In an interview last year with American author and professor Gayle Kimball, who is compiling a book on Gen Z climate activists, 22-year-old Indian climate activist Disha A Ravi weighed in on a question about whether the protests and the activism are part of Indian culture. .
“In India, protests are part of life, as the Indian freedom struggle was based on peaceful protests. There are many protests on humanitarian and religious issues, and the protests are deeply rooted in Indian society. Social media has helped in the last few days, ”said the business administration graduate, who was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell on Saturday for links to a farmer protest toolkit presented by the global climate activist. teenager Greta Thunberg.
Disha, who wanted him to pursue a career in finance, had spoken out about environmental issues long before graduating from Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru in 2018.
Her profile on social media shows that she supported Green Peace campaigns in her early college days and many of her friends are people who describe themselves as ecofeminists, anti-abuse activists, and social activists.
In keeping with his interest in climate change and vegan eating habits, he works as a culinary experiences manager at GoodMylk, a company dedicated to making plant-based foods accessible and affordable for people.
Disha is one of the founding members of the Indian chapter of Fridays For Future, the climate campaign Thunberg launched by holding a protest at his school every Friday.
According to Disha’s own account to Kimball, the Friday For Future India campaign materialized largely after she came into contact with women in Bengaluru who had two ideas and were interested in the climate change campaign on the internet.
“All our associations were formed through the Internet: Instagram and other social networks. We connect through mutual friends and this is how we find ourselves. Most of us are women. He hadn’t seen any of them before. Bangalore was the first, but Mumbai and Delhi began simultaneously. We didn’t want to do it in one city, ”he said in the interview.
FFF India currently has around 150 activists with around 20-30 in Bangalore. Since its activity is mainly aimed at volunteers, there are only a few activists who are part of all activities and others are volunteers who can be part of some events.
FFF India’s activities include researching environmental issues, organizing climate strikes in public spaces, online campaigns against projects deemed harmful to the environment, outreach work with local communities and schools to raise awareness.
One of the tools used by FFF India to address issues that have been critical of the Indian government in recent times is an email campaign in which emails were sent from hundreds of accounts to oppose the draft Assessment plan of Environmental Impact 2020 presented by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in March 2020.
Emails sent from hundreds of accounts to Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar read: “In March 2020, during the COVID pandemic and under his leadership, MOEFCC had released the Draft EIA 2020 Notification, and I am writing to you today to unequivocally request that this draft be withdrawn due to how destructive it can be to the ecology and the people of our great nation ”.
The campaign against the EIA 2020 plan led to the website blocking of FFF India and two other groups and the threat of a UAPA case in July 2020, which was later modified to a case of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and then withdrew.
“Disha and FFF India also had to face some problems with the police before and were questioned about a campaign. What they are doing is only in the interest of the environment. There is no illegal activity involved. I don’t know what the allegations are based on, ”said former Karnataka environment secretary AN Yellappa Reddy, 75, an environmental activist who has been invited by Disha for FFF India programs in Bangalore.
Current FFF India email campaigns include a demand for “Ethical implementation of the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC)”, a campaign for the protection of the Mollem forest area in Goa by canceling “authorizations for projects passing through the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park, Goa ”and saving an elephant conservation area in Uttrakhand by canceling the“ proposed extension of the Jolly Grant airstrip ”.
FFF India also runs social media campaigns to protect the Aarey Forest in Mumbai, the Raika Forest in Jammu and the Dumna Nature Park in Madhya Pradesh.
FFF India activities are carried out in conjunction with FFF International and campaigns are decided and voted collectively before implementation, say FFF India activists.
“FFF International does not have a single goal. Previously, our goal was to declare a climate emergency. The countries that declared a climate emergency failed to act on it and that’s when we decided we wanted climate justice where the government prioritizes climate action and ecological sustainability above all else. We have no set demands and we want to make different demands work for different countries, ”Disha Ravi said last year.
“In India, one of the demands is that the government recognize the climate crisis. Our government does not currently believe it is a serious problem or even that it is. It would not be a demand in Europe where the issue is recognized, ”he said.
“Personally for my country I am not very optimistic. The amount of violations and environmentally destructive projects that the government has promoted, especially during the shutdown, there have been enormous problems of deforestation. It’s very scary. There are no political parties that can lead an environmental or climate change crisis, ”he said.
Bengaluru police sources confirmed that Disha Ravi had been detained by Delhi police on Saturday in connection with an FIR on the farmers’ protest toolkit presented by Greta Thunberg, founder of FFF International, but claimed to have no details. Of the investigation.
“What is happening is very sad and regrettable. We are losing our freedom of expression, ”said United Conservation Movement environmental activist Joseph Hoover of Disha Ravi’s arrest.
“Personally for my country I am not very optimistic. The amount of violations and environmentally destructive projects that the government has promoted, especially during the shutdown, there have been enormous problems of deforestation. It’s very scary. There are no political parties that can lead an environmental or climate change crisis, ”he said.
Bengaluru police sources confirmed that Disha Ravi had been detained by Delhi police on Saturday in connection with an FIR on the farmers’ protest toolkit presented by Greta Thunberg, founder of FFF International, but claimed to have no details. Of the investigation.
“What is happening is very sad and regrettable. We are losing our freedom of expression, ”said United Conservation Movement environmental activist Joseph Hoover of Disha Ravi’s arrest.
In her interview with American author Gayle Kimball last year, DIsha Ravi said that India’s freedom movement is often associated with Mahatma Gandhi, as the climate change movement is linked to Greater Thunberg even though hundreds people are also involved.
“It is not that Greta does not deserve the attention she receives, definitely yes, but it is also important to recognize that there are many people who started this and that the indigenous communities in the world were probably the first,” he said.
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.