by NADEEM F. PARACHA
Just when one thought Pakistani pop music had eaten itself and choked on its own self-indulgences, comes a band called the ‘Beyghairat Brigade’ (the Dishonour Brigade).
The name says it all: A tongue-in-cheek take on what is called the ‘ghairat brigade’ (honour brigade), the band sarcastically embraces a title that the peddlers of ‘qaumi ghairat’ (national honour) spit at those who disagree with the brigade’s conspiratorial rants and an almost xenophobic brand of ‘patriotism.’
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YT
This is how it goes: Politicians are corrupt, America is evil, Indians want to break-up Pakistan, acts of terrorism are either being carried out by US/Indian/Israeli agents or by Pakistanis trained by these agents, or by non-Muslims posing as Muslims, or even if they are Muslims they are not Pakistani and if they are really Pakistanis then they are .. errm … not circumcised.
In other words, the whole wide world (except Saudi Arabia and maybe China) wants to destroy Islam (and thus Pakistan, which is the ‘bastion of Islam’).
Dawn for more
Aalu Anday: Make way for the Bayghairat Brigade
by RAFAY MEHMOOD
On the contrary, 15-year-old band member Hamza has absolutely no idea what the song means and what he has gotten himself into. “We told him a number of times, that if you want, we can edit you out of the video, but it was his passion for music that made him stick to it and the teenager had has done a good job,” says Saeed.
However, one thing that saddens the band is that despite a number of puns on Ajmal Kasab, Owais Qadri and Maulana Abdul Aziz, all the threats that they have received so far are about the mention of Nobel Prize winner, Dr Abdus Salam
“It is sad and ironic that people threaten us or give suggestions like, ‘You should have used Abdul Qadeer Khan’s name instead of Dr Abdus Salam,” says Saeed, but is quick to add, “Perhaps this was the kind of debate we wanted to trigger.”
Different political parties have asked Bayghairat Brigade to join them and make music for their campaigns, but the band has refused. They, however, do not mind their music being used against any force that is anti-democratic.
Tribune for more
(Thanks to Robin Khundkar)