I am sharing this essay about “Hindutva music” as an example of when music can be used to divide–as opposed to unite as in the case of Kabir oral traditions.
The essay was originally submitted as part of the coursework for my M.Mus in Ethnomusicology. I was reminded of it recently when I came across Professor Brahma Prakash’s article on Scroll.in entitled “Why the toxic beats of ‘Disc Jockey Hindutva’ are so dangerous for India”
Unfortunately, the YouTube video analyzed in the piece no longer seems to be on the site. I hope the essay can still stand on its own merits. I will include a representative YouTube video of Didi Maa at the end of the essay.
Note: It is also worth noting that Didi Maa was conferred the Padma Bhushan in January 2025.
Bhajan is the major genre of devotional singing in Hinduism. It is a loosely structured song, usually performed in regional languages. It can be sung by an individual or by a congregation. Themes typically include ideas from scriptures, the teachings of saints and loving devotion to a deity.
Since I am from a South Asian background, I am familiar with bhajans. However, I have previously approached them through Hindustani classical music, in which the focus is on aesthetic beauty and using the bhajan’s lyrics to develop the raga. In a devotional context, in contrast, the words and the message of the bhajan can often be more important than the musical content.
In this essay, I will discuss Didi Maa Sadhvi Ritambhara’s performance of a Krishna bhajan “Aaj Gopal Raas Ras”, and compare her to the female sadhus studied by Antoinette Elizabeth DeNapoli in her monograph Real Sadhus Sing to God: Gender, Asceticism and Vernacular Religion in Rajasthan (Oxford University Press 2014) . One of the major contrasts is that Didi Maa is involved in Hindutva politics, which would seem to contradict the role of the sadhu as someone who has renounced worldly life. DeNapoli’s informants, on the other hand, are focused on singing to god as a way of serving humanity through seva.
As can be seen in the YouTube clip, Didi Maa performs the bhajan while seated in front of a large congregation, composed mostly of women. In front of her chair is a portrait of Lord Krishna and his beloved Radha. She is supported by an instrumental ensemble including violin, flute, keyboard, harmonium and pakhawaj. There are also two background singers, one male and one female. The bhajan is about Lord Krishna and his flirtation with the gopis and particularly with Radha. It has an uplifting mood and several members of the congregation can be seen dancing.
It seems difficult to reconcile the spiritual and uplifting nature of this Krishna bhajan with Didi Maa’s political activities. She has been associated with various right-wing groups including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. She was the founding chairperson of the Durga Vahini, the women’s wing of the VHP. She was also one of those accused of involvement in the demolition of the Babri Masjid (McGirk 1993). Although she can be seen smiling and clapping during her bhajan performance, there are other videos in which she is preaching to a crowd about how those who don’t love India (a “dog whistle” for reference to the Muslim minority) have no right to live in the country. This involvement of a renouncer figure with a divisive political agenda needs further exploration.
Unlike Didi Maa, the female sadhus studied by DeNapoli were not involved in any kind of politics. For them, bhajan singing was part of their ascetic practice. They sang nirguni bhajans (related to a formless and impersonal god) as opposed to saguni bhajans (addressed to a specific god like Rama or Krishna). Nirguni bhajans were seen as having a kind of power not possessed by other types of bhajans (DeNapoli 263).
The sadhus see singing bhajans as their duty to humanity (seva). One of DeNapoli’s informants, Tulsi Giri, contrasts bhajan singing with other forms of worship, such as puja, practiced by householders: “For us it’s not like seva doesn’t happen until and unless we wash God’s murti and spread [God’s] flowers. That’s not seva for us…. Our seva happens from above. It’s a seva of connection, the connection we make with God [by singing bhajans]” (275).
Bhajan singing is also associated with tapas (asceticism). In the framework of DeNapoli’s informants: “‘good people’ praise god by singing bhajans, words of truth and power. This notion implies that the female sadhus see sadhu and sant identities as equivalent. They say that the sants left everything behind so that they could devote their entire existence to singing bhajans and, by implication, to satsang. To them the sants embody detachment, knowledge and devotion—the three preeminent virtues that make it possible for the female sadhus to associate sant bhakti with sanyas” (278).
Perhaps the difference between Devi Maa and DeNapoli’s informants comes from their attitude towards bhakti. While the latter sing bhajans as part of their service to humanity and as an expression of their love for god, Devi Maa seems to be singing to the congregation. Rather than surrender to god, she is performing bhajans for a motivational purpose.
The Bhakti Movement has often been seen as an attempt at social reform, with its focus on individual love and devotion to god. It has also been considered a means of breaking down some of the barriers and animosity between Hinduism and Islam. Bhagat Kabir, for example, is a 15th century mystic saint revered by both the Muslim and Hindu communities. He rejected the rituals of both religions and believed that god was found in one’s heart. Reconciling bhakti with Hindutva’s majoritarian politics and hatred of the “Other” would seem to be difficult.
References
DeNapoli, Antoinette E. 2014. Real Sadhus Sing To God. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McGirk, Tim. 1993. “Hindu Zealots Find An Avenging Angel”. Independent, 28 February 1993. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/hindu-zealots-find-an-avenging-angel-an-amazon-who-loves-barbie-dolls-is-spurring-women-to-communal-1475706.html.
Below is a representative example of Didi Maa’s bhajan performance:
interesting to read in light of the Vande Mantaram anthem being extended to Madrasa. is it all 6 verses?
Yes
I wasn’t aware that “Vande Mataram” has to be taught in madrassas.
That’s not going to be a popular move since–as has been discussed on BP multiple times– singing a hymn to a mother goddess is seen as un-Islamic by most Muslims.