Abhinav Singh-Week 10
Abhinav Singh
20141297
DALIT MUSIC IN RAJASTHAN
In this week's summary I would like to examine Dalit music in reference to my state Rajasthan.
In Rajasthan folk music has evolved into the mainstream music of the state, so the artists who are involved in the folk scene are also the mainstream artists coming from the state.
There are three main communities in the state who are associated with the folk music in Rajasthan which are the Langas, Manganiar and Dholis and all three communities acquire low social strata in the society. Langas and Manganiar are Dalit Muslims whereas Dholis are Dalit Hindus. Both Langas and Manganiars were historically dependent on the patrons but the difference was Langas had muslim patrons and Manganiars has hindu patrons, so the folk songs were made for the glorification of these patrons as to impress them and generate generous patronage from them.
In last 2-3 decades the patrons lost most of their ancestral wealth but the communities survived as they adapted to the modern challenges and as Rajasthan has a huge tourism industry, these communities became a integral part of the industry. Dholis though are still based in villages and are mostly dependent on the upper caste patrons of the villages for their livelihood, though they are a important part of the marriages and functions of these patrons but still are discriminated like sited on the floor and are given food in separate utensils which is ironical as all these functions are considered incomplete without there presence.
Langas and Manganiar on the other hand have become international artists, people like Mame Khan and Swaroop Khan appeared on famous singing reality shows like Indian idol and India's got talent and have sang commercial folk songs for movies and tv shows. Political activism in Rajasthan as far as caste is concerened is restricted to the the big cities and as these communities flourished in their trade, so they never got directly involved in Dalit activism so there is no political connection that can be established to their music and most of the songs were related to the glorification of the patrons or the commercial bollywood mixes. Though there was some activism in the later decades as Manganiar means beggar in the local language, so the community in later stages they started calling themselves the Merasi which was their original name which later developed into Manganiar by their discriminating upper caste patrons. But the very fact that these Dalit communities enjoyed so much success on the mainstream platform and became the pioneers of the Rajasthani and Indian folk music around the world shows signs of some unacknowledged activism.
I would like to conclude that even though the Dalit musicians from the state are now world renowned artists but they should still use their voices for Dalit activism as their work is heard by millions around the world so their messages also will reach millions and thus will have a much needed impact on the Dalit lives who are still suffering from the discrimination and ill practices of the upper caste people and don't enjoy the opportunities that they flourished with, so they should fight for their rights and equal opportunities.
20141297
DALIT MUSIC IN RAJASTHAN
In this week's summary I would like to examine Dalit music in reference to my state Rajasthan.
In Rajasthan folk music has evolved into the mainstream music of the state, so the artists who are involved in the folk scene are also the mainstream artists coming from the state.
There are three main communities in the state who are associated with the folk music in Rajasthan which are the Langas, Manganiar and Dholis and all three communities acquire low social strata in the society. Langas and Manganiar are Dalit Muslims whereas Dholis are Dalit Hindus. Both Langas and Manganiars were historically dependent on the patrons but the difference was Langas had muslim patrons and Manganiars has hindu patrons, so the folk songs were made for the glorification of these patrons as to impress them and generate generous patronage from them.
In last 2-3 decades the patrons lost most of their ancestral wealth but the communities survived as they adapted to the modern challenges and as Rajasthan has a huge tourism industry, these communities became a integral part of the industry. Dholis though are still based in villages and are mostly dependent on the upper caste patrons of the villages for their livelihood, though they are a important part of the marriages and functions of these patrons but still are discriminated like sited on the floor and are given food in separate utensils which is ironical as all these functions are considered incomplete without there presence.
Langas and Manganiar on the other hand have become international artists, people like Mame Khan and Swaroop Khan appeared on famous singing reality shows like Indian idol and India's got talent and have sang commercial folk songs for movies and tv shows. Political activism in Rajasthan as far as caste is concerened is restricted to the the big cities and as these communities flourished in their trade, so they never got directly involved in Dalit activism so there is no political connection that can be established to their music and most of the songs were related to the glorification of the patrons or the commercial bollywood mixes. Though there was some activism in the later decades as Manganiar means beggar in the local language, so the community in later stages they started calling themselves the Merasi which was their original name which later developed into Manganiar by their discriminating upper caste patrons. But the very fact that these Dalit communities enjoyed so much success on the mainstream platform and became the pioneers of the Rajasthani and Indian folk music around the world shows signs of some unacknowledged activism.
I would like to conclude that even though the Dalit musicians from the state are now world renowned artists but they should still use their voices for Dalit activism as their work is heard by millions around the world so their messages also will reach millions and thus will have a much needed impact on the Dalit lives who are still suffering from the discrimination and ill practices of the upper caste people and don't enjoy the opportunities that they flourished with, so they should fight for their rights and equal opportunities.
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