Farmers’ protests in India were already ugly – and then global celebrities like Rihanna and Greta Thunberg stepped in.
In this week’s episode of Mundane, The Vox foreign affairs podcast, co-hosts Zack Beauchamp, Jennifer Williams and Alex Ward explain why thousands of Indian farmers have spent months protesting the recent government-approved agricultural reform laws.
They explain why Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed so vigorously on reforms, legitimate political debate at the center of everything and how the vile online reaction to Rihanna and Thunberg’s statements in support of pro-Modi troll farmers shows the rot at the heart of India’s democracy.
Hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers and their supporters have occupied major roads around the capital, New Delhi, since November, in protest against agricultural reform laws.
Under the new policies, introduced by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian farmers are expected to sell products and make contracts with independent buyers outside government-sanctioned markets, which have long served as the main locations for farmers to do business.
Modi and members of his party say reforms are needed to help India modernize and improve its agricultural industry, which will mean greater freedom and prosperity for farmers. But farmers, afraid of being at the mercy of big business, are not convinced.
Modi’s government offered to suspend the laws for 18 months, but the farmers refused, demanding a full retraction of the laws to end the impasse.
After the failure of an 11th round of negotiations between farmers and the government, the farmers’ unions decided to raise the stakes with a tractor march to the capital on Republic Day in India, which celebrates the signing of India’s constitution. The lack of communication led to violent clashes with the police, who used tear gas and batons to try to return them.
Hundreds of police were injured. A farmer was also crushed when his tractor was among the many vehicles overturned in the violence.
So Rihanna posted a February 2nd tweet on the Indian government shutting down Internet access to debate Republic Day violence. And all hell started.
The singer’s tweet angered the Indian government, which replied that foreign celebrities should know the facts before giving their opinion on Indian affairs. This paved the way for even more vitriol, with online supporters of Modi’s right-wing nationalist government and one of Bollywood’s most famous actresses, Kangana Ranaut, attacking nasty personal attacks on Rihanna on Twitter and in the media, many of whom were racist and sexist.
The ugly response to celebrities who ask legitimate questions about the treatment of farmers and the suppression of farmers’ freedoms shows how deep the divisions in Indian society are.
To hear more about what led to widespread protests by farmers in India, how the protests became violent and what the government’s heavy tactics to suppress dissent say about India’s future under Modi, listen Mundane below.
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