22-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi, who is out on bail, took to social media to share her experience in jail. She has been accused of sedition and editing a ‘toolkit’ meant to create unrest in the country, under the garb of supporting the farmers’ protests.
Her statement read, “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.”
She repeated the ordeal that she went through on her Twitter page and Instagram handle. “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 February 13, 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 also said that she had no idea if there was any legal assistance available to her so when questioned by the judge in the courtroom, she decided to speak her mind. “Before I knew it, I was sent to 5 days in police custody,” her statement read.
She has said that her autonomy was violated, her photographs were splashed all over the news and she was pronounced guilty not by a court of law but on flat screens by seekers of TRPs. She said, “I sat there, unaware of the many abstractions made of me in order to satiate their idea of me.”
She added, “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 the endless consumption and greed. We are inching closer to our own expiry.”
She also talked about the little knowledge people have about climate activism or climate justice. “My grandparents, who are farmers, indirectly birthed my climate activism”, she claimed.
Ravi also expressed her gratitude towards the people who supported her and provided her with pro bono legal assistance. Her statement read, “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?”
She ends her statement by quoting the well-known human rights defender Soni Sori, “We are threatened every day, our voices crushed; but we will continue to fight.”
On February 23, a Delhi Court granted her bail on the basis of ‘scanty and sketchy evidence’ on record and ‘blemish free criminal antecedents’. The judgment had recorded that even the State had no evidence to prove that the toolkit Ravi allegedly edited, was directly related to the Republic Day violence.
Her entire statement may be read here:
I’m letting this out into the internet void in order to present a narrative that is my own.
P.S. This is based on my personal experience and does not represent the opinion of any climate movement, group, or organisation. pic.twitter.com/djrieCZcn8
— Disha ? (@disharavii) March 13, 2021
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Scanty and sketchy evidence: Delhi court grants Disha Ravi bail