Gurugram: The Haryana State Commission for Women has written to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, seeking stricter regulations, a monitoring mechanism, and awareness campaign to check songs promoting gun culture, violence, and derogatory content against women.
The demand comes amid a Haryana Police crackdown on what critics call “vulgar” Haryanvi songs, an action that has been building up for over a year-and-a-half.
The 9 April letter signed by Commission chairperson Renu Bhatia cites rapper Badshah’s Haryanvi track “Tateeree” as the immediate trigger.
It says the song’s portrayal of school-going girls “tarnished their image and dignity”, and calls the content “deeply disturbing and unacceptable in a civilised society”.
The letter does not name Badshah, whose real name is Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia, but the reference is unambiguous.
Released on March 1, “Tateeree” racked up five million views on YouTube before it was taken down following an FIR in Panchkula. The controversy eventually travelled to Delhi, where Badshah appeared before the National Commission for Women on 7 April , apologised unconditionally, and pledged to sponsor education for 50 girls and release a song on women’s empowerment within four months.
With that, the episode was largely put to rest.
The Commission’s letter to Saini is, in part, an attempt to ensure it leaves something behind in terms of policy.
It asks the government to take strict action against content creators promoting harmful themes, frame clear guidelines with a monitoring mechanism to prevent such content from being released, and run State-funded awareness campaigns so young people understand the effects of such material.
It invokes the government’s own Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao programme and the 33 percent reservation for women, and says songs of this kind directly contradict these national commitments.
The letter comes at a moment when the Haryanvi music industry is already under significant official pressure. Haryana Police’s Special Task Force and cyber unit had in January announced the removal of 67 songs by 29 singers for allegedly glorifying gangsters, weapons, and criminal lifestyles.
Masoom Sharma had the highest count with 19 songs, followed by Ashu Twinkle with eight, Manisha Sharma with seven, Narender Bhagana and Amit Saini Rohtakiya with six each.
Ankit Baliyan, Gajendra Phogat, Sumit Parta, Harsh Sandhu, and Dhanda Neoliwala were among the others whose tracks were taken down.
That crackdown had itself generated considerable friction.
Masoom Sharma publicly alleged the action against him was driven by personal rivalry, pointing to Gajendra Phogat, a singer who also serves as Officer on Special Duty in the state’s publicity wing, as the person behind the targeted removals.
ThePrint on Friday reached out to Phogat through calls for a comment, but there was no response. The report will be updated if and when he responds. He had denied these allegations earlier.
The dispute spilled into the Haryana Assembly in March 2025, when Congress MLA Ram Karan Kala demanded a statement from the chief minister.
In response, Haryana Minister for Jails Arvind Sharma said that the state government would not allow harm to anyone’s reputation, but at the same time its focus was on curbing “violent” and “vulgar” content.
The Haryanvi music industry had long argued it was held to standards that Punjabi and Bollywood content routinely escaped, and the crackdown sharpened that grievance.
Whether the government now frames the policy the Commission has asked for, and how it intends to enforce content standards without the legal and political friction the earlier crackdown generated, remains to be seen.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)