The custodial killing of father-son duo Jayaraj and Bennix has shaken the conscience of the nation. Not the entire nation, but enough for there to have been some action against the policemen involved. Many have pointed out, of course, that this is the exception rather than the rule.
The oppressed and underprivileged sections of the county, far too often, find themselves at the receiving end of state sponsored violence, where the perpetrators run scot free and victims are penalised. Many Indians, while quick to take notice of movements like #BlackLivesMatter, remain silent on injustices meted out to the marginalised on our own soil.
Arivu, a rapper from Tamil Nadu and a member of the Casteless Collective, has always used his music as a weapon of protest. Raising his voice once again against injustice and oppression, he has released a single “Hashtag Justice” where he points out that the motto of the TN police — “The police is a friend” — is nothing but a cruel joke.
As things stand, the lockdown imposed to save lives has instead taken lives. Governments and state machinery across the country have used the lockdown as a license to intensify violence and repression. Arivu’s voice is both a raging protest against such brutality as also a mirror to the society which allows it.
