In Kashmir, 'Conscious Music' Tests India's Limits on Speech
2022-07-09
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1Sarfaraz Javaid lives in Kashmir.
2The Muslim-majority area is in the Himalaya Mountains.
3The area has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947.
4People living there have faced many years of conflict, military presence and crackdowns.
5Javaid is among a group of artists in Kashmir who are forming a new musical tradition.
6They call it "conscious music."
7The music mixes Sufi rock with hip-hop music.
8Sufism is a form of Muslim belief.
9Javaid moves his body to the sound of the guitar.
10His voice rings out through the forest: "What kind of soot has shrouded the sky? It has turned my world dark...Why has the home been entrusted to strangers?"
11Javaid is a poet like his father and grandfather.
12His song is called "Khuaftan Baange" - Kashmiri for "the call to night's prayer."
13"I just express myself and scream, but when harmony is added, it becomes a song," said Javaid.
14The new music often includes religion indirectly.
15The hidden religious ideas are meant to get around measures that restrict speech in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
16The restrictions have led many poets and singers to limit what they wish to say.
17The music also seeks to bridge tensions between Muslim tradition and the modern world in an area where many people are conservative.
18Kashmir has a tradition of spoken poetry that is hundreds of years old.
19It is heavily influenced by Islam.
20After a rebellion against Indian rule broke out in 1989, poetic descriptions of freedom were heard from the loudspeakers at Muslim religious centers.
21Poems based on historical Islamic events were sung at the burials of fallen rebels.
22Twenty years of fighting left tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces dead before the armed struggle eased.
23Unarmed mass demonstrations took place in 2008 and 2010.
24Around that time, Kashmir also saw the rise of protest music in English-language hip-hop and rap.
25It was a new kind of resistance music.
26Singer-songwriter Roushan Illahi performs under the name MC Kash.
27His angry music has influenced young people fighting India's sovereignty over the area.
28Kash's songs got dangerously close to sedition - the crime of saying, writing or doing something that urges people to disobey their government.
29It is illegal to question India's territorial claims to the area.
30Police questioning pushed Kash to a point where he almost stopped making music.
31Tensions rose in the area in 2016 when Indian troops put down another massive public uprising, leading to a renewed militancy.
32Three years later, in 2019, India canceled the area's partial self-rule.
33It also put in place severe restrictions on communications, including the press and other forms of free expression.
34The crackdown that began in 2019 has continued.
35But many artists continue playing the music that made them famous.
36Many of their songs are widely shared on social media.
37"Conscious music" has grown further as artists more recently began including Urdu and Kashmiri song words called lyrics.
38A group of young artists gathered recently with musician Zeeshan Nabi in Srinagar, Kashmir's main city.
39They debated the hidden meanings and religious imagery in their work.
40Arif Farooq is a hip-hop artist who performs under the name of Qafilah.
41Religious symbolism, Qafilah said, is a creative device that represents Kashmir's pain and avoids punishment from the government.
42"You want to steal, but you don't want to be caught," Qafilah said.
43On a recent night, the artist behind the song "Khuaftan Baange," sat at the edge of Srinagar's Dal Lake. He sang a song for his homeland.
44The sun dropped behind the mountains and a light rain began to fall.
45He ended his song by saying the names of disappeared people.
46A distant family member was among the names.
47"I reflect what I see," Javaid said. "I see pain, agony and loss."
48I'm John Russell.
49And I'm Ashley Thompson.
1Sarfaraz Javaid lives in Kashmir. The Muslim-majority area is in the Himalaya Mountains. The area has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947. People living there have faced many years of conflict, military presence and crackdowns. 2Javaid is among a group of artists in Kashmir who are forming a new musical tradition. They call it "conscious music." 3The music mixes Sufi rock with hip-hop music. Sufism is a form of Muslim belief. 4Javaid moves his body to the sound of the guitar. His voice rings out through the forest: "What kind of soot has shrouded the sky? It has turned my world dark...Why has the home been entrusted to strangers?" 5Javaid is a poet like his father and grandfather. His song is called "Khuaftan Baange" - Kashmiri for "the call to night's prayer." 6"I just express myself and scream, but when harmony is added, it becomes a song," said Javaid. 7The new music often includes religion indirectly. The hidden religious ideas are meant to get around measures that restrict speech in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The restrictions have led many poets and singers to limit what they wish to say. 8The music also seeks to bridge tensions between Muslim tradition and the modern world in an area where many people are conservative. 9Kashmir has a tradition of spoken poetry that is hundreds of years old. It is heavily influenced by Islam. After a rebellion against Indian rule broke out in 1989, poetic descriptions of freedom were heard from the loudspeakers at Muslim religious centers. Poems based on historical Islamic events were sung at the burials of fallen rebels. 10Twenty years of fighting left tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces dead before the armed struggle eased. Unarmed mass demonstrations took place in 2008 and 2010. Around that time, Kashmir also saw the rise of protest music in English-language hip-hop and rap. It was a new kind of resistance music. 11Singer-songwriter Roushan Illahi performs under the name MC Kash. His angry music has influenced young people fighting India's sovereignty over the area. 12Kash's songs got dangerously close to sedition - the crime of saying, writing or doing something that urges people to disobey their government. It is illegal to question India's territorial claims to the area. 13Police questioning pushed Kash to a point where he almost stopped making music. 14Tensions rose in the area in 2016 when Indian troops put down another massive public uprising, leading to a renewed militancy. Three years later, in 2019, India canceled the area's partial self-rule. It also put in place severe restrictions on communications, including the press and other forms of free expression. 15The crackdown that began in 2019 has continued. But many artists continue playing the music that made them famous. Many of their songs are widely shared on social media. "Conscious music" has grown further as artists more recently began including Urdu and Kashmiri song words called lyrics. 16A group of young artists gathered recently with musician Zeeshan Nabi in Srinagar, Kashmir's main city. They debated the hidden meanings and religious imagery in their work. 17Arif Farooq is a hip-hop artist who performs under the name of Qafilah. Religious symbolism, Qafilah said, is a creative device that represents Kashmir's pain and avoids punishment from the government. 18"You want to steal, but you don't want to be caught," Qafilah said. 19On a recent night, the artist behind the song "Khuaftan Baange," sat at the edge of Srinagar's Dal Lake. He sang a song for his homeland. 20The sun dropped behind the mountains and a light rain began to fall. He ended his song by saying the names of disappeared people. A distant family member was among the names. 21"I reflect what I see," Javaid said. "I see pain, agony and loss." 22I'm John Russell. 23And I'm Ashley Thompson. 24Sheikh Saaliq and Aijaz Hussain reported this story for the Associated Press. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. 25___________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27conscious -adj. able to understand what is going on around you; awake 28soot -n. a black material that results from burning something 29shrouded - adj. hidden or covered 30poet -n. a person who writes poems, an artistic form of writing 31harmony -n. a combination of different musical notes played at the same time that produces a pleasing sound 32sovereignty -n. a country's independent power and right to govern itself 33reflect -v. to show the image of something 34agony -n. extreme mental for physical point 35___________________________________________________________________ 36We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 37Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.