19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

httpsindianexpresscomarticleopinioncolumnsstate-must-not-defame-youth-standing-with-farmers-its-the-future-they-are-fighting-for-7188819 112

Written by Ashish Kothari |

Updated February 15 2021 22149 pm

ENGLISH த বাংলা മലയാളം ह दी मराठी

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State must not defame youthstanding with farmers Itrsquos thefuture they are fighting forThe real anti-national here is a government that undermines the countryrsquosecological present and future and the democratic rights of its citizens

Home Opinion Columns State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are ghting for

Friday March 19 2021

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

httpsindianexpresscomarticleopinioncolumnsstate-must-not-defame-youth-standing-with-farmers-its-the-future-they-are-fighting-for-7188819 212

Disha Ravi (Credit Vishnu Ram)

Youth action throughout history has shaken the status quo In recent times young

people have been the heart of citizen mobilisations across the world mdash against

authoritarian regimes in the Arab world and Chile global finance and corporate

impunity in the Occupy movement racism in the US and elsewhere mining and

pipeline projects in North and South America and the climate crisis with networks

like Fridays for Future In India they have mobilised against communalism and

religious hatred abrogation of democratic rights by the state and environmental

violations

In all these cases there is state backlash often siding with powerful corporate

interests And in this it has ample support from a pliant media and reactionary

forces aligned with it or forming its base

Environmentalist youth across India have legitimately supported the ongoing

farmersrsquo movement recognising the intricate connections between environmental

social economic issues Now the government has used the violence that marked

one day of the farmersrsquo movement (which the farmersrsquo coalition even if not directly

responsible has denounced and apologised for) as an excuse to defame this multi-

pronged movement

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

httpsindianexpresscomarticleopinioncolumnsstate-must-not-defame-youth-standing-with-farmers-its-the-future-they-are-fighting-for-7188819 312

At the centre of the controversy is a ldquotoolkitrdquo and an exhortation to ldquoactionrdquo that

were contained in a tweet by climate activist Greta Thunberg What does this call to

action contain It asks supporters of the farmersrsquo movement to take up Twitter

storms physical actions wherever relevant solidarity messages and so on

Delhirsquos Special Commissioner of Police reportedly believes that ldquoIf you go by the

unfolding of events including the violence of January 26 it reveals a copycat

execution of the action planrdquo If indeed he did say this it is a stretch of the

imagination that would make a rubber band blush Any call for protests digital and

physical and a toolkit that lists out such actions cannot be automatically assumed

to be a call for violence The actions recommended are a time-honoured part of

non-violent dissent for centuries including Gandhirsquos during Indiarsquos independence

struggle and Martin Luther Kingrsquos in the black rights movement in the US All

political parties have at some point been out on the streets protesting blocking

roads doing gheraos and dharnas to voice their dissent Many in the current

government were on the streets in the India Against Corruption movement The

right to dissent non-violently including physically is a fundamental part of

democracy The Supreme Court and many high courts have upheld this in many

judgments Toolkits for all the official and media bluster are not weapons of mass

destruction

Heavy-handed state actions are an attempt to scare dissenters create a ldquochilling

effectrdquo Over the last few years the state has used laws like UAPA arbitrarily and

spitefully or tried to defame movements by linking them to ldquoanti-nationalrdquo or

ldquoterroristrdquo elements like ldquoMaoistsrdquo or ldquoKhalistanisrdquo and now the Prime Ministerrsquos

coinage ldquoandolanjeevisrdquo This is an easy but illegitimate way to defame entirely

legitimate citizensrsquo movements acting within the bounds of Indiarsquos Constitution

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

httpsindianexpresscomarticleopinioncolumnsstate-must-not-defame-youth-standing-with-farmers-its-the-future-they-are-fighting-for-7188819 412

These are also deliberate diversions from issues of substance Recently young

people have been vocal on environmental issues pointing to the folly of

government decisions allowing mining industrialisation expressways through

ecologically-fragile areas and its inadequate attention to air and water pollution

that kills or maims millions Every political party has in its manifesto or other

documents admitted the seriousness of the environmental (including the climate)

crisis And yet here is what a news site close to the current dispensation which

attacked young environmentalists is saying ldquoIndia cannot afford to pay heed to

environmental concernshellip cannot afford the lack of sustainability and high

production costs of currently available sources of sustainable energy and also hope

to raise 50 million people out of extreme poverty India also has the fifth highest

coal reserves in the world which should be utilised for the development of India

not discarded in favour of renewable energyrdquo

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Apart from factual distortions (renewable energy worldwide is now cheaper than

fossil fuels if full costs are integrated) does this contradict the environmental

concern shown by the BJP as the party in power On paper yes In actuality no

This governmentrsquos actions over the last 6-7 years have shown it to be least

concerned about the massive loss of livelihoods hunger and malnutrition

displacement and other impacts caused by environmental damage The grossly

unscientific draft EIA notification of mid-2020 and the 2021 Budget exemplify this

In decisions relating to projects of several big corporations environmental laws

have been blatantly bypassed Having inherited a legacy of unsustainable

ldquodevelopmentrdquo from the Congress the BJP is taking it to new depths Crony

capitalism continues to rear its ugly undemocratic corrupt head

In a ldquobusiness-as-usualrdquo scenario todayrsquos youth will inherit a world with all rivers

and lakes polluted or drained out air in cities not fit to breathe no prospects for

satisfactory and dignified livelihoods (given the ldquojobless growthrdquo that India has

witnessed for over two decades) so-called ldquonaturalrdquo disasters waiting for them at

every turn and complete subservience to the diktats of powerful corporations and

How Rajasthan can make its Right to Health promise work

Lateral Entry A challenging administrative reform

Challenge to the Places of Worship Act is dangerous

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

httpsindianexpresscomarticleopinioncolumnsstate-must-not-defame-youth-standing-with-farmers-its-the-future-they-are-fighting-for-7188819 512

TAGS Farm Laws

the state Why should they not protest They have every right to do so and if

activists abroad support them this is not evidence that there is an international

conspiracy or that anything is threatening Indiarsquos security Indeed the real anti-

national here is a government that undermines the countryrsquos ecological present and

future and the democratic rights of its citizens

Pune News

CLICK HERE FOR MORE

This article first appeared in the print edition on February 15 2021 under the

title lsquoA toolkit for changersquo The writer is with Kalpavriksh an environment

research and advocacy group in Pune Views are personal

Inform your opinion Read what todays changemakers are sayingSubscribe to our Opinion amp Editorial newsletter

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

httpsindianexpresscomarticleopinioncolumnsstate-must-not-defame-youth-standing-with-farmers-its-the-future-they-are-fighting-for-7188819 712

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

httpsindianexpresscomarticleopinioncolumnsstate-must-not-defame-youth-standing-with-farmers-its-the-future-they-are-fighting-for-7188819 812

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

httpsindianexpresscomarticleopinioncolumnsstate-must-not-defame-youth-standing-with-farmers-its-the-future-they-are-fighting-for-7188819 912

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

httpsindianexpresscomarticleopinioncolumnsstate-must-not-defame-youth-standing-with-farmers-its-the-future-they-are-fighting-for-7188819 1112

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19032021 Ashish Kothari writes State must not defame youth standing with farmers Itrsquos the future they are fighting for

httpsindianexpresscomarticleopinioncolumnsstate-must-not-defame-youth-standing-with-farmers-its-the-future-they-are-fighting-for-7188819 1212

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