Indian farmers’ protest shatters !
INDIAN ‘Soft Power’ prowess and clandestine battle of perception suffered a debilitating blow as farmers` protest garnered global attention.
Despite astronomical weight being given to “Hard Power”, India has assiduously worked for judicious use of its “Soft Power” toolkit to project power and achieve foreign policy designs.
Its efforts to vindicate Pakistan as irresponsible global actor, in its quest to diplomatically isolate Pakistan, are recently exposed by Disinfolab disclosures.
These reprehensible tactics are masked under veneer of Bollywood movies, beaming celebrities and cosmopolitan portrayal of indigenous culture, masquerading the actual face of imperial imposter India.
A single tweet from American pop superstar Rihanna unravelled India’s declining democracy and BJP`s Hindutva mission of ethnic cleansing.
The ensuing global backlash and consequent xenophobic Indian reaction besmirched actual Indian panorama as regional reprobate.
International heavyweights of phenomenal fame triggered chain reaction when Pop superstar Rihanna took to Twitter, on Wednesday 3rd February, to express solidarity with Indian farmers who have been on strenuous rights based protest movement against Modi government’s new draconian agricultural laws.
Creating further diplomatic headache for India, Rihanna was shortly joined by other global bigwigs who threw shade on world’s largest “democracy” by discussing prospects of simmering humanitarian quandary in the wake of curtailment of civil liberties, as farmers` protest got traction.
Soon, after the pop super star’s tweet highlighted plight of Indian farmers, Brahminical xenophobic chauvinism reared its ugly head.
Modi supporters hurled derogatory terms against African-American superstar by justifying slavery and structural racism in the United States.
Indian government and Hindutva indoctrinated public exploded into resentment and ensuing social media blitzkrieg featuring toxic mix of misogyny, xenophobia and Brahminical exceptionalism shattered Indian global portrayal as “Liberal Democracy”.
This hyper-nationalist reaction also crystallized India’s fresh global posture that blatantly rests upon hard sovereignty instead of cosmopolitan ethos.
The new global Indian face categorically condemns any foreign engagement regarding India as “conspiracy”.
These virulent internal dynamics lend credence to unbiased news stories on Kashmir and Indian periphery, featuring horrendous atrocities against minorities and brutal subjugation of Kashmiris.
Indian celebrities and sports bigwigs, hitherto silent spectators of agonizing farmers protest movement, chose to bandwagon the demonization campaign against international celebrities concerned about farmers‘ predicament.
In blatantly orchestrated move, they unanimously used the hashtag #IndiaAgainstPropaganda concocted by Indian Foreign Ministry.
Despite habitual Indian meddling in other states‘ affairs; Indian celebrities‘ duplicitous rhetoric warning “foreign agents” to refrain from meddling in internal affairs unravelled two-facedness of Indian regime.
Evidently wrecked, the beleaguered Indian government expressed puerile reaction. Instead of resorting to reasonable justification, Indian Foreign Ministry chose to vilify the activism of international celebrities by reducing it to mischief of “vested interests”.
The United Hindu Front and other right-wing Hindu nationalist organizations, in a bid to ensuing further absurdity, resuscitated Brahminical Patriarchy by burning effigies of international supporters of farmers’ protest movement.
The ongoing global social media war seems beginning of end of Indian cultural imperialism and its reputation as world’s largest pluralistic democratic model worthy of emulation.
This social media saga kindled a debate in global community regarding Indian commitment to fundamental rights and its stature as “democracy”.
Barrage of condemnation against eminent celebrities illustrated the end of inclusive Indian civilization and return of Hindu exclusivist Brahmin despotism.
—The writer is researcher at Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and Mphil International Relations scholar at National Defence University Islamabad.
