WHEN POP WENT RIHANNA, DID WE GO OVER THE TOP?

In what detractors see is a clear attempt to needle India, US Vice President Kamala Harris' niece Meena and some international celebrities, infamous for their poor understanding of India’s domestic politics, on Wednesday extended their support to the agitating farmers; the government, in a strong reaction, which sceptics said went over the top, described them as part of "vested interest groups."

It further dismissed their support as "sensationalist social media hashtags and comments" which are "neither accurate nor responsible."Earlier, a Twitter frenzy broke when American pop singer Rihanna on Tuesday night posted a news link on India's farmers' protest and tweeted, "why aren't we talking about this?!" It triggered widespread outrage with many questioning Rihanna's credentials and knowledge about India's internal matters.This was followed by Greta Thunberg, the celebrity teenager famous for her environmental activism, tweeting, "We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India.

"Meena Harris on Wednesday morning joined the chorus. "It's no coincidence that the world's oldest democracy was attacked not even a month ago, and as we speak, the most populous democracy is under assault. This is related. We all should be outraged by India's internet shutdowns and paramilitary violence against farmer protesters," she tweeted.

Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh on Wednesday released his latest track dedicated to international pop star Rihanna, less than 24 hours after she voiced her support to the ongoing farmers agitation in the country.

The 2.16 minute-long Punjabi number draws its title, RIRI (Rihanna), from the Grammy-winning artiste’s nickname. The audio track has been penned by lyricist Raj Ranjodh, with music by Intense. “All Punjabis are your fans, people are jealous of your fanbase,” he sings.

On Tuesday, Rihanna shared a CNN news article with her 100 million followers on Twitter, calling out the internet shutdown at the protest sites near Kaithal, Panipat, Jind, Rohtak, Charkhi Dadri, Sonipat and Jhajjar districts in Haryana. After Rihanna lent her support to farmers, international names such as Greta Thunberg also joined the discourse. —PTI