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Explainer | Rihanna vs the Modi government: how India’s farmer protests drew the world’s attention
- Protesting farmers are now being backed by a growing group of international celebrities and activists including Greta Thunberg
- Indian ministers and Bollywood stars have hit back on Twitter, and the government likened a violent protest in New Delhi last month to ‘chaos’ in the US capital
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Tens of thousands of Indian farmers have been protesting on the outskirts of New Delhi for more than three months, demanding the repeal of new agriculture laws they fear would leave them at mercy of corporations.
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While largely peaceful, the protests turned violent last month during India’s Republic Day, with authorities tightening security at protest sites outside the capital, temporarily restricting internet and phone services, and warning Twitter to block dozens of accounts that the government said were aimed at inciting violence.
But tweets by pop star Rihanna, environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg and US lawyer and activist Meena Harris, a niece of Vice-President Kamala Harris, have drawn global attention, with Washington criticising India’s internet crackdown.
New Delhi has described these comments as propaganda.
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WHAT ARE THE LATEST UPDATES ON THE FARMERS’ PROTESTS?
Since November 26, farmers from India‘s northern farming states of Punjab and Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have taken to the streets to protest against the new laws passed by parliament in September, heralded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a necessary step to modernise agriculture
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