By: Nandika Dusi, Research Analyst, GSDN
From the violent streets of Lyari in 1980s to the pompous wedding in Hyderabad, music makes its way into everyone’s heart, be it friend or foe. The song “Dilan Teer Bija”, which initially began as an unintentional election symbol for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to support Benazir Bhutto and her bloc which travelled down to Old Hyderabad as a wedding song in the marfa tradition with an extra added dhol and now was trending all over our Instagram algorithm.
This track was one of the first upbeat campaign anthems in the country’s history. The public heard it as a battle-cry against the military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq. Sung by Shabana Noshi and Zahoor Khan Zeibi, the track had blended Balochi folk beats with the high tempo music of disco.
History of The Song
The song originally began as an independent project of by Zahoor Khan Zeibi and distributed to the disco scene of Lyari, then later compiled into a 5-Set Album in a studio with Noni Products. The song translates exactly to a “an arrow to the heart”, the symbol of PPP was an arrow. The purpose was to remind people of what to stamp on when they vote. The song was recorded in Lyari, a Karachi neighborhood which was heavily populated with working-class Baloch Citizens who were the fierce and loyal Bhuttoists of Benazir Bhutto.
The creator has poured his all into the track, calling the Bhutto family his second love, mentioning how he wants the daughter of the nation, Benazir Bhutto, to rise to her leadership. The song was written when she returned from her exile April 10, 1986, to the massive, restless crowds. The extremity of the nature of the people and political and civil unrest inspired the high-rhythm song which matched the raw, defiant energy of the crowd ready to fight the military dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq.
Impact of the Song
The song had the direct message of anti-dictatorship when it was re-released in the 5-Set Album to support Benazir Bhutto’s campaign for the 1988 elections. The release in Lyari was intentional as there was massive support for PPP in this region full of Jiyalas who want freedom from the military dictatorship. The song achieved massive, nationwide public broadcast status when the PPP integrated it into Benazir Bhutto’s active campaign trail.
The 1988 elections followed 11 years of oppression through military rule. This song had injected a new electrifying energy among the agitated crowd of those against the dictatorship. The heavy dhol beats and disco lines turned rallies into spaces of celebration, drawing massive, highly motivated crowds. The song played the effective role of a repetitive audio advertisement by reinforcing the arrow (teer) with an incredibly catchy beat. It placed the voting symbol into public consciousness, ensuring voters know what stamp to look for on voting day. According to public archives the rival parties like the MQM and Jamaat-i-Islami were forced to hire musicians and release their own public campaign anthems to compete for the attention and votes of the public in the 1990s.
The track defined the soundtrack of the 1988 elections, symbolizing an era of hope, restoration of democracy, and the rise of the world’s first modern Muslim leader. In 1988, Benazir Bhutto was elected as the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state and was also Pakistan’s first female prime minister.
Entering Hyderabad: All the way down South India
The decade that this song released, in the 1990s, the Gulf oil boom triggered massive migration from India and Pakistan to the middle east for blue collar work. A large number travelled from regions of Hyderabad and Karachi. They lived, worked, and existed in a common area.
Scholars say that music travelled through conversations just like how food, stories, and ideas were exchanged culturally. The tune popularized in Andhra Pradesh after the release of Chiranjeevi’s “Raja Vikramarka” song, where the actor oblivious or not, performed in a pattern resembling marfa dance along with a spin off on the melody of “Dilan Teer Bija”, where many journalists believe he popularized the song in Hyderabad. The next year in 1991, Amitabh Bacchan’s Indrajeet, where the music was done by RD Burman, the track “Main Na Jhooth Bolun” is once again following the marfa tunes. When an old city music lover were asked about the popularity, they say it simply came along with the popularity of “Hawa Hawa” by Hasan Jahingir.
Did the song travel or the tune?
As of today, the tune is much more popular, it’s played by live bands, trending on our algorithms, or remixed by DJs, and is played in full volume even with political undertones. The drum used is widely a part of culture in the Middle East, Central Asia, India folk, and Sufi traditions, the beat is said to not be new at all.
It is said that the Chaush or Chaus men, a community from the Hadhrami Arab descent, who stayed in Pakistan during the 1948 following the annexation of Hyderabad state into India, linked their musical traditions with the local Baloch community, popularizing the pulses of Dilan Teer Bija and later hyped by the Chaush men who live in the deccan part of India, who came long before the independence, brought by Yemen to serve as military men in former Hyderabad state under the Nizams, inculcated marfa beats in the 18th century as a part of Deccan culture.
Overall, the song slowly slipped into the culture sharing the upbeat rhythm and tempo, with the traditional drums with the local Hyderabad marfa beats. It was played at wedding processions and pre-wedding festivities, earning itself the title of “the Bhutto song” without any political concepts in it, eventually stripping away the identity of a election campaign and transforming into a party staple for wedding dancers.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Dilan Teer Bija, despite the themes of politics, tells us a different story about how music transcends borders and norms thanks to the people keeping it alive wherever they go. As a result of migration, the song survives through CDs, wedding tapes, memories, and now Instagram reels and YouTube shorts without the question of who Bhutto is or what PPP stands for, the simple expectation is to dance your heart out and it’s the sentiment which remains relevant today.
