What explains the hysterical govt pushback to tweets by celebs on farmers’ movement

Nobody will ever know why six words riled the largest democracy in the world. “Why aren’t we talking about this”, were words tweeted by international pop star Rihanna while reacting to a CNN report on Delhi Police placing multiple layered barricades, metal spikes and trenches at Delhi’s borders. The words somehow touched a raw nerve in the Indian Government. Frothing and foaming, the Ministry of External Affairs came out with all guns blazing, condemning ‘celebrities’ for making irresponsible comments. Union Ministers led by Home Minister Amit Shah created a ‘Twitter Storm’ with the hashtag “#IndiaAgainstPropaganda” and “#IndiaStandsTogether”. BJP’s troll army was unleashed to call Rihanna names.

Finally, in a coordinated but embarrassing campaign, cricketers and Bollywood stars were mobilized to express their concern at threats to India’s sovereignty. It did not present a pretty sight. It showed an insecure, hysterical government reacting to a private tweet by a singer, who despite enjoying a cult status abroad remains largely unknown in the country. She had as much right to voice her concern at what is happening in India as India’s Prime Minister tweeting his concern when the US Capitol was stormed by Trump supporters in January. The Capitol Hill attack was condemned by world leaders then. Narendra Modi had famously endorsed Donald Trump’s re-election bid and many Indians prayed, held yagnas and religious ceremonies to ensure that the Prime Minister’s buddy wins. If all that did not constitute interference in another country’s affairs, why would Rihanna’s tweet be any different? Was the Indian Government’s reaction just a storm in a tea cup, an entertaining diversion to draw attention away from more serious issues? Was it deliberately done to send a signal to the Biden administration? Was it well thought out or just another knee-jerk reaction for which this Government is known? One suspects it was the latter unless there was a far more diabolical design that people may not be aware of.

The statement issued by the MEA glossed over the fact that the farmers’ movement was prompted by the Government’s own refusal to debate the issue in Parliament. It does not mention that the Indian state had done everything within its power to stop farmers from marching to Delhi; that it had refused them permission to enter the national capital and camp at the Ramlila Ground to protest. It had dug up roads, put boulders on the highway, dug ditches and turned tear gas and water cannons on the ‘small group of farmers’. It gratuitously claimed that the new farm laws would pave the way for environmentally sustainable agriculture.

The statement failed to acknowledge that the farmers’ movement is the result of the Government’s inability to negotiate and build a consensus. Its inability and unwillingness to work with people opposed to its policies is what has given rise to the crisis. It has made matters much worse by unleashing vigilante mobs on farmers, switching off electric supply and water to them, by filing criminal cases and by shutting down Internet to cripple their ability to communicate. One will never know if the response was caused by a momentary lapse of reason or whether the ugly and hurried response had some method in the madness. But whatever may have prompted the reaction, India was reduced to a laughing stock at the least among a section of global influencers.