We’re sure at least some of you have heard about Victor Jara, a Chilean Poet, Musician and Singer who was brutally murdered by the army of Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet. He was murdered for being a part of the movement that opposed the dictatorship in Chile.
Closer home, another Singer named Belli Lalitha was hacked to death. Her body parts were thrown in agriculture wells around Bhongir. She was active in the Telangana Jana Sabha, an organization started much before the Telangana statehood movement took political center stage in 2001.
World over, it is a common phenomenon for oppressive regimes to harass, hound, arrest and in some extreme cases kill artists, singers, poets, writers and journalists who dare to question the atrocities committed by the regime.
One such incident happened after the Telangana Million March held on March 10th. The police have arrested prominent Telangana singer Nernala Kishore and tortured him mercilessly.
They slapped several cases related to some incidents that happened on Tank Bund during Million March against him.
His only fault was that he has participated in the Telangana Million March and sang inspiring songs on Tank Bund that day.
Nernala Kishore is very popular in Telangana region. He has performed at hundreds of Dhoom Dhams (Telangana song and dance shows) in the past two years.
Telangana movement derives a lot of inspiration from several songs that describe how Telangana was exploited and also songs that eulogize the fallen martyrs. Thousands of people gather at Dhoom Dhams that are held in every nook and corner of Telangana.
Within a few years of inception, the Dhoom Dham has become a unique and creative form of protest. Singers like Gaddar, Rasamai Bal Kishan, Desapathi Srinivas, Maa Bhumi Sandhyakka, Nernala Kishore, and Madhu Priya are hugely popular in Telangana region. And several new singers are coming up every day. These talented people have become the heart beats of the movement.
And this is what worries AP state government the most. Like all oppressive regimes, the AP government headed by Seemandhra leaders understands that these artists are more powerful than all the guns and bullets that it has at its disposal. The government knows fully well that it has to stifle these voices in order to suppress the movement. So, it has been resorting to mindless violence on these artists.
Several cases were slapped against singers and artists performing in Dhoom Dhams. They are charged under IPC draconian sections such as 120B – or waging a war against the government.
Here is a photo and video of Nernala Kishore performing at Chada village in Nalgonda District.
And here is a photograph that shows how cruelly the AP state police have tortured Kishore
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Mission Telangana severely condemns this barbaric attack by Seemandhra police on Nernala Kishore. We strongly feel that such attempts are a direct attack on Telangana movement. By resorting to such mindless violence on artists, the Seemandhra government is digging its own grave.