https://sputniknews.com/india/202102221082148487-indian-poet-accused-of-inciting-bhima-koregaon-violence-granted-6-month-bail-/
Every January, natives of Maharashtra observe ceremonial gatherings in the Bhima Koregaon region, marking the victory of Dalit fighters and Maharashtrian warriors in a battle against the British back in 1818. In 2018, however, violence overshadowed the celebrations at Bhima Koregaon, resulting in one death as well as several injuries.
The Bombay High Court on Monday granted a six-month bail to Varavara Rao – a poet-activist who was arrested in August 2018 for allegedly inciting violence through his speech on the eve of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon in 2018.
The 82-year old political prisoner has been unwell since having contracted coronavirus last year. The bail granted to Rao is focused on his sensitive health at the moment. He s being treated in Mumbai s Nanavati Hospital.
“Bella Ciao” (Goodbye Beautiful) originated in the late 19th century in north Italy with women peasants singing it in protest to the harsh working conditions.
The Italian resistance song was also used by members of various anti-fascist groups against Benito Mussolini during the Second World War.
Over the decades and years, it has cropped up in protests around the globe, be it Greece, Tunisia or France.
Sahil said the popularity of the Hindi version of the song during the anti-CAA protests inspired him to come up with the Punjabi lyrics.
“I think the melody of the song is truly timeless,” he said.
New Delhi: ‘Bella Ciao’, the anthem of resistance across the world, now has a Punjabi version that echoes with the sounds of farmers protesting and 27-year-old Poojan Sahil who created the song can’t be happier at its acceptance and success.
The video of the song has almost 2.7 lakh views on YouTube in less than a week and is being widely shared across social media platforms.
Sahil, who teaches mathematics in a Delhi school, said “fear, abuses and disappointments” are par for the course for a socially conscious musician but it all seems worth it if his words give strength to the thousands of farmers who have been protesting for the last month to demand a rollback of the three new agri laws.
updated: Dec 24 2020, 15:27 ist
“Bella Ciao”, the anthem of resistance across the world, now has a Punjabi version that echoes with the sounds of farmers protesting and 27-year-old Poojan Sahil who created the song can’t be happier at its acceptance and success.
The video of the song has almost 2.7 lakh views on YouTube in less than a week and is being widely shared across social media platforms.
Sahil, who teaches mathematics in a Delhi school, said fear, abuses and disappointments are par for the course for a socially conscious musician but it all seems worth it if his words give strength to the thousands of farmers who have been protesting for the last month to demand a rollback of the three new agriculture laws.
BATHINDA/JALANDHAR: The music of protest has bridged language, culture and geographic divides. Songs with roots in Italian folk music and in the sublime genius of Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s ghazals is keeping spirits singing in the farmers’ agitation against the three central agri-marketing laws on the borders of Delhi.
“Wapas Jao”, a Punjabi version of “Bella Ciao (Goodbye, Beautiful)”, an Italian farmers’ protest song from the late 1800s, has gained newfound popularity because of a web series, has been an instant hit, as have been songs themed on Iqbal Bano’s rendition of Faiz’s ghazal, “Hum Dekhenge”, in Punjabi and Tamil.