‘She wanted to create a voice to help cause of protesting farmers’, say activists rallying behind Disha Ravi

Disha Ravi has been remanded in police custody

On February 13, 22-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi was picked up from her Bangalore home by the Delhi police, on charges of ‘sharing and spreading' a toolkit on Twitter that shed light on the farmers' protest. This toolkit was originally shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg, who began the global climate strike movement called "FridaysForFuture" which Ravi is associated with. Now youngsters around India are coming out in support of Ravi.

The Delhi police have slapped charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy against Ravi, and claimed in their statement that she was a ‘co-conspirator' in creating the toolkit, as well as had joined forces with pro-Khalistani groups to ‘spread disaffection against the Indian state'. On Sunday, Ravi broke down in court while denying being part of any so-called international conspiracy, and stood her ground by stating that she was ‘just supporting the farmers.' She was remanded in five days of police custody.

At a press conference held on Monday - which came amid national outrage over Ravi's arrest - Delhi police authorities said that non-bailable warrants had been issued against two other activists, namely, Nikita Jacob and Shantanu.

Advocate Jacob and environmental activist Shantanu Muluk filed separate pleas on Monday in the Bombay High Court, which will hear them on Tuesday, after a Delhi court issued the non-bailable warrants. While Jacob's plea was filed in the principal HC seat in Mumbai, Muluk, of Beed district, submitted his application in the Aurangabad bench of the High Court.

‘We are in disbelief'
"We never knew that standing in solidarity with the farmers of the country could land us in jail," said 29-year-old FFF volunteer Pooja (name changed). "People keep asking us why are climate activists supporting a farmer's protest. It is because they (farmers) are going to be most affected by climate change...the entire ideology of privatisation is causing climate change in the first place." When asked what was the prevailing mood at FFF, Pooja said, "Most of us are students and kids, who are in disbelief that the government can do this to someone who is only doing good for humanity. When we see such a person, arrested this way, without having any legal representation, it leaves us heartbroken."

Various human rights organisations stage a demonstration against the arrest of Disha Ravi by Delhi police, on Monday in Bangalore. Pic/AFP

TS Dinesh Nadar, 19, a resident of Navi Mumbai who has been volunteering with the FFF movement for about a year now, said, "The current atmosphere is a bit tense, and there is some degree of fear among us, given most of us are around 18 or younger. A toolkit is used in every campaign, even the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) have toolkits. The Indian government has toolkits, it's not illegal, and as far as the senior lawyer has even mentioned in the news yesterday [Sunday] there is nothing illegal in the kit that has been uploaded. We weren't aware of this, but what scares us is the fact that one of us has been targetted by the media so badly."

‘We feel helpless'
M Yuvan, who is also a part of the FFF movement, and who was part of a press conference held on Monday evening at Chennai's Press Club, said, "Disha's arrest is a scare tactic to try and muzzle the voices of people who are speaking out and reclaiming space in the public domain. Obviously, a lot of volunteers and other people involved are scared because these are young people who feel like they can be arrested for simply speaking out against the government. Her arrest has put fear, anxiety and helplessness in our minds."

Black Lives Matter protests relied heavily on Toolkits

A press release put out on Monday by the Chennai Solidarity Group for Disha Ravi reads, "The government of India's attempts to intimidate and harass young people engaged in shaping the country's environmental future are shameful and not becoming of a country of India's stature." It adds, "We believe Disha Ravi and youngsters like her ought to be celebrated not harassed and demonised. We call upon the government of India to stop the witch-hunt of young activists, and instead engage with the issues - like the rising unemployment, and the deteriorating state of the environment - that bother us." The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms has also issued a press release condemning Ravi's arrest.

Explaining Ravi's arrest, independent lawyers said that although normally there is a requirement for a transit order which police authorities have to get from a local court in order to take a person from one state to another, the ambiguity lies in the fact that there are multiple Delhi HC judgments that state the police don't always need a remand. "This is a grey area...if the police are able to produce the person within 24 hours, which they have in Disha's case," said a senior Delhi HC lawyer.

From spanner to sedition
A toolkit, commonly seen as a ubiquitous box to make life easy, has gained infamy in India following the arrest of climate activist Disha Ravi from Bangalore

Farmers protesting against the Centre's new agriculture laws at Singhu border in New Delhi

Up until February 3, the word Toolkit conjured up the image of a crudely painted metal box on a Tata truck or a desktop icon, but the Delhi police thrust ‘Toolkit' to primetime debate after they tagged a Google doc tweeted by Greta Thunberg as an attempt to incite chaos in Delhi on January 26. They ‘airlifted' 22-year-old activist Disha Ravi from Bangalore on Valentine's Day, accusing her of collaborating on the document or Toolkit to revive a Khalistani group under the pretext of lending support to the farmers' protest. Amid a massive backlash against the Delhi cops for allegedly trying to throttle free speech, here's a lowdown on Toolkit.

What is a Toolkit?
Simply put, it's a document with a set of adaptable guidelines or suggestions to get something done. In the context of protests and mass movements, it may contain ways to sustain the agitation, how to anticipate and protect one from state moves. Even government departments have Toolkits to share information with citizens. In the now-deleted Toolkit tweeted by Thunberg, it tried to "explain the farmers' protests" at Delhi's door. It also apparently added that the new farm laws would bring farmers under the control of large corporations and risk them to exploitation.

Is it a new concept?
Not at all. US-based Swarthmore College says nearly 300 protests have depended on leaflets, books, and webpages - or Toolkits - over the past two centuries. In recent memory, Occupy Wall Street of 2011 relied heavily on Toolkits to galvanise support. So were the anti-CAA protests in India and the Black Lives Matter movement, during the concluding months of Donald Trump's presidency. For instance, Toolkits advised demonstrators in Hong Kong to wear masks and helmets to conceal their identity during anti-government protests in 2019. Social media and digital campaigns have brought Toolkits to prominence.

Why is it so bad in India?
Ever since the January 26 clashes, which the Delhi police equate with the Capitol riots, cops have gone on the offensive to hunt down those who they call worked behind the scene to disturb law and order in the national capital. With Swedish activist Greta Thunberg drawing international attention to farmers' protests, the Delhi police say Poetic Justice Foundation, which they alleged is a pro-Khalistani organisation, is the brain behind the Toolkit.

Why does Disha face sedition charges?
Delhi cops say the climate activist actively worked on the Toolkit shared by Greta Thunberg. They say one section in the document tries to "create disharmony among various social, religious and cultural groups and encourage disaffection and ill-will against the Government of India" and the events unfolded on January 26 was a copycat execution of an action plan mentioned in the Toolkit. In her defence, Disha told a Delhi court, "I did not make the Toolkit. We wanted to support the farmers. I edited two lines on February 3." Those backing her say sharing a Toolkit or guidelines for holding a peaceful protest is far from a seditious act.

Feb 3
Date when Greta shared the controversial Toolkit

124A
IPC section for sedition against Disha. Punishment ranges from jail of up to three years to a life term