ADR launches anthem song to create voter awareness

Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) Friday launched its anthem song "Wo waqt kabhi jise aana tha". Jagdeep Chhokar, founder of the non-political group, said that it aims at "making people realise the power their vote carries" during the Lok Sabha elections.

Starting Monday, the nine-phase 16th Lok Sabha elections will involve 814 million voters, of which 100 million are first-timers.

"In the coming elections, afairly large number of young voters will go out to vote for the first time. The song aims at making people realise the power their vote carries," Chhokar said in a statement.

"A song has the ability to not only stay on the lips of the people, but it also stays in the mind. Social media has an immense role to play in this election," he added.

Composed and sung by Harpreet, known for his work Sufi music, the song talks about the state of affairs in the nation even after six-and-a-half-decades of independence.

It says criminalisation of politics and the nexus between money, crime and muscle power has affected the governance and delivery of even the bare minimum services and amenities to the citizens of the country, said a statement.

Gaurav Raturi, founder of Filmbooth, best known for the International Filmbooth Festival Spoofmania organised in Delhi, has directed the song's video, which is available on YouTube channel of ADR www.youtube.com/adrspeaks.

"Music and visuals go beyond words and slogans. What better story one can get to tell the people of India than to tell the people of India to vote responsibly," said Raturi.

Deepak Dhamija, founder of Shoelace Productions, an IIM-Kolkata alumni and theatre person, has penned the lyrics for the anthem.

The ADR Anthem song has also been shared by Facebook India as part of ADR-Facebook collaboration for the campaign to create a culture of informed choice.