US-based South Asian affairs analyst and author Pieter Friedrich, whose name has cropped up in the 'toolkit' case, has claimed that he had nothing to do with it.

Pieter Friedrich, one of the several influencers accused of drafting and promoting the toolkit to support the farmers’ protest on the international stage, has claimed that he played no role in it. The 'toolkit', which had the detailed plan of action for amplifying farmers’ protests and listed a number of social media handles to be followed, is now being probed by Delhi Police in connection with the tractor rally violence on Republic Day. In a statement, issued on Tuesday, US-based South Asian affairs analyst and author Pieter Friedrich said that it would have been his honour to plan the farmers’ protest toolkit, but he had nothing to do with it. “It would have been an honor to have planned the hashtags and the overall “Toolkit” for the Farmers Protest, being as I stand with all peaceful protestors around the world in their struggle against totalitarianism, and particularly with Indians. Yet, I had nothing to do with it.....,” his statement said. Pieter Friedrich also quoted former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram and said that “India is becoming the theatre of the absurd”. “The entire incident, however, merely illustrated the truth of what former Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram recently noted, “India is becoming the theatre of the absurd and it is sad that the Delhi police have become a tool of the oppressors.” It’s laughable that the entire world today — from a white Christian writer like myself to a Black Barbadian singer like Rihanna — are labeled as supporters of a fictitious Sikh separatist state,” he said.

Who is Pieter Friedrich?

Pieter Friedrich's name first grabbed headlines in India on Monday when Delhi Police Cyber Cell said that he was among those being probed in the toolkit case. On Monday, DCP (Cyber Cell) Manishi Chandra said Friedrich is an active proponent of Khalistan and has been on the radar of security agencies since 2006. “Pieter Friedrich has been on the radar of Indian security establishment since late 2006 when he was noticed in the company Bhajan Singh Bhinder alias Iqbal Choudhury,” Chandra said. Bhinder is associated with the K2 (Kashmir-Khalistan) desk of Pakistan’s spy agency ISI. Author of the book “Saffron Fascists: India’s Hindu Nationalist Rulers”, Pieter Friedrich has been a vocal critic of the Modi government on social media. “If you’re on Twitter in India, and you post against RSS, BJP, or Modi, you might be targeted. That’s a reality. What do you do with it? Make your account private? Delete it? Keep going?” reads one of his widely shared tweets. Read More: The oddity of cult books Source: India Today