The Bollywood actor’s support to India Against Propaganda campaign demands prompt action from the federal government.
The # campaign is in response to the Barbadian pop star’s tweet in support of agitating farmers of India.
Thousands of farmers are protesting near New Delhi, the Indian capital, against controversial farming laws that favour corporate control over the agro industry, threatening the livelihood of the cultivators.
Rihanna had showed her solidarity with the farmers.
This has invited a backlash from supporters of India’s ruling right wing Hindu nationalist government, which is accusing her of spreading false propaganda.
Many prominent Indian stars, who should have followed Rihanna, instead took to social media to support the government’s campaign. Not to be left behind, Akhsahy Kumar, who was given Canadian citizenship by the previous Conservative government in 2011, has also jumped on the bandwagon.
Those attacking Rihanna see her tweet as foreign interference and an “anti-national” act.
If Kumar is so obsessed with the Indian government, he should better renounce his Canadian citizenship. How can he be hypocritical about a genuine show of concern coming from outside the country, while at the same time keeping a foreign citizenship?
If he is so keen to please those in power, then he must stay there for ever and forget about coming to this part of the world to promote his films. And if he does not do so, the Canadian government should strip him of his citizenship. After all, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already denounced a police assault on peacefully protesting farmers, while other national leaders have also expressed their resentment over this issue.
Since South Asians have held demonstrations across Canada against the farming laws and mistreatment of Indian farmers, this would be the most appropriate thing to do.
Kumar should get a lesson that he isn’t welcome to Canada if he cannot stand up for the farmers in India,or for religious minorities and political dissidents who are under constant attack from the authorities and Hindu fanatics.
His deafening silence on such issues was one thing, but his coming out so openly in support of an intolerant regime clearly shows where his ideological affiliation and loyalties lie.
Gurpreet Singh is a journalist
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