A 22-year-old climate activist has emerged as a symbol of the Indian government’s crackdown on dissent as the country faces a growing crisis after months of angry farmers’ protests.
Disha Ravi was arrested last weekend and loaded with sedition, with a Delhi court on Friday following a police request to extend his detention for another three days. Her lawyers say she was arrested illegally.
Ravi’s arrest sparked protests across the country and renewed concerns about an authoritarian reaction to protests by farmers who rocked the country.
She is accused of helping to create and share an online “toolkit” that lists peaceful ways for the public to support the protests. The document was later shared online by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, as she joined a litany of global celebrities who led support for the movement.
Since November, tens of thousands of farmers have been camped in the capital to protest against new agricultural laws that, they say, could destroy their livelihoods and leave them open to exploitation by large corporations.
Ravi fervently supported the cause, tweeting his support for the farmers, as they represent a rare and important challenge to the authority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Farmers are the most influential electoral 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 the Thunberg Fridays for Future (FFF) campaign, an international movement where students skip school on Fridays to protest the lack of action on climate change.
The movement gained momentum in India, with FFF chapters established in more than 40 states. Ravi was seen regularly in the protests and is known for being increasingly active on the subject and for her negative view of Modi’s environmental policies.
Reviews and opposition figures contested the claim that the toolkit helped incite violence in farmers’ protests, with the charge of sedition – which carries a possible life sentence – raising fears about the future of such movements in India.
Human Rights Watch’s director in South Asia, Meenakshi Ganguly, described the colonial-era sedition law as “draconian” and asked for it to be repealed.
The sedition law is “being increasingly used by a democratically elected government in India to target peaceful critics,” Ganguly told NBC News, criticizing what she called “rampant misuse”.
And the data shows that the number of sedition cases has increased since Modi came to power in 2014, with lawsuits against personalities ranging from authors and journalists to opposition politicians.
“Instead of addressing peaceful criticism of policies or failure to defend rights, the authorities showed prejudice, targeting critics by accusing them under draconian sedition or counterterrorism laws and, at the same time, failing to prosecute government supporters who involve in violence, ”said Ganguly.
Members of Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bhartiya Janata (BJP) Party, however, defended the use of the law and rejected any suggestion of cracking down on dissidents.
“We are a country that believes in non-violence, but if there are elements that provoke and create conditions that affect the image of this country, that law is still relevant,” BJP national spokesman Tom Vadakkan told the BBC.
Ravi’s arrest sparked outrage by leading figures, including lawyer and writer Meena Harris, niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris. Some Indian politicians, including members of the main opposition party, also expressed their anger.
Others see this as an effort to discourage future activism.
Climate activist Licypriya Kangujam, nine, told NBC News that the case could “place India among the most unsafe places for environmental and climate activists in the world”.
“This is an attempt to silence the voices of girls and women in the country,” she said.
Kangujam, sometimes nicknamed “India’s Greta”, was detained by police last October during a protest against Delhi’s alarming levels of air pollution.
But she vowed not to be intimidated and to continue to put pressure on the government.
“As climate activists, it is our moral obligation to support our farmers,” said Kangujam. “They are already victims of climate change.”