Ravi has since been bailed.
“In all the years someone had asked me where I see myself in 5 years, I never would have answered in prison, but here I was,” she wrote in a statement on Twitter. “Locked in my cell, I wondered when it became a crime to think that the most basic elements of livelihood on this planet were just as much mine as theirs.”
Ravi’s arrest sparked outrage from high-profile figures, including author Meena Harris, the niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris, and many Indian politicians, who accused authorities of intimidating and gagging a young woman for speaking her mind.
The toolkit, which was unsigned and publicly available on an encrypted sharing site, instructed people to call government representatives, share solidarity hashtags on social media, participate in rallies and sign petitions. It gained visibility after Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted a link to it on Feb. 4 stating “people on the ground in India”.
However, the release seemed to anger the Indian authorities. On the same day as Thunbgerg’s tweet, Delhi police announced that they would investigate the creators of the toolkit and charge them with sedition, provoking or provoking a riot and criminal conspiracy because it called on followers to “ create an economic, wage social, cultural and regional war against India. “
Police in New Delhi argued that the main purpose of the toolkit is “misinformation and dissatisfaction with the lawfully elected government”. Authorities accused Ravi, whose grandparents are farmers, of helping write the document, which was unsigned and made public on an encrypted sharing site.
Historically, Indian farmers have sold their goods at auction with their state’s Agricultural Produce Market Committee, where sellers are guaranteed to receive at least the government-agreed minimum price. There were restrictions on who could buy, and prices were capped for essential goods.
The new laws dismantled that system, instead allowing farmers to sell their goods to anyone at any price.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a long-time supporter of free market reforms, has argued that the new legislation will allow farmers to sell directly to buyers or other states without an intermediary.
But many farmers say the changes will allow big companies to cut prices. While farmers could sell crops at higher prices if they are in demand, many are concerned that they will struggle to meet the minimum price in years when there is too much supply.