The alumni of Mount Carmel College on Tuesday condemned the arrest of climate change activist Disha Ravi over the farmers toolkit issue.
In a letter to the media, they described the action of the Delhi police as “blatant targeting of a young woman citizen expressing her support” to the farmers. They dubbed the arrest “horrifying and unacceptable”.
The letter, signed by more than 500 people who mentioned their batch year to show that they are alumni, said Disha was doing her duty to the nation and the world by fighting for climate.
“Her arrest, we believe, is a way to browbeat young, articulate women — which Mount Carmel College has produced for generations — into silent submission,” it said, urging the state government to protect the rights of the young activist.
Expressing “unconditional support” to Disha and her family, the letter said: “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.”
A co-author of the letter, however, clarified that the missive has nothing to do with the official alumni association of Mount Carmel College.
Aishwarya Ravikumar, a 2017-batch student, said the expression of support was born out of the need to protect free speech. “We don’t need to be a part of any formal association. We are keeping track of people who are signing it. We are deeply concerned about the arrest and want to help an alumnus in whatever we can,” she said.
Aishwarya said people who signed and supporting Disha are also afraid. “We don’t have a space to express our concern to a student. As former students, we are just expressing our solidarity,” she said.