'Pronounced guilty not by law but by seekers of TRPs': Disha Ravi puts out her side of the story

The 22-year-old activist posted her statement on Twitter, saying that people still do not know what climate activism is

Climate activist Disha Ravi on Saturday slammed the media houses for violating her rights and holding a media trial where she was pronounced guilty to secure high TRPs (Television Rating Points).

The young activist, charged with sedition by the Union government, said that she was releasing the statement because she wanted to tell her side of the story.

"I'm letting this out into the internet void in order to present a narrative that is my own," she said, adding that the statement was based on her personal experience and does not represent the opinion of any climate movement or organisation.

Describing the difficulty of coming to terms with the shock of the incidents, Disha said she tried to "tricking myself into thinking that this wasn't happening to me". The police and judicial custody, however, have strengthened her resolve.

She spoke of climate activism and its need to provide a voice to those on the margins. "Locked in my cell (in Tihar Jail), I wondered when it became a crime to think the most basic elements of sustenance on this planet were as much mine as theirs. Why were millions paying the ultimate price for the greed of a few hundred? Their interest in the lives of those millions is dependent on whether or not they profit and even that interest has a short shelf-life," she wrote.

Still, the young activist recognised that she was one of the privileged who got legal support and love from people. "What of all those still in jail whose stories are not marketable," she asks, asserting that truth will prevail.

Disha ended her statement with a quote from tribal activist Soni Sori, "We are threatened every day, our voices crushed; but we will continue to fight."