Songs of Change: Music as a Form of Protest
“Southern trees bearing strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the roots
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees”
These lines date back to 1939, it’s a protest song titled ‘Strange Fruit’ by African-American Jazz singer Billie Holiday. It talks about racism and lynchings during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Music has always played a vital role in times of uncertainty by creating a sense of community, lifting spirits or providing a much-needed distraction. Even in the midst of an existential crisis be it war or pandemic music always uplifts our minds. The power of music can transport the listener into a transcendent, spiritual place through the combination of sounds that make up the music.
Pop culture, especially music, has always been heavily influenced by protests and revolution. Be it Nina Simone and Marvin Gaye in the 60s to Green Day and Hozier, protest and music have always gone hand in hand.
Legacy of protest music had come a long way from human history which involves the Transatlantic slave music, freedom songs, the holocaust music of the ghettos and camps, and Protest songs against CAA-NRC-NPR in India etc. Protest music is music that aims to send social messages and make a change. There are plenty of issues that get addressed through art and music. It may be folk, Classical or commercial genre. Throughout history protest songs have galvanized the oppressed into resisting their oppressors. Martin Luther King once stated that freedom songs serve unity to the movement.
The revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East have been inspired by rap music which they have tried to ban pointing out the potential of political music to make social change. There are a lot of examples of how political music has made a change. Music has been a major component of the American civil rights movement. Bob Dylan’s ‘The time that they are A-changin' is one of the most famous protest songs of the 1960s. ‘Get up stand up is an overt song by Bob Morley who is best known for being the most prominent reggae musician of all time. Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen is a reactionary song against the Vietnam war.
Protest music which played a seminal role in India’s freedom struggle continues to spark crucial discussions today, drawing attention to faces and places that would normally fade with new headlines. The diverse and infinite repertory of revolutionary songs has roused millions of Indians to fight against the colonial Raj in the past and movement songs in the postcolonial era serve as a weapon.
After independence, the freedom found a new sound. Farmer’s movements, Dalit protests, the Free Kashmir agenda, and the Narmada Bachao Andolan have given contemporary protest music the occasion to flourish. Since Pre-independence, cultural activism in India has always been considered one of the most effective tools to mobilize people into making a social change. India provided many examples of protest songs throughout its struggle for freedom from Britain. In more contemporary times, protest music has been a regular feature of movements in India. The Dalit rights movement especially uses music to further its goals.
In 2019, India’s citizenship Law led to a mass protest all over the country. Artists like Varun Grover, Poojan Sahil, Rapper Shaz & Madara joined the cause with their own sonic protest. It has thought-provoking music, often critical of the government’s policies pertaining to citizenship. While rousing poetry continues to resound through protests, these musicians have been able to introduce elements of rock, funk, and rap in their tracks.
Hum Bhi Krantikari, by Park Circus, is a tribute to those on the streets protesting against the government’s policies. Apart from taking aim at the government, the song also brings up tribal rights and women’s emancipation.
In solidarity with the students protesting against the CAA-NRC, Sanda seivom is Tamil-rapper Arivu’s latest work. He draws inspiration from Dr BR Ambedkar’s words — ‘We are Indians, firstly and lastly’ and calls on everyone to save the constitution and stand against any form of discrimination. Hashtag Justice is by Tamil rapper Arivu is a famous protest song which blatantly calls out the abuse of power done by the police force in regard to the custodial death of a father and son, an incident that happened in the town of Santhakulam.
Gaurav Kadu’s composition ‘Bakre Ki Amma’ distils the narrative which questions the policies and steps taken by the central government of India. With demonetization and introduction of GST crippling the economy, scrapping of Article 370 in Kashmir and introduction of the NRC in Assam, the silent support of the majority of Indians allowed the government to do whatever it pleased. It’s a fast-paced guitar song, buoyed by a Latin-style solo, the musician points out that resources are being used to build detention camps, statues and temples rather than roads, schools and colleges.
The song ‘Andolan’, by Naqaab47 and Shoals released during the anti-CAA protests, had become a recognized protest anthem. Coming in the aftermath of the deadly Delhi riots their single ‘Insaaniyat’ questions the humanity of the human race, which should be above religious identity. It calls out the Sangh Parivar and accuses it of inciting riots and points fingers at a police force which is complicit.
Enjoy enjaami is a viral protest song by Dhee and Arivu and is a tribute to Tamil plantation labour. It isn’t a song of resentment but a song of compassion. It is drawn from stories told by a grandmother to her grandson, reminding him to enjoy the bounties of nature and pay homage to their ancestors. The beat is a fusion of oppari, a type of folk song performed at funerals in Tamil Nadu and elements of Afro-Caribbean music and is sung in Tamil. It points out that the issues of land rights and landless labour spark protest across the country and around the world. It combines various streams like rap, folk and pop.
Music can effectively communicate feelings and forge a sense of unity; it can also galvanize people into action. Ska Vengers is popular not only for their music but also for their politically-heavy lyrics on territorial divisions in Kashmir censorship under the current government to human rights abuses in Manipur. Artists like ska spoke through their music and bring political issues to light, there’s another artist, TM Krishna, a Carnatic music vocalist, who has spoken out against caste elitism in Carnatic music. In 2016, Krishna moved away from the mainstream and launched a Carnatic music festival of his own, where he attempted to speak out against the elitism in the Carnatic music industry.
TM Krishna sings ‘Hum Dekhenge’ in four languages at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi. He sang in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada, besides the original Urdu. He stated that the National Anthem of India itself is a great protest song against everything the present government stands for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), NRC (National Register for Citizens) or National Population Register (NPR). It is about the incredible possibility and the idea of India with all its diversity, differences and possibilities.
Each and every day of the Shaheen Bagh's protest was filled with protest music, Shayari and rap. Hoirong’s track ‘Public Property’ is an abrasive punk and metal calling out the government’s deception and religious biases. The Down Troddence’s metal anthem ‘Fight. React. Be a part ‘, released in response to NRC and CAA. The harshness of the heavy metal and the track is complemented perfectly by lyrics focusing on critiquing the government, the track also calls out those that are apolitical or silent. Hara Hara by Street Academics is a song meant for the neutral people, not the ones who are already protesting on the streets and know what is happening.
Many Punjabi singers, including Himmat Sandhu, Jass Bajwa, and Kanwar Grewal, have released songs describing the ongoing farmers’ protest. Written by Harf Cheema and sung by both Cheema and Grewal, ‘Pecha’ has garnered over 30 lakh views on YouTube. The song mentions the differences between Punjab and Delhi, suicides by farmers and the Centre’s “kaliya niti (bad policies)”. Punjabi musicians Babbu Maan, Jass Bajwa, Sidhu Moosewala, R Nait, Himmat Sandu, and Anmol Gagan have also released their own songs praising the fighting spirit of the Punjabis in songs such as ‘Jatta Takda Ho Ja’, ‘Asi Vaddange’, ‘Delhi Aa Punjab Nal Pange Thik Nahi’ and ‘Kisaan vs Rajneeti’.
Shahabaz Aman dedicated a song to the farmer’s protest which has been ongoing in the National capital. He rendered Pachapanamthathe, a song which was written by writer Ponkunnam Damodaran and composed by MS Baburaj. This song has activist roots and an earthy feel in relation to farmers.
Twenty-six-year-old Vedan recently released the Malayalam rap song ‘Vaa”, which calls Dalits and other oppressed communities to come together and stand united against systematic caste oppression. Rap music has been used as an art form to voice out the injustices happening in society, especially among the Black community in the US and in Africa.
