07 Jan 4 South-Asian Artivists Creating Waves of Change
For many, creative expression is a formidable force of resistance and revolt, and a means to engage audiences and drive meaningful social change. Voices of dissent are a necessary feature of a thriving democracy, and artists have historically been at the forefront as forces of change. Today, we are spotlighting the works of four revolutionary South-Asian artists pushing the limits of their imagination to spotlight pressing social issues such as climate change, discrimination against minorities, and gender inequality, to fuel social change.
MADAME GANDHI
Described by the senior vice president of A&R at Sony Masterworks, Drew Thurlow, as a “force of nature”, Madame Gandhi (Kiran Gandhi) is a musician with a purpose. Her act of running the London Marathon bleeding freely in 2015, ignited much needed conversations globally about the need to combat menstrual stigma. She has been an unstoppable force since, facilitating conversations about female empowerment, and fourth-wave feminism in her unapologetic creative expression. In addition to her artistic work, Gandhi worked with the L.A. based organisation ‘Give a Beat’, as a music educator. In her role, she taught drumming and DJing to incarcerated youth aged 13-17 at Juvenile halls. With artists like Gandhi championing the most pressing social issues facing modern societies, the future really is female!
SHITAL SATHE
Shital Sathe is a Dalit rights activist and folk singer. Initially a member of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), a cultural organisation disseminating messages of pro-democracy and anti-casteism through song, poetry and theatre, Sathe and her husband Sachin Mali were wrongfully incarcerated in 2013 for alleged involvement with Naxalites. After being granted bail and parting ways with KKM, Sathe has continued her musical activism foregrounding conversations about caste oppression, women’s rights, corporate greed, and state oppression. Her songs are a blend of Ambedkarism, socialism, and feminism. While her husband remains in jail, Sheetal Sathe is forwarding the Shahiri tradition of Maharashtra, and speaking truth to power in an increasingly hostile socio-political climate.
DITTY
Commonly referred to as an “urban ecologist by day, musician by night,” Aditi Veena, better known by her stage-name Ditty, is creating ripples in the Indian indie scene. After studying architecture and design in New Delhi, she found her way to Sri Lanka working on a conservation project which inspired her first album ‘Poetry Ceylon’. Passionately dedicating herself to learning about the wonders of the natural world, and starkly aware of the threat posed to the environment by climate change, urbanisation, and a growing population, her actions as an artist reflect the values enshrined in the cause she is committed to. To minimise her carbon footprint as a musician, she embarked on the first carbon neutral music tour in India in 2020– ‘Make Forests Not War,’ co-created with permaculturalist Claude Oprea. To neutralise the environmental cost of the tour, she chose to travel by trains, stay with friends and acquaintances, perform outdoors with minimal gear, and most significantly, grow an edible food forest at the Yogi Art Centre, North Goa.
MC KASH
Roashan Illahi, known to fans by his rapper title MC Kash, is a rapper and activist from Srinagar. He rose to fame with his single ‘I Protest’, created in response to the summer unrest in Kashmir in 2010, triggered by the killing of a teenage boy Tufail Mattoo. The song gained traction and became the anthem of protest, and MC Kash became the face of protest music in South Asia. Exploring hope, courage, survival, and resilience, his music is an amalgamation of hip-hop, urban beats, and indigeous Kashmiri sounds. It shines a light on the human rights abuses in Kashmir by rapping about the daily hardships faced by the people of the valley. He was quoted saying he chooses “songs over stones” to voice dissent. MC Kash has inspired younger hip-hop artists like SXR, Haze Kay, and UTB, who are now following in his footsteps.
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