Neha Singh Rathore is a political satirist and a folk singer
New Delhi:
Folk singer Neha Singh Rathore is facing a sedition case over a complaint that she made a series of provocative social media posts that allegedly targeted a specific religious community after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
The complaint, filed by Abhay Pratap Singh, claims Ms Rathore used her social media accounts to make “anti-national statements” and accuses her of stoking communal tensions. Family members of multiple victims of the attack in Baisaran valley in Pahalgam on April 22 have said the terrorists went to each of them and asked about their religion. Those who said they were Hindu were shot dead.
Who is Neha Singh Rathore?
- Neha Singh Rathore is a political satirist and a folk singer known for composing songs in Bhojpuri. She was born in 1997 and raised in Jandaha, Bihar. She received her B.Sc (Bachelor of Science) degree from Kanpur University in 2018.
- Ms Rathore reportedly started her career as a composer and singer of Bhojpuri folk songs in 2019. She began recording songs on her mobile phone and uploaded them to Facebook. Ms Rathore has cited Bhojpuri poets Bhikhari Thakur and Mahendar Misir as her inspirations.
- She created a YouTube channel in May 2020 to raise awareness about the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on migrant workers. Ms Rathore has shared her work on various platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (now X). By October 2020, she had gained recognition for her political satire, and by 2021, her YouTube channel had over 1 lakh subscribers.
- Ms Rathore’s songs such as ‘Bihar Mein Ka Ba’ (2020), ‘UP Mein Ka Ba?’ (2022), ‘UP Mein Ka Ba? Session-2’ (2023), and ‘MP Mein Ka Ba?’ (2023) became widely popular on social media. ‘Bihar Mein Ka Ba’, released in 2020 during the Bihar Assembly election, was used to focus on issues related to Bihar workers. In January 2022, Ms Rathore released ‘UP Mein Ka Ba?, as a critique of the governance in Uttar Pradesh, addressing issues such as deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lakhimpur Kheri violence, and the Hathras gang rape case.
- In July 2023, Ms Rathore was involved in controversy when a case was filed against her for posting a caricature related to the Madhya Pradesh urination incident. The incident occurred in June 2023, when a video surfaced showing a man urinating on a tribal labourer in a public space. Ms Rathore, in July 2023, also released ‘MP Mein Ka Ba?’ (what’s happening in MP), a song that gained popularity during the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election season.
A case has now been registered against Ms Rathore in Lucknow, with charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including promoting sectarian animosity, disturbing public peace, and endangering the sovereignty and integrity of India. She has also been booked under the Information Technology Act.
