Bihar: Bhojpuri Folk Singer ‘Forced’ to Apologise for Singing Gandhi’s Favourite Bhajan

Patna: A popular Bhojpuri folk singer, Devi, was forced by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) youth workers to apologise for singing Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan "Ishwar Allah Tere Naam" at a function in Patna to mark the birth centenary of veteran BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday.

Devi faced an unruly crowd consisting of 60 to 70 BJP youth workers at Bapu Savaghar in the heart of Patna when she started singing Gandhi’s favourite songs Ishwar Allah Tere Naam…Raghupati Raghav Rajaram. Angry over singing of the bhajan, BJP's youth workers first objected to the songs and then loudly chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and forced her to stop singing.

What is shocking is that even after Devi stopped singing, BJP's youth workers continued their protest. After that, the singer tried to convince them by saying that Bhagwan (God) belongs to all of us and her motive was to remember Lord Ram by singing this bhajan. But she failed in her attempt to pacify the ruling party workers.

Incidentally, the organisers of the event also intervened on behalf of Devi but the protesting BJP youth workers were not ready to listen to anyone. Finally, the Bhojpuri singer had to express her apology for singing the bhajan and after saying “sorry”, chanted the slogan, ‘Jai Shri Ram’. After that, Devi sang a popular song of folk singer Sharda Sinha before leaving the stage to catch a flight for Mumbai.

The function was organised under the banner of Atal Vichar Manch, headed by senior BJP leader and former union minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey. Most of the participants in the function were aligned to BJP, including dozens of senior party leaders.

It was reported in local Hindi dailies here that BJP's youth workers strongly opposed Devi for singing Ishwar Allah Tere Naam. Sensing trouble, Devi repeatedly appealed to them to calm down by reminding them of the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world in one family). 

A political activist who was present in the function said the moment Devi sang this line of the bhajan, BJP youth workers stood on their feet and loudly countered her by chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’. She never expected this, and it was a part of BJP’s hate politics, he said.

The activist said Devi first raised the slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee Amar Rahe’, before she sang the bhajan. But what angered BJP's youth workers was the mere mention of Allah in the song.

Devi has reportedly admitted to the local media that she apologised for singing the bhajan. "I said sorry to them if the bhajan had hurt anyone", she was quoted as saying.

However, Devi reportedly also said that she sang the bhajan since it was sung across the country. "I am a firm believer in the unity of Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Isai and Gandhiji’s bhajan reflects this. I stand for unity among all religions. Humanity is the biggest religion, and I  believe in it," she was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and Left parties targeted BJP for forcing Devi to apologise for singing Mahatma Gandhi's bhajan at the function. RJD chief Lalu Prasad also attacked “Nitish Kumar’s ally, BJP” in a post on social media over this issue, while attaching a report in popular Hindi daily, Prabhat Khabar.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Patna, Bihar.