Academics, activists condemn Disha Ravi's arrest, say govt distracting from real issues

The arrest of Disha Ravi, the 21-year-old climate activist from Bengaluru by Delhi Police on Saturday night, has triggered outrage among academics and activists across the country have called for her immediate release. In a joint statement, more than 50 academics, artists and activists have voiced support for Disha and called this arrest “disturbing,” “illegal in nature" and an "over-reaction of the State.” The statement says that instead of arresting her, the Union government should be proud of her. They said this act by the Delhi Police is also an attempt to "delegitimize the ongoing farmers' protest" which have been going on for more than two months against the three contentious farm laws.

Disha was picked up from her Bengaluru residence on Saturday afternoon, and taken to Delhi by a team of police officers where she was subsequently arrested on Saturday night. According to the police, she has been arrested for allegedly editing a Google document shared on farmers’ protests by international climate activist Greta Thunberg. She was sent to five days police custody on Sunday afternoon by a Delhi court.

Toolkits are inventories, usually in the form of Google Docs, that are shared online used to educate and promote online campaigns containing basic information on any issue, tweet suggestions and information on what hashtags to use and whom to tag on social media. These are regularly used for streamlining protests and are also used by social media teams of political parties to plan a social media campaign. While the Delhi police have alleged a larger conspiracy behind the toolkit Greta had tweeted, Disha has denied these claims in court and said she had just voiced her support for the farmers.

The statement issued on Sunday terms Disha's arrest as "extra-judicial abduction" and calls for her immediate release. The statement has been carried in full (see below) and along with the endorsees.

Stop targeting India's youth and environmental activists

News that Disha Ravi, a young woman and climate activist from Bengaluru, has been “picked up” - in what is referred to as a “closely guarded operation” of the Delhi police - is highly disturbing both for what appears to be its illegal nature and for the over-reaction of the State that it represents. Earlier today, Disha was remanded to police custody for five days.

Young environmental activists, that the country should be proud of, are the latest victims of the Centre’s continuing efforts to delegitimize the ongoing farmers' protest and the nationwide solidarity it has generated. Disha has reportedly been picked up for sharing an advocacy toolkit inviting solidarity with the farmers’ protests outside Delhi, which was shared by noted teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg.

Delhi Police’s actions are all the more sinister because the 21-year old was taken to Delhi from Bengaluru with no disclosure about her whereabouts, not even to her parents, an action that can be termed extra-judicial abduction.

Delhi Police’s disregard for the rule of law is no secret. However, this action against an individual without following the due process of law, and in clear violation of norms for arrests and detentions laid down by the Supreme Court, reflects absolute contempt for constitutional principles. The act of criminalising young people for extending solidarity to a struggle that resonates with their own aspirations for a healthy and secure future, strikes as a new low.

From the controversial Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2020 and in advancing laws that has drawn farmers’ across India to protest, the wider public is becoming increasingly aware of the Union Government’s tendency to put corporate interests over the well-being and future of the nation. It is also becoming increasingly clear that the current actions of the Central Government are diversionary tactics to distract people from real issues like the ever-rising cost of fuel and essential items, the widespread unemployment and distress caused due to the lockdown without a plan, and the alarming state of the environment..

The grave state of India's environment is evident from the recent Uttarakhand disasters and the floods across Western Ghats, the Ganges and Brahmaputra. In attending to this disastrous state of affairs, the Government needs to reach out to India’s youth, not attack them.

India should count itself fortunate that conscientious young Indians are actively engaged with shaping their futures in the face of ecological catastrophes. Aware that the government policies are hurting millions and harming the environment, these youngsters are exercising their constitutional rights and performing their fundamental duties by systematically holding the government accountable.

The Government’s heavy-handedness are clearly focused on terrorising and traumatising these brave young people for speaking truth to power, and amounts to teaching them a lesson. A confident Government must appreciate this resilience of our youth and hold open dialogues with them across the country. The current actions of the Indian Government, instead, amount to gagging democracy itself.

As people involved in various campaigns for environmental and social justice, and as citizens who believe it is our sacred responsibility to hold governments to account, we invite the government to treat multiple serious ecological/climate, economic and social crises we now suffer from with the full attention they deserve.

We call on the Indian Government to take India’s youth into confidence, understand their concerns about their future, and work with them to safeguard our environment and strengthen institutions of democratic decision making.

We demand that Disha Ravi be immediately released and assisted to get back home to resume her life.

1. Ashish Kothari, Kalpavrish, Pune

2. Nityanand Jayaraman, Write and Activist, Chennai

3. Leo F. Saldanha, Environment Support Group, Bangalore

4. M. J. Vijayan, New Delhi

5. Meera Sanghamitra, National Alliance of Peoples Movement (NAPM)

6. Soumya Dutta, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha (BJVJ)

7. Arundhati Dhuru

8. Sandeep Pandey

9. Kavita Krishnan, AIPWA

10. Ramnarayan K., Munsiari, Uttarakhand

11. A C Michael, Former Member of Delhi Minorities Commission

12. Evita Das, PIPFPD and NAPM (Delhi)

13. Veena Padmanabhan, Gurgaon

14. Nisha Biswas

15. Shripad Dharmadhikary, Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Pune

16. Sahana Subramanian, Bangalore

17. Simar Kohla, Founder, Lifetide - Collective for water sustainability and Justice

18. Anuradha Banerji, Independent Researcher, New Delhi.

19. Benny Kuruvilla, Researcher, New Delhi

K. Sajaya, Independent journalist, Social Activist, Hyderabad

20. Amani Ponnaganti, Researcher, Bengaluru

21. G. Sundarrajan, Poovulagin Nanbargal

22. T. M. Krishna, Singer, Writer, Activist

23. S.P. Udayakumaran, Pachai Thamizhagam Katchi, Green Tamil Nadu Party

24. Richa Singh, Sangtin kisan majdoor sangthan Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh

25. Joe Athialy, Centre for Financial Accountability, New Delhi

26. Karthik G, Chennai Climate Action Group, Chennai

27. Adv Purnima Upadhyay, Amaravati, Maharashtra

28. Shalini Gera, Advocate, High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur

29. Khalida Parveen, Social activist, Hyderabad

30. Dr. Bittu K R, Associate Professor of Biology and Psychology, Ashoka University

31. Narasimha Reddy Dhonti, Hyderabad

32. Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity, West Bengal

33. Shramajivi Mahila Samity, West Bengal

34. Dr Akhileshwari Ramagoud, Academic and Independent Journalist

35. M.Yuvan - Writer, Naturalist, Activist - Chennai Climate Action Group

Sushmita, Mumbai

36. Kamayani Bali Mahabal, Feminist and Human Rights Activist

37. Rinchin, Writer, Chattisgarh

38. Punjab Womens Collective

39. Padmaja Shaw, Rtd. Professor, Osmania University

40. Karthik Ranganathan, Engineer, Bangalore

41. Amit Kumar, Delhi Solidarity Group, New Delhi

42. Suma Josson, Film maker

43. Siddharth K J, Independent Researcher, Bengaluru

Nikita Naidu, Hyderabad

44. Arundhati Ghosh, Cultural Professional, Bangalore

45. Manoj Pande

46. Abhayraj Naik, Visiting Faculty, Azim Premji University, Bangalore

47. Mari Marcel Thekaekara, Gudalar, TN

48. Sujatha Padmanabhan, Chennai

49. Anil Varghese, Delhi Solidarity Group

50. Ramanand Wangheilakpa, Secy, Chingmeirong Maning leikai Singlup and Exe.Dir, Indigenous Perspectives,Manipur

51. Chirag Dhara, Mumbai, India

52. Ashik Krishnan, Co-Creator, Travellers' University

53. Sridhar Radhakrishnanm Environmentalist, Kerala Paristhithi Aikya Vedhi

54. Tara Murali, Architect, Chennai

55. Akshay Chettri, Pune

56. Om Prakash Singh, Chennai

57. Jaya Iyer Delhi, bhumi ka

58. Rajeswari S Raina

59. Madhu Sarin, Chandigarh

60. Shalmali Guttal, Karnataka

61. Eric Pinto

62. Cassandra Nazareth/ Mumbai

63. Neelam Ahluwalia, (NCR resident)

64. Ammu Abraham

65. Terence Fernandes

66. Aysha, Right to Food Campaign

67. Dr.G.Vijay, School of Economics, University of Hyderabad

68. Sheila Kapur

69. Manasi Pingle, Bangalore

70. Nishant Bangera, Thane, Muse Foundation

71. Dunu Roy, Hazards Centre, New Delhi

72. Yash Marwah, Let India Breathe

73. Amrita Bhattacharjee

74. Nachiket Udupa, Delhi

75. Smruthi Ananth, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru

76. Dr.S.G.Vombatkere

77. Anand Kulkarni, Development professional, ex Gandhi Fellow and IIT Guwahati

78. Nisha Shetty,

79. Sushant Bali, Mumbai