DH Deciphers | What's a toolkit? Why is everyone talking about it?

Delhi police cited a controversial toolkit on the ongoing farmers' protest to arrest young climate change activist Disha Ravi from Bengaluru on February 14. The toolkit first came into prominence after Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg tweeted a link to it on February 3 but subsequently deleted it. The ruling party and its supporters claimed Thunberg had unwittingly exposed the "conspiracy" to defame India. But what exactly is a toolkit and what does it have to do with the farmers' agitation or Disha's arrest?

What's a toolkit?

As the name suggests, a toolkit is just a set of tools used for a particular purpose. In computing, it's a set of software tools. It's also referred to as a set of guidelines, directions or instructions to get something done. A toolkit could be a document, an explainer or a manual, and may include information about a specific issue. In the context of protests, a toolkit could mean an action plan. But toolkits are not necessarily linked to demonstrations.

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What toolkit did Greta Thunberg share on Twitter?

Thunberg, like Barbadian singer Rihanna, had initially tweeted in support of the farmers' agitation by sharing a news article. Later, she posted another message which read: "Here's a toolkit if you want to help." A controversy immediately broke out as the toolkit was linked to the pro-Khalistan outfit Poetic Justice Foundation. Thunberg quickly deleted the toolkit, saying it was outdated, and tweeted another one.

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What was there in the toolkit?

According to Delhi Police, the toolkit contained action points like digital strike through hashtags on January 26 and earlier, a tweet storm from January 23 onwards, physical action on January 26 and entering Delhi for farmers' rally and going back to the border (the site of the demonstration). Further, the document mentioned tasks such as disruption of India's cultural heritage like 'yoga' and 'tea', and targeting Indian embassies in various capitals abroad, according to police.

That's fine. But why did Delhi police arrest Disha Ravi over the toolkit?

Following Thunberg's tweet, Delhi police registered a case of sedition, promoting enmity among communities and criminal conspiracy on February 4 against unknown people. They asked Google and other technology giants to provide information about the generation of the toolkit as well as its distribution. Police say Disha's arrest was the culmination of that investigation.

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What's Delhi police case against Disha?

Police claim Disha, along with a lawyer named Nikita Jacob and an engineer named Shantanu Mallick, played a key role in the circulation of the toolkit, which resulted in the storming of the Red Fort on January 26. They say the group collaborated to prepare and disseminate the toolkit, whose content was aimed at creating disaffection against India. Investigators also claim that the group worked with the pro-Khalistan outfit Poetic Justice Foundation. A Canada-based woman is said to have connected them to the outfit, and through them, created the toolkit documents entitled 'Global Farmer Strike' and 'Global Day of Action, 26 January'.

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Why are the police linking activists to anti-India groups?

Police claim that pro-Khalistan groups are attempting to use the farmers' protest to fan trouble in India and using the activists to further their agenda. They also claim that activists are working against a democratically elected government in the country. They say the toolkit had mentioned one Peter Frederick, who is on the radar of Indian agencies for his links with an ISI operative named Bhajan Singh Bhinder alias Iqbal Choudhary. Police claim that they need to investigate whether the activists have a link.