Indian rapper and actress Taran Kaur Dhillon, also known as Hard Kaur, last week received a lot of flak on social media after releasing a new rap song titled From Kashmir to Khalistan dedicated to the people of occupied Kashmir and the Sikh minority of the Hindu-majority country.
The Indian rapper has been very vocal about the human rights abuses being carried out by the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in occupied Kashmir since August 5, as well as the persecution of minorities in India since Modi assume office back in 2014.
Earlier this year, authorities in India had charged the United Kingdom-based rapper with sedition after she posted comments on social media against the extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Afterwards, the social media accounts of Hard Kaur were suspended in India, according to a report in Indian daily The Times of India. “As artists, we shouldn’t be pressured into making club bangers and commercial songs all the time,” she is quoted as saying after her new video was released.
“A real artist needs to be respected for their freedom of expression. When that’s taken away or overtaken with business and money, it puts very difficult choices in front of an artist,” the rapper added.
“[This song] it’s my way of raising awareness as an artist through my music as. Being a Sikh, it’s my duty to stand up against oppression and protect humanity especially when it’s my land, my people, my country,” she noted.
