The only thing I said on my fan page was that Honey Singh deserved a slap. A few seconds later, people started commenting on the post. Some of the fans said that they agreed and others felt that I was wrong; his lyrics are the truth, they said. Yeah, these lyrics might be true for some girls, but, I truly couldn’t think of one girl I knew who I could describe using some of his lyrics. I mean, seriously, who are the types of girls he spends time with? What happened to the innocent Punjabi girls that artists such as Gurdas Mann used to sing about? Where are songs about the girls that used to dance with duppatas of silk instead of with glasses of vodka? There used to be a time when Punjabi songs were about the beauty of Punjab and our rich culture.
When the songs coming out of Punjab portray women in such a negative and demeaning manner, it comes as no surprise that Punjab has one of the worst male to female ratios in the country. Women are referred to as cheaters and manipulators and some lyrics even go as far as to imply that they are nothing but whores and sluts who use men for their money and then leave them to suffer from a broken heart. Why are artists like Honey Singh directing such hateful and degrading comments towards women?
Believe me, I am all for the freedom of speech and I know that some English rap artists make far worse comments about women in their “poetry” but, then again, countries like the United States don’t face the problem of female feoticide at the same height as the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. Why is it that in a religion such as Sikhism, which preaches for the equality of men and women and is followed by many of these singers, we still portray women in such a negative manner? Do rappers like Honey Singh not have sisters, cousins and nieces? How would he feel if one of his songs were playfully dedicated to one of his female relatives? I wonder if it would give him a sense of pride knowing that some random guy on Facebook messaged one of his female relatives saying “Song for you my dear…’Ban Mitraan di Whore…I mean mittran di Ho.’” (1:58, Brown Rang). Honey Singh brands himself as the face of Punjabi rap, but fails to follow in the footsteps of rappers such as Tupac, who praised women in his lyrics.
Lately, it seems that every other Punjabi guy with a mic and a computer proclaims to be an upcoming singer, rapper or music director. Have you ever heard a mainstream Hindi song that talks about a woman being a drug addict or alcoholic? I don’t understand why the Punjabi music industry is one of the only in India that regularly has a hit song that portrays women in a negative and demeaning manner. Perhaps, the reason could be that, even in the 21st century, our men still expect women to stay at home and cook.
If a grown woman chooses to fall into a path of drugs and alcohol then the least we can do is help her find her way back to a healthier lifestyle. Singing about these women and mocking their choices is definitely not going to solve the problem. I don’t understand what Honey Singh is trying to do, on his Facebook page he asserts that he is trying to bring light to the things that Punjabi girls are doing nowadays, but what will that do and what has it done so far? Nothing. The same girls he is singing about undoubtedly dance to his songs in clubs while they are drunk. He is not helping the problem in any way.
If he really wants to help, then, I suggest that he start using his fame in a positive way. Maybe starting a charitable organization that offers a safe haven for women in Punjab facing drug abuse problems could be a good start for his “mission” of bringing light to this growing issue.
Keeping it real.
Simmi