Day after Rihanna submit, celebrities communicate up—for govt

A DAY after worldwide pop star Rihanna shared an article on farmer protests and Internet shutdown in Delhi and tweeted “Why aren’t we talking about this?”, a few of India’s prime celebrities did simply that. They responded with hashtags – #IndiaCollectively and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda – tweeting their help for the federal government and their displeasure over Rihanna’s interjection.
From Bharat Ratna winners Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar to actors Akshay Kumar, Kangana Ranaut and Ajay Devgn, filmmaker Karan Johar, producer Ektaa Kapoor and cricketer Virat Kohli, the celebrities took to Twitter quickly after the Ministry of External Affairs reacted to Rihanna, teen local weather activist Greta Thunberg and others who highlighted the protests on social media.
Sharing the ministry assertion, Akshay Kumar wrote, “Farmers constitute an extremely important part of our country. And the efforts being undertaken to resolve their issues are evident. Let’s support an amicable resolution, rather than paying attention to anyone creating differences. #IndiaTogether #IndiaAgainstPropaganda”.
By night, a often reticent Tendulkar tweeted that “India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised”. “External forces can be spectators but not participants. Indians know India and should decide for India. Let’s remain united as a nation,” he mentioned. He was joined by present and former cricketers like India captain Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Suresh Raina and Anil Kumble, who tweeted that India is “more than capable of taking her internal issues to amicable solutions”.
“Let us all stay united in this hour of disagreements. Farmers are an integral part of our country and I’m sure an amicable solution will be found between all parties to bring about peace and move forward together,” tweeted Kohli.
In her tweet, legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar mentioned, “India is a glorious nation and we all Indians stand with our heads held high. As a proud Indian, I have faith, that any issues or problems that as a country we face; we are fully equipped to resolve them amicably, keeping the interest of our people in mind. Jai Hind.”
While Devgn urged individuals to be cautious of “false propaganda against India or Indian policies”, Johar, who had been the goal of trolls following the dying of actor Sushant Singh Rajput final 12 months, tweeted that the nation mustn’t let “anyone divide us”. “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” he wrote. Actors Suniel Shetty, Anupam Kher and singer Kailash Kher, too, lent their voices towards Rihanna.
There have been others, nevertheless, who have been crucial of the celebrities. Top Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna tweeted: “It is pathetic to see so-called celebrities tweet about how ‘outsiders’ have no business speaking about the farmer’s strike. No one stopped anyone from saying anything about all that went on in the US did they? This level of sucking up is truly disgusting!”
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor focused the federal government over the tweets: “For GoI 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. Withdraw the farm laws &discuss solutions w/farmers &you’ll get #IndiaTogether.”
There have been others who lauded the pop star. Actors Richa Chadha, Swara Bhasker, Taapsee Pannu, Ali Fazal, US-based Indian filmmaker Ritesh Batra and filmmaker Hansal Mehta all tweeted in help of Rihanna.
Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh, who has constantly proven his help for the farmers, even got here up with a music Ri Ri on Wednesday afternoon, dedicating it to Rihanna, whereas actor Sayani Gupta lamented the silence of mainstream Bollywood celebrities and sportspeople on the contentious difficulty, writing “Dear Indian celebrities/ actors/ sportsmen/ musicians/stars, develop some backbone. Love.