From climate activist to ‘Tool Editor’, who is Disha Ravi?
Disha Ravi has appeared in publications around the world as a young activist expressing her strong views on the environmental crisis in India. However, the 21-year-old climate activist from the Soladevanahalli area of Bengaluru was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell on Saturday for her alleged role in the infamous “toolkit” that police say was behind the violence on January 26 in the capital. .
A graduate of Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru, she has been regularly writing columns and articles on major news portals on climate action and is a household name in major climate forums frequented by young activists around the world.
Disha describes herself as a co-founder of Fridays For Future, India.
READ ALSO | Disha Ravi started WhatsApp group, shared ‘toolkit document’ with Greta: Delhi Police
In an interview for Auto Report Africa in 2020, she is quoted as saying: “My motivation for joining climate activism came from watching my grandparents, who are farmers, struggle with the effects of the climate crisis. At the time, I was not aware that what they were experiencing was the climate crisis because climate education doesn’t exist where I’m from. Only when I did my research did I find out. “
However, Disha’s role came under the lens of the Delhi police after Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted a document that police say led to the January 26 violence in New Delhi. Although the Delhi Police did not appoint Thunberg to the FIR, they went ahead with the registration of the case against the authors of the toolkit.
Subsequently, the police described Disha Ravi as a key conspirator in the formulation and dissemination of the document and said that he started a WhatsApp group and assisted in the drafting of the document.
READ ALSO | Greta under attack for using her ‘bully pulpit’ to meddle in political affairs
“In this process, they all collaborated with the pro-Khalistani Poetic Justice Foundation to spread discontent against the Indian state. She was the one who shared the toolkit document with Greta Thunberg,” said a senior police officer.
The “toolbox” is a term that activists use for a campaign information document.
However, Delhi police also said they asked Greta to remove the main document after its incriminating details were accidentally leaked into the public domain. This is many times more than the two-line edit she claims, they said.
Delhi Police had registered an FIR on February 4 on charges of sedition, criminal conspiracy and promotion of hatred between groups under Sections 124-A, 120-A and 153-A of the Indian Penal Code against the “creators” from the ‘toolkit’, which was shared by Thunberg.
After Disha Ravi has been sent to remand for five days, Delhi police sources said more arrests are likely, according to the investigation of the detained defendants.
READ ALSO | 21-year-old Bengaluru climate activist arrested in Greta Thunberg’s toolbox case
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.