Picture per kind favor of cartoonist, Satish Acharya
On 13 February 2021, a 21-year-old environmental activist was picked up by the Delhi Police team for questioning from the jurisdiction of Soladevanahalli Police Station in Bengaluru.
They allege that she distributed the social media toolkit, which was allegedly meant to create unrest in India under the garb of supporting the 2020–2021 Indian farmers’ protests. She was sent to 5-day police custody.
Disha Ravi is a graduate of Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru. She got involved in climate change by seeing the struggles of her grandparents, who were agriculturists. She is part of a climate activist group called Fridays for Future, which was started by Greta Thunberg (Swedish environmental activist) in 2018. FFF’s MAPA (Most Affected People and Areas) wing wants Indians to represent the country in global climate change talks. She represented the voice of India at the Global Climate Week event organized by Fridays for Future (FFF) in September 2020.
She was booked on these charges:
- Booked for sedition, promoting enmity, criminal conspiracy, and other offenses.
- Delhi police state she shared the toolkit document with Greta Thunberg. She later asked Greta to remove the document.
- Delhi police also said that Ravi and others “collaborated with pro-Khalistani Poetic Justice Foundation to spread disaffection against the Indian State.”
- The police have alleged that she shared the toolkit document with Greta Thunberg and that she is a key conspirator in the formulation and dissemination of the document that “indicates a copycat execution of a conspiracy behind the January 26 violence.”
The Loopholes in the Arrest:
- The toolkit explains that it is “meant to enable anyone unfamiliar with the ongoing farmers’ protests in India to better understand the situation and make decisions on how to support the farmers based on their own analysis.” The toolkit suggests “action to be taken including “Organis(ing) an on-ground action near the closest Indian Embassy, Media House or your local Govt.” There is no suggestion of instigating violence in the toolkit.
- Disha has clearly stated that the toolkit was only used to help raise the cause of the farmers. She has no links with any such “terrorists” or any such activity.
- The police actions on the way the arrest was conducted are not in keeping with the law, as her parents had no knowledge of her whereabouts. In judicial language, this can be termed as “extra-judicial abduction.”
- Senior advocate Rebecca Mammen John criticized the arrest stating that the Delhi police had not obtained a transit remand from the Bangalore court and questioned whether the case diaries and arrest memo were examined.
- The lack of legal counsel for Disha was also criticized.
Outpouring support pours in for Disha Ravi from P. Chidambaram, Sagarika Ghosh, Priyanka Gandhi, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Sitaram Yechury, Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor, Meena Harris, Siddharth, Bill McKibben, Karuna Nundy, among others spoke out on Twitter against her arrest.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, former environment minister Jairam Ramesh and several activists among thousands from across the country on Sunday condemned the arrest.
Conclusion
Using words such as “anti-nationals”, “terrorists” “conspirators” “plot against the nation” has become commonplace over the years. Users of these words seek to disenfranchise people, label them and separate them.
Indian history has birthed fiery movements through thousands of activists who brought astounding change and development. Environments activists work towards building a greener, lush healthier nation, by planting trees, plants, fighting for forest preservations, farming. They work in synergy with the ecosystem to build a nation to higher levels of growth.
Today, the arrest is not about Disha Ravi nor is it about the environment, nor is it about terrorism. It is about crushing a generation down with paranoia and fear. It is about conditioning the youth and young adults systematically so that the future generations are silent. It is part of a larger sinister plan to create a fear psychosis where the freedom of expression will die forever.
Finally, in the words of P. Chidambaram, former Finance Minister of India, member of the Rajya Sabha and Congress party who said, “Is a ‘toolkit’ to support farmers’ protest more dangerous than intrusion by Chinese troops into Indian territory?”
The remanding of #DishaRavi to five days police custody without her counsel present, is a shocking abdication of judicial duties, says senior lawyer Rebecca John. #ReleaseDishaRavi pic.twitter.com/GcJonYibRe
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) February 14, 2021