鈥楶atriotism pop鈥 is rocking a strife-torn Kashmir
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The music videos began appearing on social media within hours of the announcement by India鈥檚 Hindu-led nationalist government that it was stripping statehood from the disputed region of Kashmir that had been in place for decades.
The songs delivered a message to India鈥檚 250 million YouTube users about moving to the Muslim-majority region, buying land there and marrying Kashmiri women.
It鈥檚 the latest example of a growing genre in India known as 鈥減atriotism pop鈥 鈥 songs flooding social media about nationalism and the country鈥檚 burgeoning right-wing ideology.
Earlier songs were limited to the rise of Hindus in India, defeating rival Pakistan and hoisting the Indian flag in every household.
Now, they include settling in Kashmir 鈥 a rugged and beautiful Himalayan region claimed by both Pakistan and India, although both countries control only a portion of it.
On August 5, India鈥檚 Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked Kashmir鈥檚 decades-old special status that was guaranteed under Article 370 of India鈥檚 Constitution and sent thousands of troops to the region. The move has touched off anger in the Indian-controlled region, which has been under a security lockdown that has seen thousands detained to prevent protests there.
One of Modi鈥檚 revisions allows anyone to buy land in the territory, which some Kashmiris fear could mean an influx of Hindus who would change the region鈥檚 culture and demographics.
The patriotic songs are mostly shared on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and the fast-growing app TikTok, which in June had about 120 million active users in India. Despite their low production values, poorly matched lip-synching and repetitive techno beat, many of these soundtracks have gotten millions of hits on YouTube.
The songs are a hit among youthful followers in the northern and eastern parts of India and their creators don鈥檛 seem to be stopping anytime soon.
Nitesh Singh Nirmal identifies himself as a producer, songwriter and composer for his Rang Music studios in the eastern state of Bihar. A Modi admirer, Nirmal claims to be the first to produce a soundtrack on the revocation of Kashmir鈥檚 statehood, completing it in three hours.
The song, 鈥淒hara 370,鈥 or 鈥淎rticle 370,鈥 starts with visuals of an Indian flag fluttering atop New Delhi鈥檚 famous Red Fort, followed by old footage of Modi from a previous Independence Day ceremony.
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