Bengali artists' music video against 'ideology of hate' goes viral

"You have dared to spread far and wide
Like an infectious pandemic,
You have tested my patience,
Exhausted every bit of it.
Not a word, not a word from you anymore,
We know well enough,
What is best for us, we will decide.
I am not going anywhere,
I will reside in my motherland."

The above are a few opening lines of the music video titled 'Nijeder Mawte, Nijeder Gaan' or "Our song, about our views". The music video, released on Wednesday on the Youtube channel Citizens United, is a joint effort by several artists and musicians against the 'ideology of hate' that has spread across the country. Released just three days before phase one of the West Bengal Assembly elections, the song has already garnered over 5 lakh views.

Penned by the theatre artist and actor Anirban Bhattacharya and composed by Subhadeep Guha, the song talks of the 'pandemic of hatred and corruption' in the nation. It further warns the people to not be 'blinded by the fakeness' under which truth suffers. The video message is directed by Riddhi Sen and Rwitobroto Mukherjee and features artists including Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Rudraprasad Sengupta, Anirban Bhattacharya, Anupam Roy, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Rupankar Bagchi, and Suman Mukhopadhyay, among others. Though the lyrics do not explicitly name any political organization, the 6-minutes-long video and the song makes clear indications to the BJP and its parent organization, the RSS. The song also includes verses from the revolutionary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz's 'Hum Dekhenge' and reiterates the need to uphold BR Ambedkar's constitution in these difficult times.

The video message throws light on the various rights violations in the past few years, including demonetization, the Babri Masjid demolition case verdict, violence against Dalits, CAA-NRC, violence against women, rising fuel prices, falling GDP, injustice meted out to victims of sexual violence and gender minorities, etc.