Gurugram: When a Haryanvi rapper cancels his shows to protest a police crackdown miles away in Delhi, it usually means something has struck a nerve beyond politics.
That is what has happened this week.
As Sonam Wangchuk continued his hunger strike, and activists of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) continued their agitation at Jantar Mantar over the NEET paper leak issue, and Delhi Police responded with what protesters call a brutal lathi-charge, a clutch of Haryana’s biggest homegrown singers and rappers have stepped out in open support of the agitating students—turning what began as a Delhi story into one with a distinctly Haryanvi soundtrack.
Rapper-singer Dhanda Nyoliwala, known across the state’s college and wedding circuit for his high-energy Haryanvi rap numbers, has postponed all his scheduled shows in solidarity.
Nyoliwala has also posted Sonam Wangchuk’s picture as his profile photo on his Instagram account with 4.6 million followers. His status read: “History remembers rebels, not boot lickers.”
In one of his videos on Facebook, Dhanda Nyoliwala said governments come and go, and those in power should not deny the rights of the very people who elected them. He added that there was still time to find a “reasonable solution”, cautioning, by invoking the eventual fates of Hitler and Gaddafi, that history has not been kind to rulers who ignored their people for too long.
Singer Dev Kumar Deva, and Ankit Baliyan—recognised widely for his hit ‘Bhari court mein goli marenge meri jaan‘—put out videos on Instagram appealing directly to the Prime Minister, saying the protesting students only wanted to be heard, and that using force against India’s own youth, “the country’s future”, was deeply distressing. Both artists said they could not personally reach Jantar Mantar as they were unwell.
Deva, in his video, called the students “your own”, who had come only to talk, and appealing to the Prime Minister to listen to them.
Haryana singer Ankit Baliyan went further, framing it not as a students’ or CJP issue but a question about India’s very democratic freedoms, arguing that the police exist to protect citizens, not intimidate them, and that a government elected by the same public and students had a duty to hear their concerns rather than suppress them with force.
‘They are firing lathis, not answers’
Sandeep Arya, the Haryanvi fitness icon who holds a world record for performing Surya Namaskars, also released a video condemning the police action. He said the incident was unfortunate regardless of who was hurt in the CJP protest, student or policeman, but stressed that the students’ underlying demand was legitimate: Paper leaks in competitive exams keep recurring, and someone has to be held responsible.
Arya did not mince words about the age of some protesters, pointing out that many affected students were barely 15 years old, and asked how a nation aspiring to be a “Vishwaguru” could simultaneously be swinging batons at its own schoolchildren. His video ended with a line that has since been widely shared: Dialogue, not force, resolves such issues, and that the students’ voice was only going to grow louder from here.
The video is no longer available on his social media accounts Instagram and Facebook, though its screen grab is available with ThePrint.
Speaking to ThePrint, Arya said he posted his message on social media because he felt the pain of young boys and girls who were “badly beaten up” by the police but his video was “removed” from social media.
When asked who removed his videos, Arya said he didn’t know who removed the videos but he still stood by what he said.
“These children are sitting on Jantar Mantar for nearly a month now. However, the government didn’t make any attempt to reach out and hear them out. Had the government shown a little concern for these kids, the situation that emerged on July 20 wouldn’t have happened at all,” Arya added.
Gulzaar Chhaniwala had spoken up earlier
Before this fresh wave of videos, singer Gulzaar Chhaniwala, arguably Haryana’s most-streamed contemporary voice, known for his brooding, socially-observant lyrics, had already appealed to the Prime Minister to hear out the students, framing it as a simple request from one citizen to another: The country had always backed the PM when asked; it was now his turn to reciprocate.
Chhaniwala visited the protesting students at Jantar Mantar Wednesday and extended his support to them. A video of his speech at Jantar Mantar has been posted on Gulzar Chhaniwala Fanpage on the Facebook.
A debate online
The visuals of tear gas and lathi-charge at Jantar Mantar have already triggered a wider debate on social media, with several influencers criticising the police action. The entry of Haryana’s popular singers has added a distinctly regional dimension to that conversation—these are artists with massive followings among rural and small-town youth, the exact demographic most affected by repeated NEET paper leaks.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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