Greta, I understand you want to save the planet, but maybe just take a few years before trying to topple governements.
The arrest of 22-year-old Indian climate activist Disha Ravi is the latest in a series of heavy-handed tactics Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is using to suppress support for thousands of farmers who have been protesting for months against agricultural reforms.
The Delhi police accuse Ravi of being an “editor and key conspirator” in creating a farmers’ protest “toolkit,” a document that was shared widely online, including on Twitter by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. The toolkit contains a brief argument for why people should support the farmers’ protests, a list of suggested actions people can take internationally to do so, and some additional resources to help people organize.
Thousands of farmers have been blocking roads into New Delhi for months, demanding the repeal of three laws that Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party passed in September as a part of a plan to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2024.
The laws, which some experts say are necessary to modernize India’s economy, remove longstanding restrictions on how and where produce is sold. Farmers who used to sell their produce at government-sanctioned markets called mandis are now able to sell wherever they please.
But the farmers are worried that the reforms will leave them at the mercy of large corporations that will buy their crops for low prices, leading to their financial ruin. Their cause gained even more international attention earlier this month, when international celebrities including pop star Rihanna and Thunberg tweeted about the protests.
