Dalit music or Bahujan music is music created, produced, or inspired by Bahujans and Dalits, people often discriminated against on the basis of caste, [1] including Dalit rock, [2] Bhim rap [3] and Dalit pop [4] as well as the music genres of the Ravidasis, including Chamar pop, [5] Bhim Palana, [6] Bhim geet [7] and Punjabi Ambedkarite music. [8]
Music is a monumental part of Dalits as it is expression of their protest, folk tales and assertion. In Maharashtra, Dalit shahirs the singers and writers mostly creating content of Ambedkarite ideology and against caste oppression. [9] [10] [11]
In Nepal, Dalit musicians are known as Naumati Baaja musicians. [12] In Punjab, Chamar pop movement was started by Kanshi Ram to popularize the BAMCEF launched in 1978. [13] In Tamil Nadu, Parais are used by dalits to express through music. [14]
Bhangra is a type of non-traditional music of Punjab originating in Britain, specifically Southall and Birmingham. It is a type of upbeat popular music associated with the Punjabi diaspora in Britain. The style has its origins in the folk music of Punjab as well as western pop music of the 1970s and 1980s. Prior to this musical fusion, Bhangra existed only as a dance form in the native Punjab. This Punjabi music was unique in that it was not traditional nor did it seek any authenticity. While the traditional folk music of Punjab has a set of melodies that are used by various singers, Bhangra was a form of strict "band culture" in that new melodies were composed for each song. Therefore, the musicians were as important as the singers.
Jawahar Wattal is an Indian cultural entrepreneur, music director and producer, best known for being a pioneer in the Indian non-filmi music field and for shifting the focus of the industry to Delhi. He has worked with singers Baba Sehgal and Daler Mehndi in the 1990s. Over the years he has composed 3,000 jingles, given music for television series like, The World This Week, Himalaya Darshan and Ru Ba Ru, besides he has composed 73 music albums out of which 19 have gone multi-platinum.
Amar Singh Chamkila was an Indian singer and musician of Punjabi music. Chamkila's vivid language, high-pitched vocals, and novel compositions accompanied by tumbi made him popular. His music was influenced by the Punjabi village life in which he grew up. On 8 March 1988, at the height of his popularity, Chamkila and his second wife Amarjot were killed along with two members of their band in an assassination which remains unsolved.
The tumbi or toombi, also called a tumba or toomba, is a traditional musical instrument from the Punjab region of the northern Indian subcontinent. The high-pitched, single-string plucking instrument is associated with folk music of Punjab and presently very popular in Western Bhangra music.
Chamar is a Dalit community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. They are found throughout the Indian subcontinent, mainly in the northern states of India and in Pakistan and Nepal.
Ravidassia or the Ravidas Panth is a religion based on the teachings of Guru Ravidas. It was considered a sect within Sikhism until 2009. However, some Ravidassias continue to maintain Sikh religious practices, including the reverence of the Guru Granth Sahib as their focal religious text, wearing Sikh articles of faith (5Ks), and appending Singh or Kaur to their names.
Ginni is a given name, often a short version of Virginia; it may refer to the following notable people:
Jai Bhim Comrade is a 2011 Indian documentary film directed by Anand Patwardhan. The film begins with a description of police violence in the 1997 Ramabai killings. It goes on to explore various aspects of the lives and politics of Dalit people in Mumbai. The film took 14 years to produce, and was released in 2011 after the conclusion of the court trials that followed the Ramabai incident. The film was widely shown both nationally and internationally, and received an overwhelmingly positive reaction. It has won numerous national and international awards.
Prahlad Bhagvanrao Shinde , was a Marathi singer from Maharashtra. He was famous for devotional songs, Ambedkarite songs, and Qawwalis.
Sufism has played a major role in the history of Punjab. West Punjab is heavily influenced by Sufi Saints and major Sufi Pirs. The partition in 1947 led to the almost complete departure of Muslims from East Punjab. The Sufi shrines in the region continue to thrive, particularly among so-called ‘low’ caste Dalits that constitutes more than 30% of its population. After the partition the Dalit community took over the care of Sufi shrines in the East Punjab.
Ginni Mahi is an Indian Punjabi folk, rap and hip-hop singer hailing from Jalandhar, Punjab, India. She became famous with her songs Fan Baba Sahib Di and Danger Chamar that went viral on social media. She attended the Global Media Forum in Germany, where she was dubbed as a Young Voice in Equality and Freedom, for speaking up against flogging.
The Bhim Army, alternatively Bheem Army or the Bheem Army Bharat Ekta Mission is an Ambedkarite and Dalit rights organisation in India. It was founded by Satish Kumar, Vinay Ratan Singh and Chandra Shekhar Aazad in 2015. The organisation runs more than 350 free schools for Dalits and Bahujans in the districts of Saharanpur, Meerut, Shamli and Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh. The organisation is named after B. R. Ambedkar.
Adarsh Anand Shinde is an Indian playback singer. He records Ambedkarite songs and Marathi language film songs.
The Casteless Collective is an Indian indie band based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The band was formed in 2017, with support from the Neelam Panpaatu Maiyam started by filmmaker Pa. Ranjith and filmmaker and film composer Tenma, founder of the label Madras Records.
Bhim Sena or Bheem Sena or Akhil Bhartiya Bhim Sena, abbreviated as ABBS, lit."All India Ambedkar Army", is an Ambedkarite social organization working for rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and religious minorities in India currently under national president, Nawab Satpal Tanwar. It works for protecting the Indian Constitution and reservation. The organisation is named after B. R. Ambedkar. Seema Chauhan is PRO of Bhim Sena.
Satpal Tanwar is an Indian social activist, and the founder & National President of Bhim Sena.
Ambedkarism is called as the teaching, ideology or philosophy of B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian economist, barrister, social reformer, and the first of Minister of Law and Justice in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru. Ambedkarism includes special focus on subjects such as fraternity, democracy, communal electorates, conversion out of Hinduism, political power, rule of law, Navayana, among others. An Ambedkarite is one who follows the philosophy of Ambedkar. Icons of Ambedkarite ideology also include Periyar, Jyotirao Phule and others.
Shilpkar are an artisan community mainly associated with Intaglio techniques and painting. They are largest among Scheduled Caste communities of Uttarakhand.
Jagdish Mahto was an Indian communist activist. He was a naxal leader who led the 1970 Bhojpur uprising in the landlord-dominated Bhojpur region of Bihar. He was a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist), an organisation which was leading the Naxalite insurgency against the Government of India. He also fought against the upper-caste landlords for the cause of lower-caste people. Mahto, also called Master Saheb, was a member of the Bihar State Committee of CPI(M–L) and one of the founding leaders of the party in Bhojpur.