Swedish teenage environment activist Greta Thunberg has denounced criticism of western celebrity support for the Indian farmers' protests as "hate".
The young green campaigner said on Friday that “no amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights” would stop her supporting the marches and blockades that have shaken the capital New Delhi and now threaten to shut down the country.
Thunberg, Rihanna, Harris and Khalifa were burned in effigy in Delhi on Thursday by members of the United Hindu Front, while police in the Indian capital were investigating a protest "toolkit" Thunberg posted online that authorities suspect is linked to the Sikh separatist Khalistan movement.
The document claims to “enable anyone unfamiliar with the ongoing farmers protests in India to better understand the situation and make decisions on how to support the farmers based on their own analysis.”
Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar warned Westerners not to interfere in India's internal affairs on Wednesday, insisting: "India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised."
The recent upsurge in unrest in the past two weeks — over new agricultural legislation passed last year with the support of Hindu nationalist BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi — has brought the death toll to more than 150 protesters.