Recently Kirin Sanpreet Kaur wrote a lucid piece about the farm protests titled, 'Rihanna’s tweet will save lives'. It contended that the long history of violence in India is enabled by a lack of international awareness of domestic human rights issues. Rihanna's tweet, with her 100m followers, will certainly bring more scrutiny to India regarding the many allegations of abuses during the farmer's protest (deaths, 150 missing persons, arrest and abuse of journalists, internet black out, beatings, assassination plots, firing tear gas shells at citizens faces etc.).
Now the UN, through the verified account named 'UN Human Rights', has tweeted a caution to India:
#India: We call on the authorities and protesters to exercise maximum restraint in ongoing #FarmersProtests. The rights to peaceful assembly & expression should be protected both offline & online. It's crucial to find equitable solutions with due respect to #HumanRights for all.
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) February 5, 2021
One has to wonder if the debate that ensued after Rihanna's tweet, including other tweets from celebrities and from a family member of Vice President Harris, has created so much awareness that it reached the UN.
Whatever led to the UN's involvement it is overwhelmingly positive that many see as a game changer. It is clear that the world is now watching, which will make any future brutality against protesters more difficult to hide. As Kirin Sanpreet states,
"The importance is that the farmer’s plight has caught the attention of 100m followers, and the Indian authorities will have to tread carefully, they will continue to spread propaganda and silence the independent journalists online as well as influencers who are creating social awareness. But they cannot use their old bullish tactics to incite mass murders or genocides as the world is truly watching."
The next step would be for the UN to go beyond a kind reminder for both sides to behave nicely. What is warranted is an investigation in to abuses starting with jail and torture of protesters.
Human rights are just that, an issue of concern for all humans. That is why you will find Sikhs helping those in need wherever they appear, whether it is people stranded after a hurricane, needing supplies after a flood or hungry due to economic upset from coronavirus. Sikhs have always gone out of our way to help those who we don't know or have any prior connection with. It is very heartening to think that we might also receive support (and hopefully at some point a full investigation from the UN) when authorities abuse their power over us.