Friends of Disha Ravi, the 22-year-old whisked away by the Delhi police, describe her as energetic and passionate.
A graduate of Mount Carmel College (MCC), she describes herself as an eco-feminist. Her grandparents were farmers, and she is aware of the impact of climate change on agricultural practices, according to people close to her.
A fellow activist says Disha is the most inspiring woman she knows. “She is ever willing to stand up for a good cause, whether it is a small local cleanup or a climate rally,” she says.
Disha is also “super-passionate” about turtles and marine life, ecological conservation and restoration, says a friend. She loves baking and tending to her garden.
“She was always active in vegan circles and environmental groups in the city, way before the Greta Thunberg came to be. She was always trying to get people to go vegan and it stemmed from her love of animals,” says her friend Hari (name changed).
Beyond her activism, she is described by friends as “bubbly and bursting with energy.”
“She is loud and full of laughs. She loves her silly jokes and is always waiting for an opportunity to crack some. If you ate ice cream in front of her she would tease you about how you didn’t care for the cows. But she never forced people to adopt veganism,” he says.
She went out of the way to make sure her friends were doing okay, even when she was not in the best place herself, he says.
S Rajkumar, head of department, business studies, MCC, says she was a diligent student. “I taught her for three semesters. She was an excellent communicator, verbal and written. She got along easily with everyone around her,” he says.
She loved cultural activities. “After graduation she worked with a vegan food company called Goodmylk and I was glad to see her thrive,” he says.
While MCC and its students’ union has not commented on the developments, an alumna has created a Google form with a statement condemning Disha’s arrest.
The document calls for Disha's release, and describes her as “one of the best among us, fulfilling her duties as a citizen of India, and indeed of the world, through her activism in the field of climate change.”
In 2020, FFF and two other climate activism groups led by young people were labelled ‘terrorists’ for objecting to the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification. Their websites were taken down as a consequence.
Four days ago...
On Saturday, February 13, Disha Ravi was arrested by the Delhi police from her home in Soladevanahalli in Bengaluru and taken to Delhi. She was produced before a Delhi court, which granted the police five days’ custody.