In a surprising turn of events, prominent Indian environmental activists Harjeet Singh and Jyoti Awasthi have been arrested by the country’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) over claims that their campaigning for a treaty to reduce fossil fuel use was undermining national interests.
The ED, a law enforcement agency under India’s Ministry of Finance, has accused the couple, who co-founded the non-profit organisation Satat Sampada (Nature Forever), of receiving nearly £500,000 in foreign funds to advocate for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (FFNPT). The agency alleges that while presented as a climate initiative, the adoption of the FFNPT could expose India to legal challenges and compromise the nation’s energy security and economic development.
During the raids on the couple’s home and Satat Sampada properties, the ED claims to have uncovered a large cache of whiskey, exceeding legal limits, leading to Singh’s arrest and subsequent bail on Monday night. The agency is also investigating Singh’s trips to Pakistan and Bangladesh last year and how they were funded.
Singh and Awasthi have refuted the allegations, stating that they started Satat Sampada with their own savings and that the organisation’s consultancy and management services grew in 2021 after Singh left his full-time employment to focus on its work. They maintain that the accusations are “baseless, biased and misleading.”
The FFNPT Initiative is an international campaign calling for a treaty to stop the exploration of new fossil fuels and gradually phase out their use. It has gained the support of 17 national governments, the World Health Organization, and the European Parliament, as well as a constellation of civil society figures.
However, the ED claims that while presented as a climate initiative, the adoption of the FFNPT could expose India to legal challenges and severely compromise the nation’s energy security and economic development. The agency alleges that Satat Sampada was used as a front to channel foreign funds to run narratives furthering the FFNPT cause in India on behalf of foreign influencer groups.
The arrests of Singh and Awasthi come amid growing pressure on civil society organisations in India under the Narendra Modi government. Nearly 17,000 licences to receive foreign funding have been suspended, and a large number of civil society organisations have been forced to shut down.
The case has sparked concerns about the government’s crackdown on environmental activism and the potential implications for India’s climate commitments. As the investigation continues, the fate of these prominent activists and the future of the FFNPT campaign in India remain uncertain.
