Rihanna is an American celebrity with 101 million Twitter followers. In the earlier tweeted on many issues, the international pop-singer, actor and businesswoman has tweeted in particular racial attacks in the US. She posted her tweet with a hashtag #FarmersProtest, to say, ‘Why aren’t we talking about this?’
The post could have multiple interpretations of who the ‘we’ in the post had meant if Rihanna had criticized the farm laws or the Indian Government’s action, creating barriers around Delhi or snapping the internet services in the protest sites and at several districts of Haryana.
Rihanna is active on Twitter and has posted on HIV/AIDS, cancer research. She hit the twitter protesting against the brutal cop killing of George Floyd in the US. The Harvard University named her the Humanitarian of the year in 2017 for her philanthropic work.
The post, nonetheless, caused a severe reaction in India. The local Bollywood actors and the usual reactionaries like Kangana Ranaut, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn who voice the present Government responded with alacrity or venom against the American singer. Kangana claimed, “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 the USA… Sit down you fool, we are not selling our nation like you dummies.” Vivek Agnihotri pointed at Rihanna’s closeness to the Canadian lawmaker Jagmeet Singh, a Khalistani supporter.
In addition to Rihanna, the climate activist Greta Thunberg and porn actor turned model Mia Khalifa have also posted tweets on the farmers’ protest. The Government could have gracefully dismissed such tweets by celebrities, but it was not so. They made it messier by entering the muddy swamp of blame game on the social network platforms. The Indian Government has also given a notice to Twitter to take out hashtags which it considers offensive.
The Social platforms, Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, have become the world’s parallel governments virtually. The users have unbridled space to voice their emotions, and in particular, their angst against any action by any government considered against humanity’s interest. Of course, the mainstream media fuels and promotes public opinion to pressure the governments, causing mayhem in many places.
The Indian Government has messed up the farmers’ issue, first at the passing stage of the bills and then the subsequent handling of the protests, now running to 70 days. Bracketing everyone opposed to the Government’s inept handling as anti-national will not solve the problem any sooner. The barricading of Delhi, iron spikes all around is sad and will not stop the ocean of farmers, if and when they wish to enter the capital peacefully.
Many Rihannas will emerge for not only India but for the world governments to confront. The world is a more open society than anytime before. If Rihanna had no business to post on India, we too did not have any right to shout ‘Ab ki bar Trump Sarkar’ in a foreign soil, or comment on the recent assault on the Capitol Hill.
My suggestion to the Government is to take such tweets by your stride and introspect to resolve as an able government would do, in the best interests of its citizens and as they would decide it.
Jai Hind!
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
