Music For Change: Gujarat, 16 other states, sing, record songs against child marriage

By Jitendra Parmar*
Singing in sync with the rest of the nation in arguably the largest ever campaign using music for a social cause, a large number of NGOs and individuals in Gujarat sang songs calling to end child marriage in the country as part of the ‘Music for Change’ initiative. So far, 331 such songs, from 17 states in the country, have been sung in local languages and dialects by women folk singers, local artists and villagers, and will be further spread to even the farthest and remotest corner of digital India through WhatsApp.
This unique initiative is part of the nationwide ‘Child Marriage Free India’ campaign led by women activists and civil society organisations in more than 300 districts in the country with the aim to eliminate child marriage by 2030, thereby saving 30 million girls from getting married. The campaign is being run with the focus on implementing the existing government policies and laws in the country that ensure child protection.
Using the powerful medium of music, folk singers, local artists and villagers, including men, women and children created anti child marriage songs in whatever capacity they could and recorded them in what is described as the first phase of ‘Music For Change’ initiative. The result is an overwhelming cache of 331 songs in various languages recorded in fields, farms, by lanes, panchayats, in schools and homes, and even in studios with an unprecedented zeal and passion.
Using the power of smartphones and Internet that have touched almost every terrain and fold of the country, these songs will not just be sung in village functions and get-togethers, but will also be distributed via WhatsApp.
From Anganwadi workers to people in tribal areas, from young children to old women survivors of child marriage, from village head to school headmaster, everyone has joined the movement and now voicing their protest not just through words but through music as well.
As part of the ‘Music For Change’ initiative, all the partnering NGOs in the 17 states have a common music template and are asked to sing a song in their language and share the recording. The NGOs are asked to record the lyrics and change it to suit their local context.

“Music is the language of the soul and has the prowess to reach the toughest and the farthest corners. Powerful music has the potential to stir souls and break chains. ‘Music For Change’ has given a new impetus to our ‘Child Marriage Free India’ campaign with local folks joining in from across the country, singing powerful songs to express their determination to end child marriage from the country. The campaign has been fuelled and is spreading by leaps and bounds due to such participation and determination from the grassroots,” Ravi Kant, India Head, Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation, said.
The original lyrics of the song that has been shared asks people to get up from wherever they are in the village or the community to change the face of the society, and join the movement to end child marriage. It gives a call to everyone to not just join from wherever they are, but also with whatever little or big resources they have. It asks people to join the women in this women-led movement and bring whatever tools they have. “If you make beards, join with your pair of scissors, if you are a rickshaw puller, join with the rickshaw…..” the song reads.
The 17 states that have joined the initiative so far are Andaman, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

---

*With Bachpan Bachao Andolan

Comments

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

Beyond the election manifesto: Why climate is now a kitchen table issue

By Vikas Meshram* March has long been a month of gentle transition, the period when winter softly retreats and a mild warmth signals nature’s renewal. Yet, in recent years, this dependable rhythm has been disrupted. This year, since the beginning of March, temperatures across vast swathes of the country have shattered previous records, soaring to between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius in some regions. This is not a mere fluctuation in the weather; it is a serious and alarming indicator of climate change .

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar* Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement.

As India logs historic emissions drop, expert warns govt against 'policy blunders'

By A Representative In a significant development that underscores the rapid transformation of India's energy landscape, new data reveals the country recorded its largest drop in power sector emissions in 2025. However, a top power sector analyst has urged the Union Government to view this "silver lining" as a stark warning against continuing to invest in new coal, large hydro, and nuclear projects, which he argues could become "redundant" stranded assets.

Search This Blog