Friends, colleagues of Disha Ravi, held in ‘toolkit’ case, say she is passionate, committed to the environment

The 22-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi was arrested by Delhi Police from Bengaluru for allegedly editing a social media mobilisation document, also called a ‘toolkit’, on the farmers’ protest which was tweeted by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg on February 3. But the Bengaluru Police maintained that they had no idea about the arrest.

An alumnus of the Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru, Ravi was vocal about climate change and environment issues even before she completed her bachelors in business administration in 2019. In college, she was an active part of the Business Management Association, where she led the team for her department’s magazine, and also headed the finance team.

Her motivation to become a climate activist came from watching her grandparents, who are farmers and struggled with the effects of climate change, she said in an interview to Auto Report Africa in 2020.

She is one of the founding members of the Indian chapter of ‘Fridays for Future-India’ and was instrumental in helping coordinate many climate protests. Disha, who also follows a vegan diet, works as a culinary manager with GoodMylk, a vegan company making plant-based food accessible and affordable to people.

‘Fridays for Future – India’ raises awareness on environment issues, organises climate protests in public spaces, campaigns online against projects considered detrimental to the environment and works with local communities and schools to create awareness.

She had organised campaigns against the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020 report put out by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in March 2020. They urged people to send emails to environment minister Prakash Javadekar to withdraw the draft. The campaign against the EIA 2020 report led to the blocking of FFF India website and two other groups. They were threatened with a UAPA case in July 2020, which was later withdrawn.

Several of her friends and colleagues National Herald spoke to said that she was a dedicated climate change activist. “I met her during clean-up and tree-planting drives. She was always enthusiastic and always volunteered. I have noticed that she would always try to understand the issues and only then engage with it. She is someone who is both passionate and committed to the environment,” said a person who had met with her several times on these clean-up drives.

Another colleague said that she had collaborated with Disha in organising movie screenings on climate issues. “She has organised several protests and we would often meet at these protests or while coordinating. I have always found her to stay true to her principles. She would first try to understand and study the issue before voicing her opinion. Even in case of the farmers’ protest, she came to several meetings before she countered the farm laws,” underscored the work colleague, who did not want to be named.

The colleague said she was an extremely collaborative and peaceful person. “Disha always wanted to understand how to make changes in her life to help her cause and would encourage others also to do the same. She believed in practicing what she preached. She would rarely buy new clothes, she would prefer second-hand clothes to reduce her footprint,” added another colleague with whom she has plogged.

Disha, who is the sole earning member in her family, is known to be an excellent baker and she wanted to be a chef in her teens. According to her friends, who did not want to be named, she changed her mind when she realised culinary school would involve cooking with meat.

“She was looking for work from 7 am to 9 am in the morning and 7 pm to 9 pm in the evening, and she would then be able to go for her regular work. If she was not fighting for the environment, she was working,” said an activist.

Her father was an athletic coach. A few friends mentioned that her parents were supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party. “Like most parents, they were not happy with her activism. They wanted her to focus on her work, but her mother would help her make posters in Kannada that she required at all the protests,” added another activist.

“She is a pure and competent spirit. It is not often that you come across such human beings who are consistent, concerned about environmental issues, and working hard to make it better,” said a friend who also did not want to be identified. The friend said that they were shocked that she was arrested. Most of her friends have decided to not discuss the issue and instead focus on their activism.

Questioning the Bangalore DGP, Union Home Ministry and the Home Secretary, senior environmentalist Leo Saldanha asked, “We have not

yet heard from Karnataka Police. How could a young girl be simply picked up from her home and thrown in jail in another part of the country? My question is to the police and government here in Karnataka. They have said they were kept in the dark. The Karnataka Police could have taken action after they came to know. This arrest disregards all the orders passed by several high courts. There is a procedure. Police is a state issue. The Union Home Minister is responsible for Delhi Police, but he is not the boss of Karnataka Police. Did the Delhi Police issue a request?”

Saldanha underscored that “Disha was being targeted for being democratic”.