It looks like a star has stood up to the description, which was coincidentally the name of her debut movie-Dabangg. A day after a raft of celebrities led a government-backed pushback against international criticism of authorities in India trying to stifle the two-month-long farmers’ protests, actor Sonakshi Sinha joined the handful of public figures who spoke out against the concerted campaign.

“The voices raised are about the violation of human rights, suppressions of free internet and expression, state propaganda, hate speech and abuse of power,” Sonakshi Sinha posted as an Instagram story.

“Journalists are being harassed. Internet has been banned. Protesters are being vilified through state and media propaganda. Hate speech (desh ke gaddaro ko, goli maro sardaro ko resurfaced) is flourishing. THAT is the issue that’s taken global centre stage,” she wrote.

“To re-iterate, news tonight will try to paint a picture that ‘outside forces’ are trying to meddle in the functioning of our country. Please don’t give in to that narrative. It’s human, standing up for other humans. THAT’S the narrative,” Ms. Sinha added.

Apart from Sonakshi, Richa Chaddha, Tapsee Pannu & Sushant, who had played the role of the revolutionary freedom fighter Sukhdev Thapar, are some of the exceptions who have refused to fall in the line of the government-backed tweet campaign. Sushant had specifically stated in his Tweeter feed that he stands with farmers till the end.

Also Read: Punishment of calling farmers as terrorists- Kangna’s Tweets deleted

Sonakshi Sinha’s post was in response to an avalanche of tweets by actors, cricketers, ministers, Indian missions abroad and leaders and supporters of the ruling BJP that pushed the two government-backed hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda to the top of Twitter trends on Wednesday.

The campaign came amid international condemnation of the government’s efforts to choke the farmers’ protest, with internet shutdowns, barbed wire, road spikes concrete walls, and a media blockade, spurred by a tweet from US-based pop star Rihanna.

Comment of Shatrughan Sinha

Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha on Friday spoke out against the coordinated pushback against international celebrities supporting the two-month-long farmers’ protest, saying that it amounted to interference no more than Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s endorsement of Donald Trump ahead of the US elections. The Congress leader also asked whether the Indian celebrities who led the government-backed social media campaign against tweets by the likes of US-based pop star Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg felt compelled to join the drive.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi’s borders for over two months demanding that the three new farm-laws, which they say will leave them at the mercy of corporates, be repealed.

The government has challenged the view and made efforts to have them removed or have their access to information and supporters cut off.