Bengaluru-based climate activist Disha Ravi, who was arrested in February on sedition charges over an online document or toolkit about the farmer protests, has featured on The Guardian Weekend magazine cover. The magazine carried Ravi’s first-person account as part of a series titled: “Wrong side of the law. Right side of history: the activists arrested in the name of the planet.”
Ravi, 22, is a member of Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement for awareness over the climate crisis. A Delhi court granted her bail calling the evidence against Ravi for allegedly fomenting trouble “scanty and sketchy evidence” amid outrage over her arrest.
Ravi featured on the magazine cover days before the Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP 26) is scheduled to begin in Glasgow on October 31.
In the feature, Ravi recalls how her grandparents, who were farmers, struggled against a water crisis, which eventually motivated her to take interest in the climate crisis and become an activist.
“When I was 18, I realised that this is the reality for millions in my country. The fact that it wasn’t front-page news was baffling,” she told the Guardian.
Ravi referred to the uproar after her arrest and expressed concern over what she called the suppression of activists and journalists. “People are being punished for what are essentially thought crimes,” she told the Guardian. She added she receives “death threats daily” and that she is used to it.
{{/usCountry}}Ravi referred to the uproar after her arrest and expressed concern over what she called the suppression of activists and journalists. “People are being punished for what are essentially thought crimes,” she told the Guardian. She added she receives “death threats daily” and that she is used to it.
{{/usCountry}}In a tweet, Ravi said: “I’m very honoured to be on the cover of the @guardian Weekend Magazine alongside 20 amazing people including @GeorgeMonbiot @Janefonda @orlamurphy_k @JackHarries @TedDanson and others who I can’t seem to find on Twitter.”