Dalit music or Bahujan music is

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

created, produced, or inspired by

Bahujan ''Bahujan'' is a Pali term frequently found in Buddhist texts, with a literal meaning of "the many", or "the majority". In a modern context, it refers to the combined population of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, M ...

s and

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

s, people often discriminated against on the basis of caste, including ''Dalit rock'', ''Bhim rap'' and ''Dalit pop'' as well as the music genres of the

Ravidasi Ravidassia or the Ravidas Panth is an Indian religion based on the teachings of Ravidass, who is revered as a satguru. Historically, Ravidassia represented a range of beliefs in the Indian subcontinent, with some devotees of Ravidass counting th ...

s, including ''

Chamar Chamar is a Dalit community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. Historically subject to untouchability, they were traditionally outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna ...

pop'', ''Bhim Palana'', ''Bhim geet'' and Punjabi

Ambedkarite Ambedkarism is called as the teaching, ideology or philosophy of B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian econonist, polymath, barrister, social reformer, human-rights advocate, and the architect of Indian Constitution. Ambedkarism includes the principles of Nava ...

music.

Background

Music is a monumental part of

Dalits Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

as it is expression of their protest, folk tales and assertion. In Maharashtra, ''Dalit shahirs'' the singers and writers mostly creating content of Ambedkarite ideology and against caste oppression. In

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

, Dalit musicians are known as '' Naumati Baaja musicians''. In

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

, ''Chamar pop'' movement was started by Kanshi Ram to popularize the

BAMCEF The All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation, abbreviated as BAMCEF, is an organisation for employees of oppressed communities that was established in 1971 by Kanshi Ram, D. K. Khaparde, and Dinabhana. The term got it ...

launched in 1978. In

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

Parai The parai is a traditional Tamil frame drum about 35 centimeters in diameter, used in the parai attam dance. It consists of a shallow ring of wood, covered on one side with a stretched cow hide that is glued to the wooden frame. The preferred ...

s are used by dalits to express through music.

Artists

The Casteless Collective The Casteless Collective is an Indian indie band based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The band was formed in 2017, with support from the Neelam Panpaatu Maiyam started by filmmaker Pa. Ranjith and filmmaker and film composer Tenma, founder of the labe ...

Amar Singh Chamkila Amar Singh Chamkila (21 July 1960 8 March 1988) was an Punjabi singer and musician of Punjabi music. Chamkila and his wife Amarjot were killed, along with two members of their band on 8 March 1988 in an assassination which remains unresolved. ...

, Punjabi singer, songwriter, musician, performer and composer. * Hans Raj Hans, Punjabi folk and sufi singer, M.P of North West Delhi *

Navraj Hans Navraj Hans is an Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer. He is the son of Hans Raj Hans and son-in-law of Daler Mehndi. Musical career Navraj Hans has done playback singing for several Bollywood and Punjabi movies. Hi ...

, Punjabi singer, actor, entrepreneur and performer *

Yuvraj Hans Yuvraj Hans is a Punjabi actor. He is the son of singer-turned politician and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Hans Raj Hans. Personal life His elder brother is Navraj Hans, who is also a singer and actor. Yuvraj married Mansi Sharma in February 2 ...

, Punjabi singer and actor *

Jitendra Haripal Jitendra Haripal (or Jitendria Haripal), a singer, is most popularly known for his voice in the famous and super hit Rangabati Song in Sambalpuri language of Odisha. He sang this duet song with his female co-singer Krishna Patel. He has sung ove ...

, Sambalpuri folk singer * Kaka, Punjabi Dalit Singer *

Kanth Kaler Kanth Kaler (born 7 May 1972), sikh artist popularly known as Kanth Kaler is an Indian singer who is famous for singing Punjabi sad songs. His hit songs include ''Hun Teri Nigah Badal Gai'', ''Dass Asi Kehra Tere Bina Mar Challea'', ''Udikan'', ...

, Punjabi folk singer * Kishore Kumar 'Pagla' * Ginni Mahi, Punjabi folk singer, rapper and stage performer * Mooralala Marwada, Sufi folk singer * Daler Mehndi, Punjabi Dalit singer *

Mukund Nayak Mukund Nayak (born 15 October 1949), is an Indian artist. He is a folk singer, songwriter and dancer. Nayak is an exponent of Nagpuri folk dance Jhumar. He is recipient of the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Early life and family H ...

, folk singer, songwriter and

Jhumair Jhumair or Jhumar is an Indian folk dance from the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal. It is folk dance of Sadan, the Indo-Aryan ethnic groups of Chotanagpur. It is mainly performed during harvest season. ...

dancer. * Nandlal Nayak, folk artist, music composer and Nagpuri film director. *

Miss Pooja Gurinder Kaur Kainth, popularly known by her stage name Miss Pooja is an Indian singer and actress who primarily sings Punjabi songs in Bhangra, Pop and Folk genres. Personal life Miss Pooja was born to Inderpal Kainth and Saroj Devi, a fam ...

, Punjabi Bhangra artist and singer * Manjit Rupowalia, Punjabi singer * Sumeet Samos, rapper and singer * Sheetal Sathe, folk singer, poet, and Dalit rights activist

References

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Background

Artists

See also

References

Further reading