'Pronounced guilty, not in court, but by seekers of TRPs,' says Disha Ravi in four-page statement

Bengaluru: Climate activist Disha Ravi, who was arrested in connection with allegedly being involved in sharing a “toolkit” on social media related to the farmers’ protest and released on bail later, wondered on Saturday when it became a crime to think of sustenance on earth. “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,” the 22-year-old activist from Bengaluru said in her four-page statement posted on Twitter. Wondering why were millions paying the ultimate price for the greed of a few hundred, Ravi said the human race would be inching closer to its own expiry “if we did not act in time to stop the endless consumption and greed”. The activist claimed during her arrest her autonomy was violated and her photographs were splashed all over the news. “My actions were pronounced guilty — not in the court of law, but on flat screens by seekers of TRPs,” Ravi lamented. Expressing her gratitude to the people who came out in her support and fought her case pro bono (term usually refers to services that are rendered by a professional for free or at a lower cost), she said the past few days had been painful. “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? What of the marginalised that are not worthy of your screen time?” Raviargued. Underlining that truth, no matter how long it took, always revealed itself, the activist quoted Soni Sori, an activist from the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, who said, “We are threatened every day, our voices crushed; but we will continue to fight.” Ravi, who hails from Bengaluru, was arrested on charges of sedition by the Delhi police on 16 February. She was arrested for allegedly sharing and editing a document intended to amplify the protests against the new farm laws. The ’toolkit’ a common term used by social activists for campaign material was also tweeted by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. In its order granting Ravi bail on 23 February, a Delhi court said there was nothing on record to suggest that Ravi “subscribed to any secessionist idea”. “The offence of sedition cannot be invoked to minister to the wounded vanity of the governments,” the court order read.