In her first statement since her arrest in February, 23-year-old climate change activist Disha Ravi said that her autonomy was violated, her photos were splashed on the news and she was pronounced guilty by TRP-seeking news channels.
The statement, published on her social media pages on Saturday evening, detailed her arrest and nine-day custody in Delhi last month.
"I had coerced myself into believing that the only way I would be able to live through this was by tricking myself into thinking that this wasn't happening to me - the police did not knock on my door on 13 February, 2021; they did not take my phone and laptop, and arrest me; they did not present me at Patiala House Court; the media personnel were not trying to find a place inside the room," she said in her statement.
She added that she did not have a lawyer defending her in the first hearing in court. "As I stood in that courtroom, desperately searching for my lawyers, I came to terms with the fact that I would have to defend myself. I had no idea whether there was legal assistance available so when the judge asked me if I have anything to say, I decided to speak my mind. Before I knew it, I was sent to 5 days in police custody," she said.
She said that she was pronounced guilty by news channels seeking TRPs. "It's no surprise that in the days that followed, my autonomy was violated; my photographs were splashed all over the news; my actions were pronounced guilty - not in the court of law, but on flat screens by seekers of TRPs. I sat there, unaware of the many abstractions made of me in order to satiate their idea of me," she said.
Speaking about her time in Tihar jail, she said that she was "aware of every minute and every hour" inside the jail cell. "At the end of the five days (19 February 2021), I was shifted to Judicial Custody for 3 days, I wondered when it became a crime to think the most basic elements of sustenance on this planet were as much mine as theirs," she said. In Tihar, I was aware of every second of every minute of every hour of every day. Locked in my cell
She said that, going by the reactions to her arrest, most people knew little or nothing about climate activism or climate justice. "My grandparents, who are farmers, indirectly birthed my climate activism. I had to bear witness to how the water crisis affected them, but my work was reduced to tree plantation drives and clean-ups which are important but not the same as struggling for survival. Climate Justice is about intersectional equity. It is about being radically inclusive of all groups of people, so that everyone has access to clean air, food and water," she said.
"Climate Justice isn't just for the rich and the white. It is a fight alongside those who are displaced; whose rivers have been poisoned; whose lands were stolen; who watch their houses get washed away every other season; and those who fight tirelessly for what are basic human rights. We fight alongside those actively silenced by the masses and portrayed as 'voiceless', because it is easier for savarnas to call them voiceless. We take the easy way out and fund saviourism rather than amplify the voices on ground," she added.
She further thanked those who supported her and said that she was privileged and lucky to get pro bono legal assistance. "But what of all those who do not? What of all those still in jail whose stories are not marketable? What of the marginalized that are not worthy of your screen time? What of those who face the world's brazen indifference? Although their physical forms are trapped behind bars because of our collective silence, their ideas continue to live on as will the united resistance of the people. Ideas do not die. And, truth, no matter how long it takes, always reveals itself," she added.
Disha Ravi was arrested by Delhi police and charged with criminal conspiracy and sedition in connection with the probe into the ‘toolkit’ or the Google document on farmers’ protests. The ‘toolkit’ was shared on social media by international climate change activist Greta Thunberg. While she deleted an older ‘toolkit’ shared in January, the new ‘toolkit’ with revised dates is still available online on her social media page. The Delhi police in its first information report stated that the contents of the ‘toolkit’ led to the violence that broke out in Delhi during the tractor parade by farmers on January 26. She was however granted bail after a court found that there was no inflammatory or seditious material in the document.
A ‘toolkit’ is a Google document or Word document often used to organise a social media campaign or to plan protests. A toolkit contains basic information on any issue, tweet suggestions and information on what hashtags to use, whom to tag on social media, etc. These documents are regularly used by various individuals and groups, including political parties, to organise social media campaigns and mobilise crowds
All that is real feels far too unreal: Delhi's infamous smog; the cyber police station; Deen Dayal Hospital; Patiala House Court; and Tihar Jail. In all the years that someone had asked me where I see myself in 5 years, I would have never answered 'jail but here I was.
I kept asking myself what it felt like to be there at that particular moment in time, but I came back with no answers. I had coerced myself into believing that the only way I would be able to live through this was by tricking myself into thinking that this wasn't happening to me - the police did not knock on my door on 13 February, 2021; they did not take my phone and laptop, and arrest me; they did not present me at Patiala House Court; the media personnel were not trying to find a place inside the room. As I stood in that courtroom, desperately searching for my lawyers, I came to terms with the fact that I would have to defend myself. I had no idea whether there was legal assistance available so when the judge asked me if I have anything to say, I decided to speak my mind. Before I knew it, I was sent to 5 days in police custody.
It's no surprise that in the days that followed, my autonomy was violated; my photographs were splashed all over the news; my actions were pronounced guilty - not in the court of law, but on flat screens by seekers of TRPs. I sat there, unaware of the many abstractions made of me in order to satiate their idea of me.
At the end of the five days (19 February 2021), I was shifted to Judicial Custody for 3 days. In Tihar, I was aware of every second of every minute of every hour of every day. Locked in my cell, I wondered when it became a crime to think the most basic elements of sustenance on this planet were as much mine as theirs. Why were millions paying the ultimate price for the greed of a few hundred? Their interest in the lives of those millions is dependent on whether or not they profit and even that interest has a short shelf-life. Unfortunately, so does humanity, if we do not act in time to stop this endless consumption and greed. We are inching closer to our own expiry
I also realized, during my time in custody, that most people knew little or nothing about climate activism or climate justice. My grandparents, who are farmers, indirectly birthed my climate activism. I had to bear witness to how the water crisis affected them, but my work was reduced to tree plantation drives and clean-ups which are important but not the same as struggling for survival. Climate Justice is about intersectional equity. It is about being radically inclusive of all groups of people, so that everyone has access to clean air, food and water. As a dear friend always says, "Climate Justice isn't just for the rich and the white." It is a fight alongside those who are displaced; whose rivers have been poisoned; whose lands were stolen; who watch their houses get washed away every other season; and those who fight tirelessly for what are basic human rights. We fight alongside those actively silenced by the masses and portrayed as 'voiceless', because it is easier for savarnas to call them voiceless. We take the easy way out and fund saviourism rather than amplify the voices on ground.
The immense outpour of love from the people gave me strength. I am grateful for everyone who stood by me. The past few days have been beyond painful, yet I know that I am one of the privileged. I was lucky enough to have excellent pro bono legal assistance but what of all those who do not? What of all those still in jail whose stories are not marketable? What of the marginalized that are not worthy of your screen time? What of those who face the world's brazen indifference? Although their physical forms are trapped behind bars because of our collective silence, their ideas continue to live on as will the united resistance of the people. Ideas do not die. And, truth, no matter how long it takes, always reveals itself.
"We are threatened every day, our voices crushed; but we will continue to fight." - Soni Sori