punjab

Updated: Feb 12, 2016 18:01 IST

He claims to be ‘Shar-A-Hindustan’ (Lion of Hindustan) and is a vocal ‘Narendra Modi Bhakt’ (admirer/devotee), using his heavy vocal chords to profess his love for the Prime Minister. He also has much space for hate, though, directed mostly at Muslims, the Congress, the Gandhis in particular, and anybody in general who does not love Modi. He is also the newly-appointed chief adviser of the Haryana Kala Parishad, the state art council.

Yet, Jai Bhagwan Mittal (popularly known as Rocky Mittal) remains unhappy with his appointment by the Manohar Lal Khattar-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. He thinks the post is “not according to his standing or the hard work he has put in”. “If the government cannot respect my contribution, it should not insult me,” he told HT.

Rocky, who hosted a lavish lunch for 20,000 party people in his hometown of Kaithal after the BJP’s Lok Sabha victory in 2014, said that he had produced 40 songs in praise of Modi, and produced and distributed three-lakh CDs from his own money. “The post of chief adviser of Haryana Kala Parishad was mentioned to me two months ago, but I turned it down. Still, I am told they have gone ahead and issued the order. I want to meet Modi and (BJP national president) Amit Shah before announcing my next step. I have made requests to their staff for an appointment,” he said.

His “hard work” includes songs such as “Narendra Modi Amritwani; PM Banega Narendra Modi; Deewana Modi Ka and Dabangg Hain Modi Ji”, besides “Mhara CM Ghana Shyana” produced on one year of the present BJP government in the state in October 2014.

It’s a different matter that his songs hardly have original tunes or lyrics. Much of his hatred is in the popular language of the Hindu Right, equating the Muslims in India with the “Mughal invaders” and other such communal staple. Here are some his gems:

‘Burn down Pakistan, dear Modi!’

In one song set to the tunes of ‘Khai ke paan Banaras wala’ from the Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Don’, he criticises Pakistan and China using the Hindu Right’s much-loved analogy of dog and its tail. With lyrics such as ‘Aag laga do Pakistan ko Modi-Ji’ (Burn down Pakistan, dear Modi), it goes on to state ‘Padenge Modi-ji sab pe bhari’ (Modi dear will weigh down all else). It also has Modi riding a camel with some soldiers and mentions the anti-terrorist operation of June last year when Indian troops reportedly entered Myanmar to kill some terrorists — ‘Chun chun ke Myanmar ko mara, ab hai Pakistan ki baari’ (We beat down Myanmar badly, now is the turn of Pakistan)!

Mad for Modi

Then there is ‘Diwana Modi ka’, or Crazy/Mad for Modi, in which he sings even more paeans to the PM; and in several videos before and after Modi’s election he cites his four-time CM-ship of Gujarat.

And this...

Hatred for Muslims, ‘time for Hindus to give it back’!

In one video on this theme, he talks against “paid” Christian conversions first and then goes on to tell Hindus to beware of Muslims, couching it again in the pop-hate lingo and rapping, ‘Cobra pe bharosa kar lena, par gau kaatne walon pe nahi’ (Trust a cobra, but never those who slaughter cows). The video talks of ‘Love Jihad’ and also carries photos of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan, besides video footage from movies and TV channels (without any copyright credits given, of course). It also shows actors Amitabh Bachchan and Bobby Deol among others at Sufi and Muslim saints’ tombs (‘mazaar’). ‘Pakhandi’ saints also find a dishonourable mention, with photos of Radhe Maa added for the desired effect, besides showing some footage of a saffron-clad baba on a bed with a woman. Shots of Sunny Deol beating up dozens of people from his movie ‘Ghadar’ are also used.

In another, he is flashing guns, and using the word ‘katuwa’ for Muslims (an insulting word to refer to those circumcised). He mentions Maharana Pratap and Shivaji as the saviours of Hindus and then talks of how “Hindus rule would be established” coupled with shots of Modi, Shiv Sena’s late supremo Bal Thackerey, BJP MP Adityanath and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) chief Praveen Togadia. The tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, is also lionised for beating the Mughals.

Ramdev is ‘God’!

He also described yoga guru and mega-businessman Ramdev — who also happens to be the ambassador of Haryana with cabinet-minister rank — as an incarnation of god in the current age (‘kalyug ka avtaar’) and then god himself (‘saakshat bhagwaan’)! This one’s set to the tune of popular Punjabi song ‘Dhol Jagiro da’.

‘Agent’ Kejriwal and Sonia the ‘sparrow’

He also talks of Arvind Kejriwal as an “agent of the Congress” in another video and terms Sonia Gandhi as Italy ki chidiya (the sparrow from Italy) who steals grains:

Read also: Inducted in Haryana art council, ‘Modi-bhakt’ singer feels insulted