Kunal Purohit's book delves into Hindutva pop culture that populates social media. https://thewire.in/communalism/soundtrack-hindutva-minority-messages-kunal-purohit-h-pop
What are the messages that circulate on WhatsApp in Hindi? Most of all, what kind of videos are shown on YouTube, where anyone can upload programming, with virtually no restrictions on the content. Patently false history, bogus news and most of all, songs, poetry, speeches all of which promote anti-minority messages which often result in violence.
Kunal Purohit, a Mumbai based journalist – in the English language – stumbled across this phenomenon when he was in a small town, Gumla, in Jharkhand doing some story, when he heard of how, for the first time in years, a Ram Navami procession almost turned violent
Purohit got intrigued and that sent him down a rabbit hole to find out more. The book, H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars, is the result of those investigations, a first of its kind in the English language, which should come as an eye-opener for all of us.
There is a whole Hindutva eco-system of nasty, hate filled popular culture that goes beyond just such aggressive songs. Online media, especially on Youtube, is filled with poets, singers, journalists, fake historians – anyone really – who regularly spew out messages that are anti-Muslim – in the most virulent way – and hail Narendra Modi but also other political leaders like Adityanath, warn of Hindu rashtra and much more.
10/01/2024