The fatal gangrape of a 22-year-old in New Delhi provoked a huge outcry all over India. More than one month after the incident, the trial against the six accused persons has begun. The incident has jolted Indians out of their complacence and forced them to rethink their attitudes towards women and how these attitudes propagate continual suppression and the ill-treatment of women in Indian society.

We present here a song called “Ma Nee Meri” (my dear mother) from the music band “Swang.” As the band members put it, this song is not to mourn her death, but to celebrate her spirit. In an article published in the Indian Express, the band says, “this song was created as a protest song, as a song of defiance, addressed to the mother, not just as a mother, but as a woman,  a daughter, a wife, a sister and a victim. ” The song questions the culture of parenting that promotes fear, submissiveness and obedience.

The lyrics (in English)

Maa Nee Meri
Mixed in every morsel,
What was that chant you kept repeating?
In the garb of concern and worry,
Why was fear the only virtue I learnt of your teaching?
Mother, I will not fear
Mother, I will not become you.

Drown! I shall drown, but not succumb into swimming with the tide;
Walk! I shall close these eyes and walk,
Slipper in hand, I shall stand!
Walk! I shall close these eyes and walk,
Drown! I shall drown, but not succumb into swimming with the tide;
Walk! I shall close these eyes and walk
Mother, I will not fear
Mother, I will not become you.

This is not the doing of cities,
This was committed neither by the Day nor the Night,
This is not the doing of lonely desolate streets,
Neither are windows and curtains guilty of this crime,

The length of garments are not responsible,
This is neither the doing of men, nor impotents..
You were amongst those six,
This is the doing of well wishers
Mother, I will not fear
Mother, I will not become you.

Father, this is your doing.
Every time you said to me,
My child, come home soon,
What was it you feared would be?
I am luggage, I will be stolen,
I began to feel that day..
It was you who gave them the audacity,
Every time you reprimanded me that way..
They who fear and run from Dogs
Are chased and bitten in the flesh,

But stand your ground and look the in the eye,
And watch them slink away, tail between thigh..
You were amongst those six,
This is the doing of well wishers

Your religion, even your God fears them,
Perhaps that is why he sounds like them,
“Woman is dwarf-like and weak,
Looks best sitting at home, pretty and meek.”

The priest, the cleric, the monk, the ascetic,
May have showered this world with their blessings,
But my forehead will not bow to them.
I will die, but not come to you.
God! I will not come to you!

Drown! I shall drown, but not succumb into swimming with the tide;
Walk! I shall close these eyes and walk,
Slipper in hand, I shall stand!
Walk! I shall close these eyes and walk,
Mother, I will not fear
Mother, I will not become you.

Policeman! This is your doing
Your thoughts are identical to theirs
In the drawstrings of your pants camp typical male airs,
“If you value your honour, stay at home”
You sing along to their tune
Your well fed tummy stands tall on boots,
Tightly laced by crime and to injustice immune.
What hope can one have of you,
When he the head and you shoulder
To live fearlessly on your guarantee is to gamble our lives and throw it over the boulder..

Your assertions of authority betray your hidden tail,
And you wear in your neck the politician’s khadi collar!
You were amongst those six,
This is the doing of well wishers

This is your doing Politician, O leader of men..
All those six were members of your creed
2002 and 1992 saw you too pull at salwars in lusty greed
And when in 1984 that ‘great’ tree fell
You too were a bloodsucking leech in those shadows of hell
Your hands have fed grain to them
They are mere glimpses of your sins
You are all made from the same clay
These are your comrades and brethren.

Make the crocodile your symbol, your flag
For these are the monsters you’ve fathered, and they wear your name tag..
You were amongst those six,
This is the doing of well wishers

I heard once that my land was free,
Why then should I remain a slave?
I never dreamt of Prince Charming,
I never wanted to be Queen of his enclave..
Mother of mine! You poor doll of clay..
I will not remain a mute sculpture, not even today!
Slipper in hand, I shall stand!
Walk! I shall close these eyes and walk,
Drown! I shall drown, but not succumb into swimming with the tide;
Walk! I shall close these eyes and walk,

And you who surround me now concerned
Keep at it!
Each time there occurs an ‘incident’
Discuss, debate, analyse
Build mountains of argument
When you suffer a crime
It is a question of ‘life’
When I am attacked
Why is the question of ‘honour’ rife?
This is a battle to be equal
To be counted as one who is Alive
Hide not this searing burning wound
In a two and a half inch hole, between the legs inside.

Look Mother! Look how I fought
I was one, they were six
But afraid I was not
Every time they touched me, I bit, I bit
I fought, I fought and till they tired I hit
I spat! I spat upon their faces
I spat! I spat like they were shit

Mother, I will not fear
Mother, I will not become you.
Mother, I will not fear

Proud of myself am I
I rendered them helpless and returned, I did not sigh
I returned to laugh! To laugh without a care
I returned to settle, to prosper, to live, to dare..

Mother I will not die …

The people involved in the song are:
Composer – Rohit Sharma, Lyrics – Ravinder Randhawa, Singers – Rohit Sharma, Pankaj Badra, Pinky, Narration – Pravishi Das, Ravinder Randhawa.

Editor: Manasi Gopalakrishnan with inputs from Ravinder Randhawa.