International pop star Rihanna extended her support to the farmers’ protest in India against the three contentious farm laws. The farmers have been protesting for more than two months on the borders of the national capital against the farm laws enacted by the government last year. Internet services in the protest sites i.e. the Delhi border areas of Singh, Ghazipur, and Tikri were suspended on Saturday and have been further extended twice till at least 5 pm Wednesday.
The order by the Home Ministry had come over the weekend, days after the Republic day rally by the farmers turned into a violent clash with the police leaving dozens injured and one protester dead.
Rihanna condemned the shutdown of internet services at the protest sites aimed at crippling the movement. She tweeted a news article about the blockade of internet services and commented “Why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest,”. The ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ singer happens to be the fourth most-followed Twitter user with more than 100 million followers. Rihanna’s tweet sent the pop star trending on Twitter and soon after, several other celebrities and activists around the world have tweeted in support of the protesting farmers.
Greta Thunberg, the climate change activist, tweeted “We stand in solidarity with the farmer protests in India,” using the hashtag #FarmersProtest. YouTuber and comedian Lilly Singh wrote she stood in solidarity with the farmers. Calling it a humanity issue, she thanked Rihanna for speaking up on the matter. American climate activist Jamie Marglin also tweeted in support of the farmers of India and urged her followers to extend their support too. Kenyan environment and climate activist Elizabeth Wathuti, United Kingdom MP Claudia Webbe, Professor, and writer Khaled Beydoun, and Meena Harris, the niece of United States Vice President Kamala Harris also tweeted in support of the farmers’ protest.
The international community criticized the Modi government’s handling of the crisis and termed the Indian government’s action as an assault on the world’s oldest democracy. Global watchdog Human rights watch retweeted Rihanna’s tweet and said that the Modi government is presiding over a dangerous regression in free speech rights in pursuit of its Hindu nationalist agenda.
Such statements from international celebrities, however, did not go well with the Indian foreign ministry which slammed the international celebrities for making comments in support of farmers and termed it as irresponsible and inaccurate alleging that vested interest groups were trying to build opinion against the country. The Ministry of External Affairs said,“Before rushing to comment on such matters, we would urge that the facts be ascertained, and a proper understanding of the issues at hand be undertaken,”
While a section of Twitter users lauded Rihanna for raising their voice on the issue at a time when the Bollywood celebrities have remained mum, Indian actor Kangana Ranaut who has been an ardent supporter of the ruling BJP party lashed out at the pop icon and called out the protestors as terrorists.
