Page 19 - The Indian EYE 021921

OPINION February 19, 2021 | The Indian Eye 19

witch hunts, sedition and other charges

Views and opinions from the top commentators in Indian media

elhi police’s arrest of cLimate caLamity
young climate activist
DDisha Ravi on multiple he tragedy is not just the
charges like sedition, criminal calamity itself. The trage-
conspiracy and promoting en- Tdy is that we do not care.
mity between groups – alleging Instead of healing the hills, we
her involvement in a farm agita- do the opposite. Take this: the
tion toolkit publicized by Greta Niti Aayog has commissioned a
Thunberg – appears dispropor- study to examine the “unintend-
tionate. Police sought Disha’s ed” economic impact of judg-
custodial remand to ‘unearth’ her
purported links to a Khalistani ments by the Supreme Court
group that allegedly originated and the National Green Tribu-
the toolkit. Police have claimed nal. This is bizarre. The study
that events unfolding in Delhi in- should have ideally be on the
cluding the January 26 violence long-term costs of the environ-
reveal execution of the “action mental devastation caused by
plan” detailed in the toolkit development projects.
Greta initially posted and then Protesters with posters shouting slogans against the arrest of It is no secret that the Nar-
deleted. But this allegation will environment activist Disha Ravi outside Delhi Police Headquarters, endra Modi regime disregards
be scrutinized against the fee- in New Delhi on Tuesday, (ANI) any serious efforts put towards
ble ground presence of Disha’s conservation. Its idea of envi-
Fridays For Future India group. dent Donald Trump’s accounts, LibeRaLism in india ronmentalism seems to involve
The police’s task is to gauge if there was celebration among
the yardsticks for invoking sedi- liberals. But social media com- iberalism acknowledges building zoos rather than con-
tion like incitement to imminent panies are unlikely to always the rule of law as the ul- serving forests. Building proj-
violence can be applied against find themselves on the winning Ltimate arbiter of all the ects is a priority, even if they
a ragtag bunch of activists led side in other democracies. The questions of justice. But Article destroy forests, oceans, river or
22 has created a different rule of
by Disha. Globally, toolkits are context and issues are inevitably law for certain classes of citizens. mountain ecosystems beyond
used by activist groups to pro- different and applying the same While the intelligentsia theoreti- repair.
vide basic information about tactics against political targets cally believes due process of law I remember the wise counsel
their cause and offer suggestions will backfire, as Twitter discov- of the American ecologist and
on social media tags and on-site ered in Delhi. is fundamental to democratic pre-eminent climate scientist,
protests. However, Delhi police If India raised Twitter’s dif- governance, its perceptions and George Woodwell, given during
has only itself to blame for the ferential treatment of the riots practices often fail to demon- a talk at the Prairie Festival of
strate this in case of the underclass.
public outrage now. in Washington and Delhi, Eu- Yes, the threat to freedom in Land Institute at Salina, Kansas,
Disha’s hush-hush arrest ropean leaders raised important India is graver than it was before, the United States of America,
with no clarity on whether a questions about social media’s but the above facts and practic- in September 2009.
transit remand from a Bengal- actions against Trump. Ger-
uru court was obtained and the man Chancellor Angela Merkel es demonstrate that it is neither A functional civilization, he
remand hearing in Delhi where spoke for many Europeans unprecedented nor sudden. For said, needs three things: a func-
long, governments have institu-
she was represented by a legal when she called it “problematic”. tionalized the threat to human tional government, a functional
aid counsel rather than a lawyer The European Commission- freedom and emaciated it un- economy and a functional eco-
of her choice lead to questions er for internal markets, Thierry recognizably. system. Political trade-offs are
on whether her constitutional Breton, expanded on the issues possible for the first two; the
rights were prejudiced.” involved. Parts of civil society have third is non-negotiable. There
“The fact that a CEO can been actively justifying this prac- cannot be any trade-off with na-
editorial, pull the plug” on an elected tice but the intelligentsia has
The Times of India President of the world’s most remained indifferent, its claims ture; follow the rule, or perish.”
powerful nation “without any notwithstanding. This attitude Jaideep hardikar,
checks and balances” “displays has undermined equality before The Telegraph
sociaL media and deep weaknesses in the way our law as a political value and cre-
democRacy society is organized in the digital ated a generalized atmosphere Every week, we look at what the

n the political front, space,” he warned.” for a threat to freedom.” top commentators in the Indian
media are talking about and
when Twitter and Face- c. Raja mohan, murali karnam, bring to you a slice of their

Obook shut down Presi- The Indian Express The Wire opinions and comments

www.TheIndianEYE .com