Sparked by Rihanna, an outpouring of international support has appeared for the farmers protests in India. Among the strongest voices was that of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, who tweeted a toolkit for protesters that appears to have earned the ire of the Delhi Police.
On Friday, a day after India's foreign ministry criticised "celebrities and others" for commenting on the protests, multiple reports said the Delhi Police had filed an FIR against Thunberg for "criminal conspiracy" and an attempt to "promote enmity between groups".
The activist remained defiant, and tweeted, "I still #StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest. No amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that. #FarmersProtest".
I still #StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest.
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) February 4, 2021
No amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that. #FarmersProtest
On February 3, Thunberg had tweeted saying she stands in solidarity with the farmers protests in India.
Here’s an updated toolkit by people on the ground in India if you want to help. (They removed their previous document as it was outdated.)#StandWithFarmers #FarmersProtesthttps://t.co/ZGEcMwHUNL
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) February 3, 2021
Ever since Rihanna tweeted asking why nobody was talking about the farmers protests, celebrities from across the world have come out in support of the protests. In India, a more mixed reaction took place, with a host of celebrities from Bollywood to cricket sharing a template response calling for an "amicable resolution" and using the hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda that were shared by the MEA.
The MEA slammed the remarks made by Rihanna and other celebrities and activists on farmer protests, saying the facts on the issue must be ascertained before rushing to comment on it, and asserted that the "temptation" of sensationalist social media hashtags and views is "neither accurate nor responsible".
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said India's reputation had been damaged by the government's "obduracy. and undemocratic behaviour" and that this can't be remedied by a cricketer's tweets.
"For GoI (government of India) to get Indian celebrities to react to Western ones is embarrassing. The damage done to India's global image by GoI's obduracy & undemocratic behaviour can't be remedied by a cricketer's tweets," tweeted Tharoor, who served as the minister of state for external affairs from May 2009-April 2010 during the UPA II government.
Adding to the voices of Rihanna and Thunberg were American actor Amanda Cerni, US Vice President Kamala Harris' niece Meena Harris, 'Serendipity' star John Cusack, who retweeted a post by Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate reading, "Let us talk about what is happening in India right now #FarmersProtest", and former adult star Mia Khalifa who asked, "What in the human rights violations is going on?! They cut the internet around New Delhi?! #FarmersProtest."
With inputs from PTI
