A 22-year-old climate activist has emerged as a symbol of the Indian government’s contradiction to differences of opinion, while the country is facing a growing crisis after months of protests by angry farmers.
Disha Ravi was arrested last weekend and charged with sedition, with a court in Delhi granting a police request on Friday to extend her detention by another three days. Her lawyers say she was arrested illegally.
Ravi’s arrest sparked protests across the country and diverted concerns about an authoritarian setback to the agricultural protests that shocked the country.
She is accused of helping to create and share an online ‘toolkit’ that calls for peaceful ways for the public to support the protests. The document was later shared online by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg when she joined a group of world celebrities who led the support for the movement.
Since November, tens of thousands of farmers have been camping in the capital to protest against new agricultural laws that they say could destroy their livelihoods and leave them open to exploitation by big business.
Ravi fervently supported the cause and tweeted her support to the farmers as it is a rare and major challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authority. Farmers are the most influential voting bloc in India and an important part of its economy.
A well-known figure in the country’s growing environmental movement, Ravi co-founded the Indian chapter of Thunberg’s Fridays for Future (FFF) campaign, an international movement where students go to school on Friday to protest climate change.
The movement gained traction in India, with FFF chapters based in more than 40 states. Ravi was frequently seen at the protests and is known for being increasingly outspoken about the issue and her negative view of Modi’s environmental policy.
Critics in opposition figures disputed the claim that the toolbox helped incite violence in the agricultural protests, with the rioting charge – which carries a possible life sentence – raising fears about the future of such movements in India.
The South Asian director of Human Rights Watch, Meenakshi Ganguly, described the sedition law in the colonial era as ‘draconian’ and called for it to be repealed.
The resurrection law is “increasingly being used by a democratically elected government in India to target peaceful critics,” Ganguly told NBC News, criticizing what she calls “rampant abuse.”
Data show that the submission of sedition cases has increased since Modi came to power in 2014, with cases against figures ranging from writers and journalists to opposition politicians.
“Instead of addressing peaceful criticism of the policy, or not upholding the rights, the authorities have shown prejudice and targeted critics by accusing them of draconian riots or oppositions and at the same time not prosecuting government supporters who use force. not busy, “Ganguly said. .
However, members of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) defended the use of the law and rejected any proposal of a repression of contradiction.
“We are a country that believes in non-violence, but if there are elements that provoke the country’s image and create conditions, this law still applies,” BJP national spokesman Tom Vadakkan told the BBC.
Ravi’s arrest has sparked outrage from high figures, including lawyer and writer Meena Harris, the cousin of US Vice President Kamala Harris. Some Indian politicians, including members of the main opposition party, have also expressed their anger.
Others see it as an attempt to discourage future activism.
Nine-year-old climate activist Licypriya Kangujam told NBC News that the case could “place India in the top safest places for climate and environmental activists in the world.”
“This is an attempt to silence the voices of young girls and women in the country,” she said.
Kangujam, sometimes also called ‘India’s Greta’, was detained by police last October during a protest against Delhi’s alarming levels of air pollution.
But she promised not to be intimidated and to continue putting pressure on the government.
“Because we are climate activists, it is our moral obligation to support our farmers,” Kangujam said. “They are already the victims of climate change.”