Salman Khan, Asked About Farmers’ Protest, Said This

Salman Khan was asked about the farmers protest at an event in Mumbai. (File)

New Delhi:

Bollywood star Salman Khan walked delicately on Thursday when faced with a question about the farmers’ protests, a day after many of his colleagues led a government-backed pushback against international criticism of authorities in India trying to snuff out the two-month-long movement.

“The right thing should be done. The most correct thing should be done. The most noble thing should be done,” Salman Khan said briefly, responding to a question at the launch of a music show in Mumbai.

The diplomatic statement was the first from any of the three big Khans of Bollywood who have faced growing calls to weigh in on the subject. Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan have not spoken out on the issue yet.

Since late November, thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi’s borders demanding that the three new farm laws, which they say will leave them at the mercy of corporates, be repealed.

The government, which has failed to address their concerns in several rounds of talks, has made efforts to have them removed or have their access to information and supporters cut off in a crackdown that escalated after clashes in Delhi between protesters and the police on Republic Day last month.

The government’s efforts to choke the farmers’ protest – with internet shutdowns, barbed wire, road spikes, concrete walls and a media blockade – have drawn international condemnation following a tweet from US-based pop star Rihanna this week.

In the face of an increasingly vindictive stance against dissent by authorities in India and fanatical supporters of the government on social media prone to threats and obscenities, few public figures have spoken out against the crackdown and many have amplified the government’s stand.

An avalanche of tweets by actors, cricketers, ministers, Indian missions abroad and leaders and supporters of the ruling BJP pushed two government-backed hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda to the top of Twitter trends on Wednesday.