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22-year-old Disha Ravi was arrested in Bengaluru on Sunday 14th February after sharing a Google document toolkit that supported the ongoing farmers’ protests.
The toolkit, which was also shared by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, was accused of spreading misinformation and "tarnishing the image of India” by police. As such, Disha Ravi is being changed under India’s Anti-terrorism Act. Arrest warrants for two other activists, Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk, have also been issued by the police, after claiming the three created and shared the toolkit.
Toolkits are campaign information documents used worldwide to raise awareness about an issue as well as coordinate large-scale protests. Toolkits were and are being used for the Black Lives Matter movement as well as previous worldwide climate demonstrations. It is not illegal to share them.
Ravi’s arrest has sparked new demonstrations demanding her immediate release. According to Sky News, protesters have called her arrest “an unprecedented attack on democracy”, claiming that the arrest serves to act as a threat to “scare away youngsters from raising their voice”.
Many supporters have also raised their concerns about how Ravi will be treated in prison. Activists and journalists who took part in previous protests and demonstrations, such as Nodeep Kaur, are reported to have been beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted by Indian police, though the police have completely denied this.
This is not the first time Ravi has faced run-ins with Indian laws. As the founder of Fridays for Future India, “a global people's movement for climate justice”, she has been organising protests and toolkits for increased climate action every Friday. Last year, police invoked two notices, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology Act, after claiming the website incites unlawful activities which threaten the peace of India, and for “sending too many emails” to Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, respectively. However, these notices were quickly withdrawn.
Talking to Auto Report Africa about these threats in 2020, Ravi said, “We live in a country where dissent is suppressed. We in Fridays for Future India were labelled terrorists for objecting to the draft EIA notification. Only a government that puts profit over people would consider asking for clean air, clean water, and a liveable planet, an act of terrorism.” In response to Ravi’s arrest, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, tweeted that it was “an unprecedented attack on democracy”, adding that “supporting our farmers is not a crime”.
Licypriya Kangujam, a 9-year-old climate and environmental activist from India, also voiced her concerns, saying, “This is an attempt to silence the voices of young girls and women in this country. But this will not stop us from fighting for our planet & future.” The case has received international attention, with Meena Harris, niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris, also condemning the Indian government for silencing activists.
It was also revealed that Google aided the Indian police in their investigation of the Google document that was shared, providing private user data which eventually led to the arrest of Disha.
However, it is not just Google that has been accused of helping to silence activists and protesters. Social media giant Twitter has been heavily criticised after suspending hashtags linked to the farmers’ protests, in response to pressure from the Indian government. Meanwhile, Instagram allegedly temporarily blocked the #Sikh hashtag.
So far, hundreds and thousands of people have been protesting outside the capital, Delhi, for over 80 days with no result. Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister has continued to order police attacks and arrests on protesters, leading to thousands dead, injured, and in prison. Protesters are demanding the government to repeal three bills which effectively seek to deregulate farming, which is likely to lead to the exploitation of farmers by large businesses. These bills are said, by some, to have been passed undemocratically, as they were pushed during lockdown and with no representation of the people being affected.
On the third of February, the protests caught the attention of American singer, Rihanna. She wrote, “Why aren’t we talking about this?”, attaching a link to a CNN article about the protests. Her message then sparked a Twitter storm. A number of Indian celebrities tweeted that international interference was not needed, and used the hashtag #IndiaAgainstPropaganda and #IndiaTogether, which also triggered both criticism and support.