Activist gets support from alumni of her alma mater

Bengaluru: Extending solidarity and condemn the arrest of young environmentalist Disha Ravi by Delhi Police, 300 plus alumni of Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru wrote a letter on Tuesday. In the letter, the alumni of the college said the manner of her arrest was uncalled for and the charges against her were frivolous.

"We, the alumni of Mount Carmel College, condemn the arrest of our fellow alum Disha Ravi by the Delhi Police. The blatant targeting of a young woman citizen expressing her support with the nation's protesting farmers is horrifying and completely unacceptable. We demand that the Delhi Police release her and the Bangalore police and Karnataka government act to protect the constitutional rights of a woman resident of the state of Karnataka," said the letter of support signed by 330 alumni of Mount Carmel College.

"...As we all know, the terrible impact of climate change cannot be ignored as evidenced by the ongoing disaster at Uttarakhand where hundreds of people are believed to be buried dead. It is these kinds of environmental disasters, enabled by the weakening of the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment, that Ms Ravi has worked to bring to public attention," the alumni further said in the letter.

Disha Ravi is a 22-year graduate from Mount Carmel College. She is part of a climate activist group called Fridays For Future, which was started by Greta Thunberg in 2018. Ravi started the India wing of Fridays For Future in 2019 and heads the organisation in the country.

"Her sense of history is remarkable as she has drawn not only from her personal, familial history of farmer-grandparents and the difficulties they suffered due to the impact of climate change on agricultural practices. She has also drawn her inspiration to protest and lend her voice to farmers' protests in the country from the greatest of people's movements in India - the Independence struggle."

Disha has also coordinated various campaigns across India on climate change and also organised protests in Bengaluru city on climate issues and has written in different media across the world on adverse impacts of climate change.

Several activists across the country like Samyukta Kisan Morcha, former environment minister Jairam Ramesh and many others criticised the Saturday's Delhi police move arresting the 22-year-old climate activist. The Coalition for Environmental Justice in India called the Delhi Police's action "sinister" as there is no disclosure about her whereabouts. It released a statement signed by at least 78 activists from across the country which said the police's action "can be termed extra-judicial abduction".