In fact, Mahatma Gandhi was charged with sedition in the 1920s, a law he referred to as the ―prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress 3 the liberty of the citizen.‖ In recent times, the sedition law has been used to explicitly generate a chilling effect among critics of the government. [...] One of the most high-profile uses of the UAPA has been in relation to the ―Bhima Koregaon violence.‖ On January 1, 2018, groups representing the Dalit communities (those belonging to the ―lowest‖ caste groups) held an event commemorating the Battle of Koregaon — a historically important event for Dalit communities — in the Bhima Koregaon village in the state of Maharashtra. [...] There are strong indications, however, that the basis of some of the charges stems from data 10 planted on the computers of the activists, and a number of those jailed are in poor health drawing 11 attention from the UN Human Rights office. [...] In order to shift the narrative, the BJP aggressively used its state resources in the election campaign, using central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of 24 Investigation (CBI) to investigate cases and question politicians during the electoral campaign. [...] Perhaps most prominently, the ceremonial post of the governor in the Indian system (a political appointee from the central government) has been used to harass state governments in opposition to the ruling 30 BJP.
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