London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Indian farmers' protest: Activists burn photos of Greta Thunberg over her support for demonstrators

Indian farmers' protest: Activists burn photos of Greta Thunberg over her support for demonstrators

Greta Thunberg is one of a number of high-profile people who have used their star power to shed light on the cause of the farmers.

Police in India are probing a controversial "toolkit" for supporting the country's ongoing farmer protests in the country, tweeted by Greta Thunberg, as angry pro-government activists took to the streets to burn photos of the teenager.

The toolkit - which contained documents guiding people on how to support the protests - was cited in a case filed by Delhi Police, Indian broadcaster NDTV reports.

The case levies charges of sedition, overseas conspiracy, and an attempt to "promote enmity between groups" against the creators of the toolkit, but does not name the 18-year-old climate champion.

However, the case does mention a tweet she sent on Wednesday, sharing the toolkit to her 4.8m followers. She deleted the tweet soon after, but later shared an updated version of the toolkit.


According to NDTV, Delhi Police referred to her tweet in documents that state "one account" had posted a toolkit that "exposes the conspiracy by an organised overseas network" to instigate the farmer protests.

Thunberg has since tweeted again in support of the protests, saying: "I still #StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest. No amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that."

The influential climate activist, who shot to fame when she started going on strike from school in 2018, is just one of a group of high-profile people who have used their star power to shed light on the cause of farmers, who say reforms introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in September will ruin their livelihoods.

Popstar Rihanna, US Vice President Kamala Harris's niece Meena, and Lebanese American model Mia Khalifa have also showed their solidarity with the farmers.

However, western support for the farmers has drawn anger from leaders and pro-government activists.

Rihanna - who has over 100 million Twitter followers - has shown her solidarity with protesting Indian farmers


Senior government ministers, Indian celebrities and even the foreign ministry have urged people to come together and denounce outsider interference.

"It is unfortunate to see vested interest groups trying to enforce their agenda on these protests, and derail them," India's foreign ministry said, in a rare statement criticising "foreign individuals" posting on social media.

On Thursday, activists from United Hindu Front took to the streets burning effigies of Rihanna and Thunberg.

The reason for the protests is that the new laws around the sale, pricing and storage of produce will - according to the aggrieved farmers - leave growers vulnerable to exploitation by big private companies.

The reforms will allow retailers to buy directly from the farmers, throwing doubt over the previously guaranteed prices they would expect to receive for their crops.

Farmers in front of the historic Red Fort during a protest


Tens of thousands of farmers have been living in makeshift camps on the outskirts of New Delhi for several months and say they will remain in place until the new laws are repealed.

However, Mr Modi says the changes are necessary to modernise Indian farming.

Clashes between those demonstrating and government forces last week left one protester dead and nearly 400 police officers injured.

In response, authorities - who are notoriously sensitive to any form of public criticism - suspended internet access to several areas around the capital, and have previously blocked the Twitter accounts of farmers' leaders and activists.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×