Recent Arrests That Make Us Question if India is Still a Democracy

Disha Ravi’s arrest has brought the light back on all the recent arrests that we have seen.

Is India really a democracy?

(Photo: The Quint/KamranAkhter)

On Saturday, 13 Februray, a 21-year-old activist named Disha Ravi was arrested in Bengaluru and brought to Delhi's Patiala Court for hearing. Her crime? She edited a Google document, which the police deems is an alleged "toolkit" to conspire against the nation.

Ravi's arrest has brought the light back on all the recent arrests that have invited comments of being extra-judicial.

From journalists, poets, peaceful protesters to activists who have been fighting against labour laws, here are some people who have been arrested in the past three months. In some cases, a counsel wasn't appointed and families weren't informed either.

Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui was granted bail by Indore Police on 6 February after having spent over a month in jail. Faruqui was held for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

Along with Faruqui, some of his other comedian friends were also arrested. Two others have been granted bail but Nalin Yadav and Sadaqat Khan continue to be in jail.

Nodeep Kaur (24), a Dalit labour rights activist and member of Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan (MAS), one of the many worker unions protesting with the farmers against the government’s new farm laws, has been in jail for over 20 days. She was arrested from the Singhu border on 12 January and her bail was rejected on 2 February. Along with her, Shiv Kumar was also arrested.

With certain pro-government Twitter handles and even Union Ministers alleging that the toolkit was proof of a global conspiracy against India, the Delhi Police arrested Disha Ravi on charges of "sharing and spreading" the 'toolkit'.

The Delhi Police’s statement claimed that Ravi was a "co-conspirator" in the document's formulation and "in this process" collaborated with "pro-Khalistani Poetic Justice Foundation to spread disaffection against the Indian State.”