Songs of ‘resistance’ and ‘revolution’ on YouTube had served as a ripe breeding ground for falsities to be spread regarding the farm reforms since the early days of the agitation in Punjab. With the farm laws now rolled back, these singers and music labels have been emboldened. Songs of revolution which they produced are being given much credit for enthusing the protesting youth against the laws. However, the Khalistani undertones of such music have not been talked about. The ‘Fer Dekhange’ fiasco has brought this issue to the limelight.
In the animated video of the Punjabi song ‘Fer Dekhange’, Jatts are seen blocking Prime Minister Modi’s convoy and singling out the Prime Minister. They surround him while being armed with sticks. What happens next is anybody’s guess.
Many Punjabi singers, who were hardly having a flourishing career, have taken to releasing a series of anti-government and anti-reform songs, based almost entirely on caste supremacy. This helped galvanise jatt support not only in Punjab against the reforms but also in Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Khalistani Songs on YouTube
The biggest problem with the Punjabi music industry today is the Khalistani undertones that have crept into it. Sidhu Moosewala released a song called ‘Panjab’ at the height of the farmers’ agitation, in which he made it clear that he supported Khalistan. The song was toxic and disregarded the very idea of India. The lyrics played around with the idea of sovereignty for Sikhs.
A song named ‘ELAAN’ by Ahmer and Prabh Deep pretty much pushed for freedom for Kashmir. It was a hateful song directed against India and its current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Although the singers tried cloaking themselves as Communist and revolutionary prisoners – their hatred for India was hardly hidden.
Another song Punjabi named ‘KAALI’ by a channel named ‘Ak47 Wale’ promoted violence against opponents of Khalistan. There were ample graphics of Khalistanis shooting into the atmosphere, at targets which remained hidden – except in the case of Indira Gandhi. The song promoted the idea of Khalistan and was an attempt to motivate the youth of Punjab to pick up weapons against India. Not to mention, the promotion of gun culture – accompanied with visuals of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was nauseating.
Sophia Jamil took her hatred beyond any comprehension. Her Punjabi song, named ‘Khalistan – The Solution’ was less of music production and more of a source for comic relief. Facetious ideas of Sikh persecution, oppression and the rise of fascism in India were used by the woman to make a case for Khalistan. Sophia Jamil seems to be anything but a Sikh. She can be a Christian – going by her first name, or a Muslim if one was to consider her surname. Why she is talking about Khalistan is beyond human understanding.
‘Ailaan‘, a track by Punjabi singer Kanwar Grewal and Himmat Sandhu’s ‘Asi Vaddange‘ were removed from video-sharing app YouTube after legal complaints were reportedly filed against the videos by the Government of India, which found these songs to be promoting violence. While Kanwar Grewal’s ‘Ailaan’ had garnered over 1 crore views at the time of deletion, Himmat Sandhu’s ‘Asi Vaddange’ was viewed 13 million times.
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Another song bordering on lines of support for Khalistan is Jazzy B’s Punjabi song ‘Teer Punjab Ton’ or ‘Arrow from Punjab’. In the video of the said song, Jazzy B is seen singing aggressively to incite inflammatory sentiments among the ‘farmers’. Just like all other ‘revolutionary’ songs doing the rounds on YouTube, the song ‘Teer Punjab Ton’ also projects Delhi as a demonic entity, which has historically subverted, subjugated and dictated Punjab.
In the song, Jazzy B spat the lyrics, “Saf Hone Tehto Kidrey , Khoon Khol Gy Tateh, Godi Teri Patani Bodi, Ghal Vich Pa Ke Parna,”, which translates to “How can you clear us up (protest sites) when the hot blood (of farmers/jatts) has boiled?”
So, when Punjabi songs are weaponised with lyrics of Jatt supremacy and are then used to fuel anger against the Modi government, ‘Dilli’ and Hindus in general, one must realise that the motive is one alone – to fan pro-Khalistan sentiments among the listeners. The Modi government needs to crack down on this industry and decimate its financers immediately.