Rebel Warrior
Encyclopedia
Rebel Warrior appears on British
musical group Asian Dub Foundation
's first released cd, Facts and Fictions
and also on group's fourth album, Community Music
, under a slightly different arrangement. The song was inspired by the poem Bidrohi, translated from Bengali
as "The Rebel", and written by Kazi Nazrul during the 1920s.
Kazi Nazrul was a Bengali
poet, patriot and composer during the end of the colonial era in India
who supported Indian unity, as well as justice and freedom for women. Kazi Nazrul wrote Bidrohi as a call to arms of those oppressed in India
by the British and a call for unity between Muslims and Hindus. Nazrul's poem politically and metaphorically called for Indians to oppose the British
colonialism, by physically taking the government back and by mentally removing the imitation of British ideals and ideas from the country and returning to more traditional ways. His poem was the first aggressive poem published against colonialism and it was immediately successful and popular both with Muslims and Hindus because of its dynamic and forceful quality, which encouraged citizens to act against the colonial system which caused them so much destitution. In his quest to unify India, Nazrul attempted to make both Hindus and Muslims overlook their internal issues with each other and instead fight against the British. Kazi Nazrul went on to write more poems, as well as the first Bengali protest music, though he was later arrested for his outspoken beliefs, becoming one of the most important men in the Indian independence movement.
Asian Dub Foundation
roughly translated the original text of Bidrohi on their track Rebel Warrior and used the song to support a modern take on Nazrul's original stance. The poem was chosen in part because of its significance to the Indian
independence movement and because of its place in Indian traditional culture and its powerful and unifying lyrics. It speaks out against neo-Colonialism, both in England
and East Asia
, and utilizes the original anti-colonial significance, while also expanding the message to battle modern racism, a force that is still prevalent against minorities in post-colonial England and the Western world
in general. .
The strong lyrics, mostly taken from the original poem, aggressively encourage anger and resistance against the hegemonic West and call for people to stand up against racism by actively fighting the oppressor, even to the point of ending the Western empire. This parallels Nazrul's original message, in which he challenged people to stand up and battle colonialism by fighting back. The song also managed to unify people across cultures against racism by encouraging separate groups to join together to battle the tyrant, saying that part of ending racism is ending divisions between cultures, using the metaphor of the siren and flute and saying that these divisions are merely in the mind and do not actually exist. Asian Dub Foundation's version of the traditional poem successfully brings the originally traditional Bengali
message to a wider Western audience through its lyrics and modern hip-hop and East Asian infused sound and by promoting the end of racism using a cultural and traditional means, which would serve to strengthen South Asian identity by its reminder of shared past struggles..
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
musical group Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation are a British electronica band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments, acknowledging a punk influence...
's first released cd, Facts and Fictions
Facts and Fictions
Facts and Fictions is a Reggae/dub album by the British band Asian Dub Foundation. The album was originally released in 1995, on the Nation Records label...
and also on group's fourth album, Community Music
Community Music
Community Music is an album by British band Asian Dub Foundation, released on 20 March 2000. The album reached #20 in the UK album charts.-Track listing:All songs by Das, Pandit, Tailor, Savale, Zaman unless otherwise stated....
, under a slightly different arrangement. The song was inspired by the poem Bidrohi, translated from Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
as "The Rebel", and written by Kazi Nazrul during the 1920s.
Kazi Nazrul was a Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
poet, patriot and composer during the end of the colonial era in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
who supported Indian unity, as well as justice and freedom for women. Kazi Nazrul wrote Bidrohi as a call to arms of those oppressed in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
by the British and a call for unity between Muslims and Hindus. Nazrul's poem politically and metaphorically called for Indians to oppose the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colonialism, by physically taking the government back and by mentally removing the imitation of British ideals and ideas from the country and returning to more traditional ways. His poem was the first aggressive poem published against colonialism and it was immediately successful and popular both with Muslims and Hindus because of its dynamic and forceful quality, which encouraged citizens to act against the colonial system which caused them so much destitution. In his quest to unify India, Nazrul attempted to make both Hindus and Muslims overlook their internal issues with each other and instead fight against the British. Kazi Nazrul went on to write more poems, as well as the first Bengali protest music, though he was later arrested for his outspoken beliefs, becoming one of the most important men in the Indian independence movement.
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation are a British electronica band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments, acknowledging a punk influence...
roughly translated the original text of Bidrohi on their track Rebel Warrior and used the song to support a modern take on Nazrul's original stance. The poem was chosen in part because of its significance to the Indian
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
independence movement and because of its place in Indian traditional culture and its powerful and unifying lyrics. It speaks out against neo-Colonialism, both in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, and utilizes the original anti-colonial significance, while also expanding the message to battle modern racism, a force that is still prevalent against minorities in post-colonial England and the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
in general. .
The strong lyrics, mostly taken from the original poem, aggressively encourage anger and resistance against the hegemonic West and call for people to stand up against racism by actively fighting the oppressor, even to the point of ending the Western empire. This parallels Nazrul's original message, in which he challenged people to stand up and battle colonialism by fighting back. The song also managed to unify people across cultures against racism by encouraging separate groups to join together to battle the tyrant, saying that part of ending racism is ending divisions between cultures, using the metaphor of the siren and flute and saying that these divisions are merely in the mind and do not actually exist. Asian Dub Foundation's version of the traditional poem successfully brings the originally traditional Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
message to a wider Western audience through its lyrics and modern hip-hop and East Asian infused sound and by promoting the end of racism using a cultural and traditional means, which would serve to strengthen South Asian identity by its reminder of shared past struggles..