prevent it being applied indiscriminately - is in process considered a bureaucratic exercise, with inputs from Parijata: 6/
Day 5: on the vague definitions of “terrorist act” & “unlawful activity” under UAPA and how they are used to repress dissent, target minorities, & detain activists & human rights defenders, across the country: 7/
Day 6: On how UAPA creates an exception to procedural safeguards denying fundamental rights, incl increasing likelihood of police torture in custody, restriction on bail & essentially serving to “punish the accused before the trial is over” 8/
Day 6, thread 2: Understanding UAPA using annual crime statistics (is. NCRB) which not only shows the dismal conviction rate but also the propsterous levels of pendancy, curated by @mrinpinshar of @AIIndia: 9/
Day 7: on the persistent use of UAPA by the government to bolster their media narrative about mass violence incidents, perpetuate arbitrary arrest, and clamp down on activists and dissenters that shows why we need to #RepealUAPA 10/
Day 8: curation by @mrinpinshar on how UAPA is against India’s international human rights obligations 11/
Day 9: curation by @SarimNaved which uses the violence in movies to show how absurd and unfair the definition of “terrorism” is under UAPA is in reality 11/
Day 10: an important thread amplifying the voices of grassroots activists to follow and support in the movement to #RepealUAPA, collated by @meeracomposes: 12/
Thank you so very much to @GuneetKaurAhuja & @aimanjkhan who took the time to develop this incredible curation! Thank you also to the many folks who gave their research inputs. It has been our privilege to learn from you. 13/
This thread is only the beginning of our engagement with the struggles to #RepealUAPA - there is a lot more to be done - for starters, we are looking for folks to help us translate this thread in regional languages. Please DM us if this is something you can help with! 14/14
