Peasant protests in India had already turned ugly – and then world celebrities like Rihanna and Greta Thunberg stepped in.
In this week’s episode of Worldly Vox’s Foreign Affairs podcast co-presenters Zack Beauchamp, Jennifer Williams and Alex Ward explain why thousands of Indian farmers have been protesting for months against recent agrarian reform laws passed by the government.
They touch on why Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi drove reforms so forcefully, the legitimate policy debate took center stage, and how the vile online response to Rihanna and Thunberg’s statements in support of the farmers of pro-Modi trolls rot democracy in India.
Hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers and their supporters have occupied the main roads around the capital, New Delhi, since November in protest against agrarian reform laws.
Under the new policy, introduced by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian farmers are required to sell goods and contract with independent buyers outside of government-sanctioned marketplaces, which have long served as the prime locations for farmers to do business.
Modi and members of his party say the reforms are needed to help India modernize and improve its agricultural industry, which will mean more freedom and prosperity for farmers. But the farmers, who are afraid of being at the mercy of big companies, remain unconvinced.
The Modi government offered to suspend the laws for 18 months, but the farmers have refused and demanded a complete repeal of the laws to end their deadlock.
After an eleventh round of talks between farmers and the government failed, farmers’ unions decided to up the ante with a tractor march to the capital on Republic Day, which commemorates the signing of India’s constitution. Miscommunication led to violent confrontations with the police, who used tear gas and batons to turn them back.
Hundreds of police officers were injured. A farmer was also crushed when his tractor was one of many vehicles toppled in the violence.
Then Rihanna posted a Feb. 2 tweet on the Indian government’s shutdown of internet access to crush the debate over the Republic Day violence. And all hell broke loose.
The singer’s tweet angered the Indian government, which replied that foreign celebrities should know the facts before going into Indian affairs. That 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, lashing out on Twitter and in the media with nasty personal attacks on Rihanna, many of which were racist and sexist.
The ugly reaction to celebrities asking legitimate questions about the treatment of peasants and the suppression of peasant freedoms shows how deep the divisions are in Indian society.
To hear more about what sparked widespread peasant protests in India, how the protests turned violent, and what the government’s heavy-handed tactics to quash dissent say about India’s future under Modi, listen to Worldly Below.
And don’t forget to subscribe to Worldly wherever you get your podcasts from, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.
You can find specific links for Vox podcasts here.