This is one country, a free country. Terrorism is finished. No innocents are dying. A new dawn has come. Boys and girls are now equals. Those are the thoughts expressed in the lyrics of Badalta Kashmir, a song by Kashmiri rappers Raasiq Sheikh (MC Raa) and Humaira (8MR).
Rapping about “Uniting hearts, breaking down divides” in the transformed state of Jammu & Kashmir after the scrapping of Article 370, the two young performers have won over the Internet — the song has got more than 2 million views across social networks in just a week, since its YouTube debut on December 3, 2023.
Badalta Kashmir has also received high praise from officials posted in Jammu & Kashmir. Those who have shared the song include Corps Commander of the Srinagar-based 15 or Chinar Corps, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai. “Good to see this… The young here are remarkably talented and music has always resonated in Kashmir… Power to the youth,” Ghai said in a post on X.
Lyrics of hope and progress
The rap track, whose title means “Changing Kashmir”, highlights the positive transformation in the Kashmir valley, following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, ending special status for the state of Jammu & Kashmir and shrinking the space for decades of Pakistan-backed terrorism.
The song talks about the success of G20; religious inclusiveness; and the freedom of girls to wear Western clothes without being shamed for it. It also references tourist seasons, the Amarnath yatra, Srinagar Smart City and the digital revolution.
The two youngsters sing about how people in the valley are now proud to be Indian. “Tiranga (tricolour) is in my heart, it is my identity, Hindustan is my country,” go their lyrics, which are a mix of Hindi, Urdu, and English words.
Rapping out their feelings
The idea of the song, said Raasiq Sheikh, came after observing the changed situation and development in the valley. “Every hip-hop artiste observes things minutely. I saw the transformation in Kashmir, like Smart City, G20, and other developments, and that was my inspiration. I wanted to vent my feelings,” said Sheikh, a resident of south Kashmir’s Shopian, in an interview with Press Trust of India.
Sheikh, who works with an infotech firm in Srinagar, said that it did not take much time to write the lyrics. He then approached Humaira, who is from central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, to be a part of the song.
“I did not expect it to garner millions of views,” said the rapper about the popularity of the song. “About 90 per cent of the viewers have loved the song and their comments are positive. The rest 10 per cent are negative, but I ignore them. If the song has about three million views, 10 per cent negative comments do not matter. I take positive comments in my stride and ignore the negative ones.”