Punjabi Singers and Music

[13Mirch]

BEYOND THE CRESCENDO

 

Punjabi Media and the Sensationalizing of Current Issues.

(At Tisarpanth we encourage our readers to contribute their own articles to our site. Below is an article written by Satpal Kaur, of Germany, who is currently studying the role of the modern media in augmenting political narratives vis-a-vis state policy. Having observed  the Punjabi media, particularly the musical facet, since the past ten years she shares some of her observations on the lack of responsibility among Punjabi singers).  

In early 2013 Punjabi pop-star Jazzy B released his controversial track Baaghi. Intended to aid the tendentious film Sadda Haq– an alleged biography of several Babbar Khalsa International operatives- Baaghi generated swift responses. Sikh hardliners praised its perspicuous underscoring of the Sikh militancy- promulgated as being the modern Indian state’s most decisive challenge in the late twentieth century- whilst conservatives castigated Baaghi’s subtle undercurrent of anti-nationalistic sentiment, and demanded stringent measures be invoked against the media’s sensationalizing of secessionist glorification. Whilst Pundits elaborated upon how Sikh separatism-crystallizing in the 80’s, subsidizing in the 90’s- carved a niche for itself in the community’s collective memory (ergo its celebration in certain sections of the Punjabi media), Sikh intellectuals were faced with a more pressing dilemma:

What parameters define the responsibility of Punjabi superstars who, as the self-proclaimed prophets of Punjabi culturalism, utilize an amalgamation of inimical cultural facets and Sikh iconography to line their own pockets?

Let me paraphrase more succinctly, are these superstars- who sensationalize current sociopolitical issues confronting the Sikhs- cognizant of the responsibility which comes with their status as current cultural figureheads given that they themselves claim affiliation with Sikhi? Given Punjab’s recent history- separatism, proliferation of drugs, communal clashes- Punjabi singers and other media personalities have only recently awakened to the profiteering potentials which can be generated in the name of spreading awareness. This is not to say that genuine efforts are absent in conveying the trauma which the state has weathered since independence- these, ironically, are few and far between (Sadda Haq generated a plethora of facsimiles with Punjab 1984 and Gadar being the most prominent), whilst entrepreneurial ventures outdo themselves in (to ingeminate myself) spreading awareness.

Baaghi, unashamedly brandied as an aid to Sadda Haq, was soon forgotten as Jazzy B’s next track regressed to the archetypal objectification of women and the bruaah culture of Punjab- read alcoholism, machismo and misogyny. The effect was instantaneous, the common sentiment asserted that Baaghi had only been a callous cash-in attempt and nothing more. The damage, however, was evident. A proportion of the Sikh diaspora’s youth had already conflated the chand-toora dumalla adorning Jazzy with his subsequent avatar, the American rap-star emulating Punjabi. In a society where ankh– pride- is a pontificate element, one is forced to wonder what variation of the concept is produced in young minds when the nobility of Sikh martiality is amalgamated with the aimless bellicosity of Punjabi tribalism. Is the Sikh one who adorns the exteriority of the faith to underscore past hurts whilst reverting to cultural malaise otherwise? Only the soothsayers of spreading awareness can answer this query. 

Whether it be B’s Baaghi; Maan’s Punjab; Harpal’s Nashe or Dosanjh’s Gobind De Laal-to name a few- each and every track retains a ring of hypocrisy. Naturally, diehard fans will contend that these songs are bringing both singer and listener closer to Sikhi (one is forced to wonder what happens when these same fans listen to songs lionizing radical androcentrism, sexism and substance abuse) yet there is a far more profound reality here which needs to be comprehended fully. These pop-stars ply their trade in two opposing spectra. On one hand we have the popular, allegedly progressive spectrum which (in the words of one UK Sikh “leader”) consists of modernizing the Sikh identity to conform to Western perspectives (the elimination of the five kakkars; the erasure of the Sui generis ceremonies venerating the Adi Guru Granth Sahib Ji; the casting of the Gurus in a more Christ-like capacity etc); whilst the other stalwartly declares the distinctiveness of Sikhi and it’s sociopolitical ingenuity (Miri-Piri). When the progressives start displaying signs of fatigue, our pop-star brethren swiftly adopt the veneer of religiosity and start smashing out either Khalistani or religious ballads to assuage the more orthodox Sikhs and their respective spectrum. This oscillation between belief and business has naturally produced a polar binarism between what these media personalities preach and practice. The price of fame, in Punjab, it seems is to imbibe hypocrisy.     

The cultural appropriation of Sikhi, and it’s amalgamation with cultural negativity, has produced ingenious atrocities which have conflated Sikhi with being Punjabi. The crisis, created therefore, has been exacerbated to the extant that even in Western countries turban-wearing Sikhs are greeted with balle balle and Bhangra steps which disparages both the beliefs and history of the Sikhs. Given Bollywood’s, the Indian film industry’s, negative role in stereotyping Sikhs as zombie-like cannon-fodder; buffoons or even rapists it is only natural that it receive flak from the community. Closer to home, though, the Punjabi media has also betrayed the community by glorifying otherwise kitsch stereotypes of all (with all being the operative term here) orthodox Sikhs being alcoholics, womanizers and even cons (Once Upon a Time in Amritsar). Another classical trend, first perceived in the early 80’s, was the so-called Jat effect. The policies of the Akali-Dal posited the Jats, Caste-wise, above all other marginal groups whose members had converted to Sikhi. The effect, naturally, spilled over to the media with crass films being produced under nomenclatures such as Putt Jattan De (lit. sons of Jats); Badla Jatti Da (lit. revenge of the Jat’s female); Dhi Jatt Di (lit. Daughter of the Jat) and the archetypal Ankh Jattan Di (lit. the Pride of the Jats). Exacerbating Punjab’s regressive Caste schisms, the Jat effect substituted the Sikh identity for the Jat identity until both became synonymous. Shameless scholars went a step further; ‘without the Jats,’ they argued, ‘Sikhiwould have never existed.’ When Bollywood’s cliched A Flying Jat was released, Sikh groups lobbied political bodies to either censor the film or altogether suppress it. Impartiality, however, was lacking as closer to home films such as Jat & Juliet, Jat Airways et al are accepted without even a singe cry of dissent being voiced. It is only when concepts such as Putt Chamaran De (lit. sons of tanners- tanners being inferior to Jats in Caste composition); Killer Chamar or Ankh Chamaran Di crystallize is a hue and cry raised over the dissection of Sikhi or the classic positing of one community above another in an otherwise equivocal faith. 

Does the media reflect reality or construct reality? The Sikh worldview mitigates this question by propounding that society’s true collective responsibility is to keep itself on track. The media, effectively, has it’s own part to play in this process. It is easy to highlight the so-called good life and/or other concepts glorified by the Punjabi media. But wouldn’t it be more satisfying, and conducive, to highlight the economic disparity between Castes professing Sikhiand where the faith’s leadership has failed that such a divide exists? If we go by Sikh standards, the media neither constructs nor reflects. It only highlights and proposes. It is high time that strategies be manifested and implemented to arraign the societal despondency which the atrophied Punjabi media has created. Furthermore, efforts should be channeled towards rejuvenating our cultural/religious exposure in the global village without having to resort to oscillation between sheer hypocrisy and spiritualism from one day to another. 

Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh.

(The views and opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily shared by Tisarpanth). 

 

https://tisarpanthdotcom.wordpress.com/2018/07/21/beyond-the-crescendo/

[Guest]

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[13Mirch]

1 hour ago, Singh123456777 said:

Sidhu moosewala ftw

Na, Cheema Saletiyaan Wala beats them all.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, 13Mirch said:

Na, Cheema Saletiyaan Wala beats them all.

Loool