The rock music in India: development and semantic content
https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2025-7-81-98
Abstract
The lyrics of rock songs, unlike commercial entertainment pop music, often touch upon the most burning socio-political issues. Indian rock artists are no exception. So, the study of rock music can lead to broader understanding of different socio-cultural processes in India in general. This article presents a study of the rock genre in India, including the emergence and evolution of rock music, as well as the studies of the lyrics of local rock bands. Due to the influence of various socio-economic factors we can outline two main stages in the development of rock music in India: from the 1960s to 1980s and from the 1990s to Today. The initial protectionist course of the Indian government in cultural and economic spheres significantly limited the influence of the West and one of its product – rock music, but with the beginning of economic liberalization in the mid-1980s, cultural exchange between Western countries and India gradually expanded, that led to attempts by musicians to protect their culture from Westernization and to seek inspiration in their own religion, folklore, poetry in local languages, as well as reflection on such issues as separatism, caste and religious segregation, climate change, the status of women.
About the Author
E. V. Golubtsova
Prince Alexander Nevsky Military University, Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Ekaterina V. Golubtsova, Cand. of Sci. (History)
14, Bolshaya Sadovaya St., Moscow, 123001
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Review
For citations:
Golubtsova E.V. The rock music in India: development and semantic content. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2025;(7):81-98. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2025-7-81-98
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