Indians troll Priyanka for tweet calling U.S. her second home

Photo www.bollywoodhungama.com via Wikimedia Commons

A wave of ultranationalism sweeping India has found its latest target in a twitter message by popular actress Priyanka Chopra – her crime just wishing America a Happy Independence Day in a goodwill message.

The Baywatch star and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador has since been criticized by many Indian twitter users for calling the United States her second home.

Priyanka, who studied in the United States, and has starred in several hit productions including ABC’s Quantico, is a 2000 Miss World contest winner and an international sensation. She is one of the highest paid Indian actresses and winner of many awards.

So, it was natural for the popular actress to wish Americans a Happy Fourth of July in a tweet:

But the Indian nationalists – many of whom have been emboldened by BJP prime minister Narendra Modi’s rise to power – would have none of it.  Although the tweet has had more than 5000 likes and hundreds of shares by Priyanka’s Indian and international admirers and fans, several users of the social media platform pounced upon the message as some sort of wrongdoing.

Another tweet suggested that Priyanak leave India.

While nationalism has been a theme in Indian political discourse for a long time, it has become virulent in recent years. In an environment, where secular ideals have been pushed back, people espousing extreme forms of patriotism and nationalism have become louder in their condemnations of anything slightly suggesting a lack of or going against their form of patriotism.

Indian secularism has been hit hard by the populist politics of prime minister Narendra Modi, who has built a strongman image to lead India as a major regional power. Journalists and intellectuals like internationally acclaimed author Arundhati Roy, who criticize Indian state policies like repression of Dalits and Kashmiris are subjected to abusive attacks and threats.

The wave of nationalism has been fueled by many factors. But a large number of activists belonging to militant organization RSS, who seek Hindu domination to the exclusion of India’s diverse communities, are at the forefront of provoking such nationalist feelings.