Authorities trying to scare people off issues: Greens

There’s an insane sense of fear. If a

comedian

is jailed for cracking jokes, think about people like us talking about real issues,” rued an environmental activist on Monday following the detention of environmental activist Disha Ravi and the impending arrest of

Nikita Jacob and

Shantanu Muluk.

“This is exactly what they did at the time of the Aarey dispute. They mostly arrested college kids to scare away those who might want to join the cause. But does it work? It aggravates people to fight more,” said Zoru Bhathena who had campaigned against the previous government's decision to hack trees at Aarey Colony. “Agriculture, climate change, deforestation are closely interrelated, so what’s wrong if young people show concern?” said Bhathena.

The sense of outrage was evident in Stalin Dayanand, known for championing wetland conservation and mangrove restoration. “It seems there are only two ways to exist in this country now. Either keep your head down and not interfere in any decision or join the hate army. There’s no third option where one can engage in dialogue or have the freedom to discuss issues.”

Afroz Shah, the man behind the clean-up of Versova beach, felt the need for a more "balanced approach" by the system as well as activists. “Young activists in their teens and twenties don’t often have the knowledge, wisdom or wherewithal to handle complicated issues. The system needs to take into account the age and experience of passionate young people who mean well and start a conversation with them while youngsters need to use language that could critique the implication of a certain policy or move but not attack the motive in a way that’s defamatory and could land them on the wrong side of law,” said Shah.