Activists demand release of climate activist Disha Ravi, ask Centre to stop targeting India's youth

The Government's heavy-handedness, they said, is clearly focused on "terrorising and traumatising these brave young people for speaking truth to power.
Activist Disha Ravi (in black mask) sent to 5 days Delhi police special cell custody, in New Delhi on Sunday. (Photo | ANI)
Activist Disha Ravi (in black mask) sent to 5 days Delhi police special cell custody, in New Delhi on Sunday. (Photo | ANI)
BENGALURU: A countrywide outburst has been put out by members of the Coalition for Environmental Justice in India over the arrest of 21-year-old Bengaluru-based climate activist Disha Ravi by the Delhi police on Saturday for sharing an advocacy toolkit inviting solidarity with the farmers’ protests outside Delhi, which was shared by noted teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg. They have demanded Disha’s immediate release.

At least 79 members of the group, including Leo F Saldanha, Environment Support Group in Bengaluru have endorsed their staunch opposition to the arrest and moving Disha Ravi to Delhi, saying "it is highly disturbing both for what appears to be its illegal nature and for the over-reaction of the State that it represents."

In a letter put out on Sunday, they said, "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." 

The statement is endorsed by several activists across the country including Ashish Kothari, Kalpavrish, Pune, Nityanand Jayaraman, writer and activist, Chennai and Leo F. Saldanha, Environment Support Group, Bangalore and T. M. Krishna, singer, writer and activist.

They have alleged that the 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." 

The Government's heavy-handedness, they said, is 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," they have said.

"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," they said. 

“We demand that Disha Ravi be immediately released and assisted to get back home to resume her life,” they added.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com