Tiranga my identity, Hindustan my country: Kashmiri rappers set internet on fire with rap song

PTI, Dec 9, 2023, 9:26 AM IST

Srinagar: Two rappers from Kashmir have taken the musical route to highlight the “transformation” of the valley following the abrogation of Article 370 that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The video of the rap song Badalta Kashmir has become a hit on social media, garnering over two million views.

The over three-minute-long song is by the rappers Raasiq Sheikh (MC Raa) and Humaira (8MR). It was released on Youtube on December 3.

Those who have shared the song include Corps Commander of the Srinagar-based 15 or Chinar Corps, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai.

“Good to see this… The young here are remarkably talented and music has always resonated in Kashmir… Power to the youth,” Ghai said in a post on X.

The track highlights the positive transformation in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. The song also talks about religious inclusiveness and freedom of girls to wear the clothes they like. It also references tourist seasons, the Amarnath yatra, Srinagar Smart City and Digital revolution.

The youngsters sing about how people in the valley were proud to be Indian. “Tiranga is in my heart, it is my identity, Hindustan is my country,” the lyrics read. The idea of the song, Sheikh said, came after observing the changed situation and development in the valley.

“Every hip-hop artist observes things minutely. I saw the transformation in Kashmir like smart-city, G20, and other developments, and that was my inspiration. I wanted to vent my feelings,” Sheikh, a resident of south Kashmir’s Shopian, told PTI.

Sheikh, who works with an IT firm, said it did not take much time to write lyrics. Sheikh approached Humaira, who is from Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, to be a part of the song.

“I did not expect it to garner millions of views,” the rapper said about the popularity of the song.

“About 90 per cent of the viewers have loved the song and their comments are positive. The rest 10 per cent are negative, but I ignore them. If the song has about three million views, 10 per cent negative comments do not matter. I take positive comments in my stride and ignore the negative ones,” he added.