Days after a song by popular rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh kicked up a row in the state, the Bihar Police have ordered a crackdown on the public broadcast of “vulgar” Bhojpuri songs. The songs, according to an order from March 7, “undermine the safety and dignity of women”.
The order from Bihar ADGP for Weaker Sections Amit Kumar Jain directs senior officers to conduct special campaigns and file FIRs to eliminate the broadcasting of “vulgar” songs. Addressed to all Regional Inspector Generals (IGs) and Deputy Inspector Generals (DIGs) of Police in Bihar, the order states: “You are all instructed to conduct a special campaign to completely eliminate the broadcasting of obscene Bhojpuri songs in your respective areas, identify such cases, and direct all subordinates to register FIRs under Section 296/79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and other relevant sections”.
While Section 279 deals with ‘obscene acts and songs’, Section 79 deals with ‘word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman’.
Saying such songs, “broadcasted freely and without interruption”, have adverse effects, the order asks all Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP), Superintendents of Police (SP), including the railway police, to implement campaigns at all public spaces.
“The cheap double-meaning Bhojpuri songs contribute to a culture of disrespect towards women, making them feel unsafe or experience shame in some way. Additionally, these songs send inappropriate messages to children, potentially influencing their behaviour negatively,” the ADG stated.
This comes days after actress Neetu Chandra filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Patna High Court claiming that the song ‘Maniac’ by a host of collaborators – including the popular rapper Honey Singh. According to the actor, whose 2016 movie ‘Mithila Makhaan’ won the first national film award for a Maithili-language movie, the song objectified women, used “Bhojpuri language to normalise vulgarity” and threw the “women’s empowerment out of the window”.
Source: The Indian Express