Kisan Anthem to Bella Ciao-Wapas Jao, singers and artists support farmers protest

Popular Punjabi singers Diljit Dosanjh, Gippy Grewal, and Jazzy B, among others, have come out in support of the farmers’ protest against the new farm laws. The singers have also composed new songs about the protest, the latest being Kisan Anthem, sung by 10 popular Punjabi singers.

The song, which is trending on YouTube, was sung by artists such as Manpreet Aulakh, Jas Bajwa, Nishwan Bhullar, Jordan Sandhu, Dilpreet, Dhillon, Faizalpuria, DJ Flow, Afsana Khan, Mr Barrar, and Bobby Sandhu. With massive social media followings, the singers have voiced their support for the farmers with slogans like ‘No Farmer, No Food’ and urged the government to sort out farmer issues, saying ‘Farmers are our Backbone’.

Punjabi folk song writers have also been coming out with new protest songs daily to support the farmers. They are also attracting singers and musicians from other regional languages too. Nityanand Jayaram, a freelance journalist based in Chennai, composed a song for Tamil and Punjabi audiences. He said the idea was to extend solidarity to the farmers’ struggle.

As such, Poojan Sahil released the Punjabi version of the popular Italian protest folk song Bella Ciao as Farm Laws Wapas Jao. The Italian protest folk song originated in the late 19th century and was sung by workers protesting harsh working conditions in the paddy fields of Northern Italy. The Punjabi version goes something like… Asan nikale han, Chad sari fikran, gaande han ye zalim wapas jao jai, mitti de kan kan vichon hai aundi he hi gooni (we are out, have left fears away and are singing go back, go back…this voice is coming from every fragment of the soil).

Also Read: Rajnath Singh urges farmers to try new farm laws as “experiment”

Natasha Badhwar, the creative producer of the music video Bella Ciao-Wapas Jao, said the song is an effort by artistes and activists to take the struggle of farmers protesting on the borders of Delhi to a wider audience. The video shows a montage of farmers protesting at the Singhu border, shot by the people’s campaign group Karwan-e-Mohabbat.