Despite feeling heat of govt action, young activists say they won't bend yet

Maitreya Sanghvi is a plucky 22yearold from Mumbai In the last two years he has been noticed by the police thrice already Out on bail he believes that things could have been worse for him had the Coronavirus pandemic not struckThe lockdown halted his activism That also meant fewer runins with the law which though a relief he sees as disheartening because therersquos so much he wants to do instead of just ldquorant onlinerdquo ldquoSitting at home during the lockdown while activists were being jailed got me fuming I felt helplessrdquoA demonstration held outside the collectorrsquos office in Thane on Thursday in solidarity with arrested activists across the country PicSameer MarkandeSanghvi is on his own He is neither affiliated to an NGO nor a social movement or political party He believes in certain causesmdashthe right onesmdashand he stands up for them ldquoThis government is taking from the poor and giving to the rich My blood boils as everyonersquos shouldrdquo Itrsquos why his feet have found their way organically to any event or gathering where support is soughtHis first serious run in with the law came in December 2019 when there were demonstrations across the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act Violence at Delhirsquos Jamia Millia Islamia rocked the nation and Sanghvi was detainedmdashtwicemdashwhile participating in vigils at Marine Drive The one that struck a heavy blow though was in February last year when he along with hundreds had gathered at the Veer Kotwal Garden in Dadar to show solidarity for the victims of the violence in DelhiActivistfilmmaker Maitreya Sanghvi 22 has been detained thrice by the police for participating in vigils across Mumbai Out on bail he says ldquoI am what the Prime Minister would call an lsquoandolan jeevirsquordquo PicSuresh KarkeraAround 50 protesters including Sanghvi were detained A case was filed against him and he was released soon after But a few days later he got a court summons ldquoI was surprised and definitely nervous I had to be bailed out and for what A peaceful candlelight vigil It still seems unreal If I hadnrsquot been able to afford the bail I probably would have been in jail through the pandemicrdquo he saysLike several other young Indians passionate about a cause Sanghvi is feeling the heat of government action On February 13 22yearold climate change activist Disha Ravi was arrested for allegedly sharing an online ldquotoolkitrdquo on how to support the mass protests by farmers across the country which turned violent on January 26 Charged with sedition Ravi after five days in police custody and two days in jail was denied bail on SaturdayLabour activist right Nodeep Kaur 23 with her sisters and mother Swarnjeet Kaur was arrested on January 12 The family has alleged that she was brutally assaulted by the police which left her bleeding Pic courtesyRajveer KaurHas it put him off activism ldquoNordquo he says unequivocally ldquoIt is clear that this is being done to discourage dissent and keep us quietrdquo The young filmmaker who has just made his documentary debut with Gau Premi For the Love of Cow a film on cow vigilantes says it was back in 2014 that his journey of social consciousness began ldquoI was still in school and not old enough to vote but I did fear for the secular fabric of this country Even as I was thinking and debating this with friends and family I saw that communalism was on the riserdquo It bothers him that ldquono independent body is truly independent anymorerdquo Because he is privileged enough to miss a day of work to stand up for what he believes in makes him responsible to speak up he feels ldquoI am what the Prime Minister would call an lsquoandolan jeevirsquordquoAnmol Ohri who leads the Jammu chapter of Climate Front and only last week led an awareness march to save the Raika forest says families are discouraging their kids from participating in more campaignsAddressing the Lok Sabha earlier this month Prime Minister Narendra Modi had denounced ldquoandolan jeevisrdquomdashpeople who are obsessed with agitationmdashaccusing them of maligning the farmersrsquo protest Differentiating them from the andolan kaaris agitators he said such protesters need to be identified as they are misleading the country by spreading misinformation Itrsquos on a similar pretext that 23yearold Nodeep Kaur a Dalit woman and trade union activist who joined the agitation against the new farm laws was arrested on January 12 from Kundli an industrial area in Haryana Kaur had three FIRs against her and was booked under a range of Indian Penal Code sections including rioting while armed with a deadly weapon causing hurt to public servant assault and criminal force unlawful assembly trespass While her family and friends claim that all charges are untrue whatrsquos irked them most is her being labelled an ldquoextortionistrdquoMumbaibased teen and awardwinning filmmaker Neel Menon 14 feels that young people should be allowed to speak up and in ldquothe medium they desirerdquoKaur hails from a village in the Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab Hers is a large familymdashfour sisters and two brothersmdashand though they werenrsquot economically welloff being raised by an activist mother Swarnjeet Kaur gave them great courage says Kaurrsquos elder sister Rajveer who is also a student activist from Delhi University associated with the Bhagat Singh Studentsrsquo Ekta Mandal ldquoWe were raised in an environment of activism Our mother always spoke out for women and Dalit rights While I was in school in 2013 or 2014 a Dalit girl had been raped and my mother went all out to voice her protest Because of the pressure she created the three culprits were charged and sentenced in court But after that it became difficult for us to stay in the village We were targeted and had to leaverdquo Rajveer says in a telephonic interview from Delhi The Kaurs moved to Telangana where Swarnjeetrsquos husband worked at a workshop ldquoBecause of the shift Nodeep and my brothersrsquo education took a hit It was difficult to cope with studies as the place was new and they spoke a different language altogetherrdquoAfter completing Class XII from open school Kaur took up a job at a factory in Kundli ldquoWhile in Kundli she witnessed the unfair treatment meted out to labourers Some of them hadnrsquot received their dues for months She wanted to expose the corruptionrdquo says Ravinder Singh a friend of Rajveerrsquos who hasbeen struggling to secure Kaurrsquos releaseZaid Sherwani a 23yearold student activist who recently completed Master of Social Work from Aligarh Muslim University AMU was slapped with ldquozila badarrdquo expelling him from Aligarh his hometown for six months It ends on April 19 and he cannot be seen in the city until then In November last year students from AMU had written to President Ram Nath Kovind requesting that the charges be dropped against him They even led a solidarity march for SherwaniShe joined the Majdoor Adhikar Sangathan MAS and demanded that their wages be given on time While it cost Kaur her job she continued her fight When the farm laws became a sore point in November last year Kaur mobilised workers and the farmers in the area and joined the protest at Singhu border and even in KundliIn one of the protests in December last year Singh alleged that the Kundli Industry Associationrsquos quick response team QRT a privatelyappointed body fired at the protesters At the time the police didnrsquot take action On the morning of January 12 during a similar protest Kaur was picked up and ldquobeaten up brutallyrdquo says Rajveer adding ldquoWe didnrsquot know about her whereabouts until evening that day Later we were told that she was taken to Karnal Jailrdquo ldquoFor days on end she couldnrsquot walk properly because she was bleeding from her legsrdquo The issue came to the forefront late in January when poet Rupi Kaur shared Kaurrsquos plight on Twitter alleging that she had been ldquosexually assaulted while in police custodyrdquoClimate change activists Disha Ravi advocate Nikita Jacob and engineer Shantanu Muluk are being probed for allegedly sharing a ldquotoolkitrdquo backing the ongoing protest by farmers against the Centrersquos new farm laws which turned violent on January 26Rajveer has been in constant touch with Kaur all through February ldquoShe is doing much better now Her wounds are healing and she can walk around at least I am hoping she is granted bail and gets to fulfil her dream of studying at DU like merdquoKaurrsquos colleague labour activist 24yearold Shiv Kumar who is the president of MAS is also currently behind bars This Wednesday which was Kumarrsquos birthday members of his organisation held a cultural evening to celebrate his birthday and demand his release Unbeknownst to his family or friends Kumar was picked up on January 16 from a protest site ldquoWe realised that something had gone wrong when we didnrsquot hear from himrdquo says Ankit his close associate and state president of Chhatra Ekta Manch in Haryana who prefers to be known by his first name ldquoOn January 24 we learnt that he had been produced in court and the police was granted 10 days remand All through that time he wasnrsquot even allowed the right to legal representationrdquo he addsMembers of the All India Students Association AISA use music as means of protest against the arrest of 22yearold climate activist Disha Ravi outside the Delhi Police headquarters on February 16 PicGetty ImagesAnkit met Kumar during a film screening five years ago and since then the duo has been working for the rights of labourers ldquoHe belongs to a Dalit family from Dhewru village in Sonipat His mother suffers from a mental illness and his father Rajbir works as a watchman at a government school He has four other siblings Because of the condition at home he had to leave his education early on He took up a tool and dyemaking course and later started working at a factory in Kundli where he saw the condition of labourers firsthandrdquo says Ankit adding that what happened with Kumar and Kaur was not just unjust but also unconstitutionalIn Aligarh Zaid Sherwani a 23yearold from Aligarh Muslim University AMU says he faced similar backlash for doing his job Late last year Sherwarni a former senior cabinet member of the student body at the AMU was slapped with ldquozila badarrdquo expelling him from Aligarh city his hometown for six months He was charged for an antiCAA protest that took place on December 15 2019 at the university campus and claims he was made one of the main accused ldquoAs someone who has been active in student politics it is my duty to raise issues that concern us Demonstrating isnrsquot wrong but the police attacked us with lathis I was the only student imposed with a zila badarrdquo claims Sherwani who recently completed his Master of Social Work at AMU Sherwani who wants to pursue a PhD from the university says he has not been able to meet his family as he is still on zila badar for another two months ldquoSometimes I go to Delhi or stay with relatives in Bulandshahr in UP This has been my life for four months If I am seen in Aligarh I will be charged for violation It has also affected my studies I am fortunate that because my father is a criminal lawyer I have someone to fight my case I am not sure why I am being treated like thisrdquo Shiv Kumar who is the president of Majdoor Adhikar Sangathan was picked up on January 16 from a protest site His family and friends claim they had no clue about his whereabouts for days on endCloser home a demonstration was held outside the collectorrsquos office in Thane on Thursday to show solidarity with Ravi advocate Nikita Jacob and engineer Shantanu Muluk and labour activist Kaur who organisers say were wrongly implicated ldquoTo dissent and disagree with government policies is a constitutional right and cannot be equated with seditious intent To do so is to entirely betray the democratic character of our countryrdquo the organisers shared in a WhatsApp messageThe Delhi Police had issued nonbailable arrest warrants against Jacob and Muluk in the toolkit case While the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court has given a 10day transit bail to Muluk Jacob has been granted transit anticipatory bail for three weeks Mulukrsquos school teacher Raj Kumar Kadam of Shri Shivaji Vidyalaya Beed where he studied from Class V to X says he remembers him as someone who was sensitive towards the cause of the poor ldquoHe was a scholarhellip one of the brightest students in our school And I always saw him reaching out to the underprivileged He helped them in whatever way he could We lost touch after he left for the US for higher studies but thatrsquos something about him which I found remarkable and it stayed with merdquoThirtyyearold Assambased Trinayan Gogoi middle says it was college students who led the campaign to save Dehing PatkaiWhat makes activism a ldquonaturalrdquo for young people Researchers Heather L Ramey an adjunct professor in child and youth studies at Brock University and Heather Lawford an associate professor in the department of psychology at Bishoprsquos University Canada probably have the answers The duo in a piece published in the Greater Good Magazine for University of California Berkeley in February last year shared how they used ldquopositive psychology approachrdquo to examine the motivations and capacities of youth in their research lab They went on to discuss how generativitymdashdefined as concern for future generations as a legacy of the selfmdashthat otherwise only considers people in middle age is actually an important drive for the youth ldquohellipyoung people do share a concern for the future and their contribution to it Our research shows that young people between the ages of 14 and 29 show levels of generative motivation that are as high or even higher than adultsrsquo Early generativity is also associated with caring friendships community involvement and healthy identity development in adolescence and young adulthood So not only are young people interested and capable of caring for future generations but doing so is likely good for themrdquo they wrote inthe articleItrsquos the desire to become a changemaker that led Anmol Ohri to start the Jammu chapter of Climate Front Ohri was in college when he first heard the now viral Greta Thunberg speech from 2019 and her words ldquoHow dare yourdquo kept resounding in his head ldquoI was so inspired Greta made me realise that the environment was important over all other issues concerning our country What is happening today is going to directly impact us in the futurerdquo he says What started with cleanup drives and awareness campaigns even when curfew was imposed in Jammu became much larger On February 14 he rallied college students for an awareness march to save the Raika forest which is rich in biodiversity and where rampant development projects are being planned ldquoBefore what happened with Disha everyone including our families and local police was showering us with praise for our activities Now people are wary Families are discouraging their kids from participating in more campaigns and it is going to have a demoralising effect on the larger movement in the countryrdquoStudent activist Fahad Ahmad who is currently pursuing his PhD from TISS says the arrest of his friends Umar Khalid and Meeran Haider both booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA has been demoralising ldquoThis is going to affect our future Who will employ us if we are labelled criminalsrdquo For many awareness begins in the early years Mumbaibased Neel Menon a 14yearold whose film Girls Should Stay At Home recently won an award for best documentary at the San Diego International Kids Film Festival says that itrsquos important to celebrate all kinds of activism His film began as a social service project for his school the Oberoi International School in Mumbai ldquoEducation has enabled me to think about global issues I have a strong desire to spread social awareness through films and I want them to have a lasting impact on societyrdquo says Menon who is keen on pursuing subjects revolving around gender equality He says that the current plight of activists has made him feel even more strongly about social equality ldquoYoung people have a lot to say and they should be allowed to say it through the medium they desirerdquoThirtyyearold Assambased Trinayan Gogoi who founded the NGO Green Bud eight years ago says youth activism is the core of everything today His social media campaign last year I am Dehing Patkai expressing outrage against coal mining inside the forest of Dehing Patkai where he resides would have been impossible without student participation ldquoItrsquos because of these efforts that the wildlife sanctuary was upgraded to National Park two months ago The demarcation is still going on but this is a big hope for usrdquo A highlevel commission has been instituted by the government over the allegations made by Gogoi and team and he has been issued summons to be present on March 9 ldquoWe have to give our testament there I have nothing to worry about because we havenrsquot made up anything here A lot of illegal activities are happening here and someone has to speak about itrdquoBut following your heart doesnrsquot come without a price Student activist Fahad Ahmad who is currently pursuing his PhD from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences says what happened with his friends Umar Khalid and Meeran Haider both booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA in a case related to communal violence in northeast Delhi over the Citizenship Amendment Act has made him feel vulnerable ldquoI had joined them on a couple of antiCAA protests so it shocked me that they could be charged for something like this Both are Gandhians who believe in peaceful protests but their actions are being given a communal tintEk darr ka mahaul bana ke rakha hai This is going to affect our future Who will employ us if we are labelled criminalsrdquo An environment activist who was arrested for protesting against the hacking of trees inside Aarey forest Goregaon in October 2019 on condition of anonymity alleged that the case against him and a few others had been fabricated ldquoWhen we were taken to the police station one of the cops told us that wersquod be charged for attacking public servants when in fact all we were doing was hugging the trees and preventing them from cutting them There was a young college student with me and he was terrified by how things had panned out It was a lie We couldnrsquot believe this was happening to usrdquoMembers of Pinjra Tod a collective of women students and alumni of colleges from across Delhi are still awaiting the release of their friends human rights defenders Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal who were arrested on May 23 last year in connection with the protests against the CAA in North East Delhi ldquoIn such a fertile ground of intolerance any productive engagement for justice becomes impossiblehellip It is a time of immense hopelessness but also of holding courage because the road to truth will always be the pursuit of all these citizensrdquo Pinjra Tod said in a statement to midday ldquoThe strength with which those who have been jailed in recent history be it Amulya Leona Disha Safoora Zargar Nodeep and countless other citizens who have encountered repression sends a strong message to the state that dissent will not be so easily crushedrdquo7No of days Disha Ravi 22 has been confined as of Feb 20 in the farmersrsquo protest toolkit case