Rihanna on Tuesday created a flutter in India 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 101 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
Rihanna’s tweet triggered an online storm in India with many lauding her while others claimed she was being unreasonable. Then there was a bunch that started calling RiRi a ‘Pakistani agent’. Adding fuel to that fire, were people who discovered an old picture of Rihanna and Zulfi Bukhari.
Funniest thing on the internet today! Rihanna took “Indian Farmers” side while the whole Bollywood is supporting Modi. Now, Modi supporters are saying that Rihanna is an agent of Pakistan just because she met Zulfi Bukhari! They are literally convinced! 😂 pic.twitter.com/8OXXgDMrPY
— Sayed Alamdar Naqvi (@alamdarnaqvi5) February 3, 2021
Funnily enough, most of the tweets against the singer are quite redundant and seemingly representative of an online campaign. Albeit it’s not clear when the picture of Zulfi and Rihanna was taken, but reports indicate that it was taken in September 2018.
Rihanna is supporting #FarmersProtest because of this #Pakistani Minister, Sayed Zulfi Bukhari.
— Pushpendra Kulshrestha (@pushpendra__kul) February 2, 2021
Make him famous guys#Rihanna #RihannaSupportsIndianFarmers #RihannaSupportIndianFarmers pic.twitter.com/DUGgxq0shf
Rihanna with Syed Zulfi Bukhari, Special Assistant to Pak Prime Minister Imran Khan. Need to say anything more ??#IndiaWithModi pic.twitter.com/a1LgsgnAGp
— Pankaj Gulati (@panky101) February 3, 2021
Rihanna is supporting #FarmersProtest because of this #Pakistani Minister, Sayed Zulfi Bukhari.
— मानुष:🇮🇳 (@manush068) February 3, 2021
So Brother Everythnng is Fixed.. pic.twitter.com/MJfFifjNdj
#Rihanna with Syed Zulfi Bukhari, Special Assistant to Pak Prime Minister Imran https://t.co/v4xCUHLl5f we know why is Rihanna getting so worried to talk about #FarmerProtests. https://t.co/ae1NPRH2Yr pic.twitter.com/HPizjuYZgI
— Sandeep Rai (@SandeepBhagwa) February 3, 2021
For desperate bhakts who are looking for Pakistani or isi connection to this tweet here it is, the guy is Zulfi bukhari special assistant to PM Imran khan,
— Peerzada Raza Abbas (@razaikvillan) February 2, 2021
Thank me later pic.twitter.com/58zlaeWHQh
Later, Zulfi also lauded Rihanna for raising her voice, saying: “Well said and well done."
Well said & well done.
— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) February 3, 2021
That’s because they’ve blocked all credible media in India.
Not just with the farmers but also with the oppressed Kashmiris.#FarmersProtest https://t.co/rrmFjyyrl8
But the Indian government has called the farmers’ protest an “internal matter.” In an official statement, the Indian foreign ministry said that celebrities needed “a proper understanding of the issues”.
“The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible,” read the statement, with the hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.”
“We would like to emphasise that these protests must be seen in the context of India’s democratic ethos and polity, and the efforts of the Government and the concerned farmer groups to resolve the impasse,” it added.
The Indian government has also activated its PR efforts with several Bollywood bigwigs including Karan Johar, Ajay Devgn and Suniel Shetty urging their Indian followers not to let anyone divide the country or fall for “false propaganda”.
We live in turbulent times and the need of the hour is prudence and patience at every turn. Let us together, make every effort we can to find solutions that work for everyone—our farmers are the backbone of India. Let us not let anyone divide us. #IndiaTogether
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) February 3, 2021
We must always take a comprehensive view of things, as there is nothing more dangerous than half truth. #IndiaTogether #IndiaAgainstPropaganda @hiteshjain33 https://t.co/7rNZ683ZAU
— Suniel Shetty (@SunielVShetty) February 3, 2021
Don’t fall for any false propaganda against India or Indian policies. Its important to stand united at this hour w/o any infighting 🙏🏼#IndiaTogether #IndiaAgainstPropaganda
— Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) February 3, 2021
Lets stand united against any propaganda. Together we can and we will! #IndiaAgainstPropoganda #IndiaTogether https://t.co/4PhlCCowz4
— Ekta Kapoor (@ektarkapoor) February 3, 2021
We as a country have issues to resolve today and will have issues to resolve tomorrow as well, but that doesn't mean we create a divide or get perturbed by external forces. Everything can be resolved through amicable and unbiased dialogue. #IndiaAgainstPropaganda#IndiaTogether
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) February 3, 2021
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