Reacting to the hate and trolling directed at her from government-supporting Indians, ex-adult movie star Mia Khalifa has reiterated her firm support for Indian farmers who have been protesting around Delhi since late November 2020 against new agricultural laws.
In a tweet, Khalifa shared two pictures of saffron scarf-donning men standing with pictures of herself, Rihanna, and Greta Thunberg with captions asking them to stop commenting on India's personal matters.
Confirming I have in fact regained consciousness, and would like to thank you for your concern, albeit unnecessary. Still standing with the farmers, though ♥️ pic.twitter.com/ttZnYeVLRP
— Mia K. (@miakhalifa) February 4, 2021
The tweet by the 27-year-old former porn star went viral on social media in India, garnering over 43,000 likes and 10,000 re-tweets.
In the comments section to Khalifa's post, farmer-supporting Indians posted pictures of the aforementioned men burning a headshot poster of 18-year-old Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg to highlight the amount of outrage these international public figures have sparked in India.
The man in the photo is Jai Bhagwan Goyal. He is a senior BJP leader. Also, he was one of the 32 main accused in the Babri demolition case. He has confessed his crime several times before the camera and even outside the court that acquitted him. He is not fringe. He is the govt. pic.twitter.com/4Z87WZH7bn
— Alishan Jafri | अलीशान (@asfreeasjafri) February 4, 2021
On 4 February, India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement slamming foreign individuals and entities, including Khalifa, for their comments on the ongoing farmer protests without knowing the "entire truth" that caused social media outrage in the nation.
Several Bollywood stars and Indian athletes like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar sided with the government and requested foreign nationals to refrain from commenting on the sensitive protests that recently took a violent turn in Delhi.
Farmers constitute an extremely important part of our country. And the efforts being undertaken to resolve their issues are evident. Let’s support an amicable resolution, rather than paying attention to anyone creating differences. 🙏🏻#IndiaTogether #IndiaAgainstPropaganda https://t.co/LgAn6tIwWp
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) February 3, 2021
India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised. External forces can be spectators but not participants.
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) February 3, 2021
Indians know India and should decide for India. Let's remain united as a nation.#IndiaTogether #IndiaAgainstPropaganda
Thousands of farmers from India's agricultural states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra have surrounded the capital since late November 2020.
The farmers fear that with new laws passed during the monsoon session of the parliament in September, the government is backing out from its role as a price guarantor for their produce while leaving their earnings to be influenced by market forces. The government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi however, has dismissed these concerns, calling the laws "progressive", while the country's president, Ram Nath Kovind, said that the reforms will be beneficial for farmers.
