The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), does not take kindly to criticism, whether it comes from the citizens they are meant to serve, from the media, from opposition parties, or even from global celebrities.

Sometimes this brittleness borders on the ridiculous, as when the Ministry of External Affairs took it upon itself this week to issue a press release denouncing the “sensationalist comments” about the ongoing farmers’ protests in India made by foreign “celebrities and others” — referring, it seems, largely to Rihanna. On Tuesday, the pop star tweeted, “Why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest” and linked to a CNN story about the massive, ongoing demonstrations.

But more often, the government’s response to dissent takes more serious, repressive forms — as in the recent filing of sedition charges against senior journalists writing about the farmers’ protests, the arrest of a young reporter investigating BJP involvement in violent attacks against protesters, and the filing of criminal cases against protest leaders. In recent days, the government has shut down internet service in areas where protesters are gathered, convinced Twitter to temporarily suspend the accounts of many protest supporters, and started constructing ominous nail-and-concrete barricades to keep demonstrators out of Delhi, the national capital.