NEW DELHI: American singer Rihanna created a flutter in India on Tuesday by wading into months-long farmer protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agricultural reforms.
Tens of thousands of young and old farmers have blocked roads leading into New Delhi for more than two months, sheltering in tractors from the cold.
A tractor rally by farmers last week in New Delhi turned violent. Police responded by shutting down the internet, digging ditches, driving nails into roads and topping barricades with razor wire to prevent farmers from entering the capital again.
“Why aren’t we talking about this?!” Rihanna said in a Twitter post, sharing a CNN article on the demonstrations with her 100.9 million followers on the platform, using the hashtag #FarmersProtest.
why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest https://t.co/obmIlXhK9S
— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 2, 2021
It was not immediately clear what led Rihanna, whose songs have done well in India, to suddenly tweet on the subject.
As she trended on Twitter in India, a Mumbai-based actress who backs India’s ruling nationalist party lashed out at Rihanna.
“No one is talking about it because they are not farmers, they are terrorists who are trying to divide India[…]” Kangana Ranaut told her 3 million followers on the same platform.
No one is talking about it because they are not farmers they are terrorists who are trying to divide India, so that China can take over our vulnerable broken nation and make it a Chinese colony much like USA…
Sit down you fool, we are not selling our nation like you dummies. https://t.co/OIAD5Pa61a— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 2, 2021
The protests are led by turban-wearing Sikh farmers from the wheat and rice-growing state of Punjab in India’s north. The close-knit community, which is spread around the world, has also organised protests in Australia, Britain and the United States.
Sikh Coalition, a New York-based rights group, thanked Rihanna for casting more international spotlight on the subject.
“For over a week, the Indian government has been suspending internet services around #FarmersProtest sites in a clear affront to the freedom of speech,” it said on Twitter.
Thank you @Rihanna for standing up for farmers in India who have been protesting for months. For over a week, the Indian government has been suspending internet services around #FarmersProtest sites in a clear affront to the freedom of speech. https://t.co/oV3g8uEmt2
— Sikh Coalition (@sikh_coalition) February 2, 2021
Stupid Pakistanis are happy that Rihanna tweeted in support of Indian farmers. It seems as if Pakistanis have no identity of their own. Perhaps that’s why the people of Pakistan are happy on Rihana’s tweet. However, shortly after Rihanna’s tweet, Greta Thanberg’s tweet proved that such tweeting is part of an international conspiracy against India. But Pakistanis are just happy that someone has said something about India, whether Pakistanis get their clothes removed at American airports or they are deported from all over the world and sent back to Pakistan. Pakistanis should now stop thinking about India and think how to save Pakistan from being a slave of China.