Ravin has since been granted bail.
“In all these years or when someone asked me where I see myself in years, I would never have answered ‘jail,’ but here I am,” he wrote in a statement posted on Twitter. “I wondered when it got stuck in my cell when it became a crime to think that the most basic elements of subsistence on this planet were mine.”
Ravi’s arrest provoked high-profile outrage, including author Meena Harris, niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris, and several Indian politicians, who accused officials of trying to intimidate and tease the young woman for speaking her mind.
The toolkit, which was unsigned and available on a publicly encrypted sharing site, suggested that people call government representatives, share solidarity hashtags on social media, participate in rallies and sign petitions. The visibility came after Swedish meteorologist Greta Thunberg tweeted a link on February 4 crediting “People on the ground in India”.
However, his presentation angered Indian officials. On the same day as Thunberg’s tweet, Delhi Police announced that they would investigate the creators of the toolkit and charge them with treason, incitement or incitement to riots and criminal conspiracy, or followers were told to “fight economic, social, cultural and regional wars.” India. “
Police in New Delhi argued that the main purpose of the toolkit was “misinformation and insecurity against a legally elected government”. Officials accused Ravi, whose grandparents are farmers, of helping to write the document, which was unsigned and made publicly available on an encrypted sharing site.
Historically, Indian farmers have sold their wares at auction in their state’s agricultural produce market committee, where sellers were assured of a minimum government-agreed minimum price. There were restrictions on who could buy, and prices for essentials were cut.
The new law abolished that system, instead allowing farmers to sell anyone’s goods at any cost.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a longtime supporter of free market reform, has argued that the new law would allow farmers to sell directly to buyers or other states without a middle man.
But many farmers say the changes will allow larger companies to lower prices. Farmers will be able to sell crops at higher prices if there is demand, with many worried that they may struggle to meet the minimum price in years when supplies are available.
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