KK Baburaj
‘What do I gain
If I remain humble
No one in the world
Cares for silence
No one benefits a thing
From the burden of shame of one’s deeds
I spoke to the lord
Fearlessly, daring, on the face
And came his reply.
Thuka(ram) says
When you speak to the power
Speak unwaveringly’
The publication, Mooknayak (Leader of the Voiceless), was started by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in 1920. In the first issue, these lines of Thukaram were added as a preface. When the voiceless speak to power, speak to the face. History demands to do so.
For over a month, the rap singer Vedan has been the focus of discussions on social media and other media. The police arrested him from a flat after finding 6 grams of cannabis in the room where he was, along with nine members of his team. It was a case where the police could release him on a station bail. But, intending to trap him, the police, in collusion with the forest department, labelled serious charges, including animal hunting, due to the tiger tooth he was wearing on his neck, and sent him to jail. Strong protests arose from the public, who cited the government’s interference in halting all legal actions against a prominent actor facing charges for possessing elephant tusks at home. It was pointed out that the government was playing double standards and was showing racial discrimination against Vedan. Not only the fans but a large section of Dalit Bahujans and the cultural activists of both the ruling and the opposition parties came forward in support of Vedan. As a result, the government stopped all legal actions against him and transferred a forest official.
In Kerala, the government is facing strong criticism for the increasing spread of drugs. At the same time, questions were raised that there was a conspiracy behind Vedan’s arrest, rather than it being a natural action against drug use.
In recent years, several new filmmakers have emerged in Kozhikode and Kochi, altering the traditional trajectory of mainstream cinema in Kerala. They produced themes that contradicted upper-caste idealism and imageries, reconfigured the concepts of heroine and hero, and cast glimpses into the marginalised lives.
The mainstream cinema makers launched a counterpropaganda campaign to deflect the annoyances caused by this group, claiming that these activists were using drugs and promoting its use. To malign these filmmakers, they labelled them as ‘Mattancherry mafia’.
This word has a specific undertone. Mattancherry is a suburb of the city of Kochi, largely inhabited by workers, the Dalit Bahujans, and the Muslim minority. There have been many mainstream films depicting goons and drug dealers roaming in this area, defying the civil authorities. Such narratives that denounce the filmmakers as Mattancherry mafia and those from Kozhikode and Malappuram as advocates of identity politics are, in effect, denigrating the people who live in those areas as well. It does not seem to be a coincidence that some of the above-mentioned film workers who stood by Vedan were also arrested in the name of cannabis hunting.
Along with this, it is worth noting the impact that rappers have made on the mainstream film music industry and classical music. The influence of various global music trends that have spread among the youth of Kerala is so deep that they have almost discarded the traditional music produced here. Consequently, the youth hold many Malayalam rappers in high regard and show them great respect. The incredible number of people flocking to the music shows of rappers is something beyond what the elite can bear.
In this context, Vedan, aka Hirandas Murali, is a rapper who has attracted huge fan followings with his excellent poetry writing, perfect musical sense, and brilliant stage delivery. Rap as a unique genre of music was developed in the 70s by artists who came from the urban outskirts of America, inhabited by Afro-Americans and immigrants such as Latinos. Rap music inherently carries the elements of anti-establishment, anti-discrimination, and the outcry for equality and justice. At the same time, rap is not just a marginalised musical genre. There are many world-famous superstars and Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award winners among rappers. Vedan’s songs also contain the above-mentioned anti-establishment and subaltern spiritual rhythms.
The controversy surrounding Vedan, who emerged from the Dalit community and became a popular star in a short period with his language and imagination that go against conservative values, is believed to be the reason behind the controversies that have engulfed him. In the initial days of Vedan’s arrest, many progressive thinkers in Kerala sided with the elites. This is because Vedan, who generally expresses Ambedkar’s social ideas through platforms, is viewed through the lens of fundamentalist ideology. However, when Hindutva and Sanatana activists came forward against Vedan, the discourse took on another form, that of Hindutva cultural purism.
Cultural purism is not just about binaries such as ‘good and bad’ or ‘reactionary and progressive’ that are formed in the realm of art and culture. That is precisely Hitlerism. When Hitler came to power in Germany, he implemented the policy of burning books. He banned jazz music, calling it ‘Negro music’. He revived the artistic forms of ancient Rome and the classical art of the German elite and called for patriotism and Aryan pride.
Like Hitlerism, the Sanathana Hindus glorify Brahminism, which instils a deep-seated hatred against ‘others’. It openly declared its plan to crush the visibility of ‘others’. The Hindutva regime, which has been in power for the last 11 years, has implemented several programs that destroy the diversity of India and erase the cultural streams of Dalit Bahujans and the minority communities.
It’s based on this supremacy that these people portray Vedan, who sings about the caste system, social inequalities, and divisions, as a separatist who is destroying the Hindu samajam. Graded inequality is intrinsic to Hindu society, and the texts of Hindutva upheld this. The governments, over which the Brahmins held considerable power, have consistently supported this. The Hindutva ideologues suppress this truth and argue that the caste system was introduced by colonial rule. So, the attack on Vedan is not an isolated event, but it has links to the Hindutva propaganda at the national level.
A demand made by these individuals is that Dalit public figures, such as Vedan, should be limited to performing pre-modern artistic expressions that depict rituals and caste occupations. This means relegating the lower castes and tribals to prehistoric times and denying them a presence in modern society.
Another allegation is that Vedan is being manipulated by jihadists or foreign powers. Vedan, in his poems, often mentions the genocide in Palestine, the violence against minorities in countries including China, hatred towards immigrants, refugee issues, and the exploitation of nature. Depicting him as someone else’s puppet based on such things is another face of cultural purism. Hitlerism and Hindutva have consistently criticized ‘others’ as elements that introduce cultural epidemics from foreign countries into our nation.
Cultural purists are aware that all the accusations levelled against Vedan are mere fabrications. What they worry about is the political and cultural implications of the ideals of mythri and fraternity based on the Buddhist-Ambedkarite ideologies that Vedan infuses into the minds of his audiences and admirers, and the society at large.
It is undeniable that many people are deeply concerned about Vedan’s rise from the margins, his unique imagination, and his present-day enlightened vision and perspective, which even his opponents find astounding.
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This article was originally published in the Madhyamam newspaper.
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KK Baburaj is a writer, social critic and Dalit activist based in Kerala.
This article was translated from Malayalam by JM Jayachandran.
