Several headlines from different news portals state that two juveniles were arrested for listening to “Pakistani songs” while running a shop in the Bhuta area of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. 

The headlines are vaguely written as “Pakistani songs”, which can mislead readers who just read the headlines. Twitter handle @sabanaqvi equates a song praising Pakistan to popular songs by Pakistani artists.

Twitter handle @_sayema states her panic in a Twitter post by retweeting another misguiding Tweet, which again vaguely states “Pakistani songs”, and not the content of songs.

Truth Behind the Claim

The news articles themselves explicitly state that the two juveniles were listening to a song that hailed Pakistan with the phrase “Pakistan Zindabad” (Hail Pakistan).

According to The Times of India, a complaint was filed by a resident of the village who objected to playing a song that praised Pakistan. An FIR was lodged accordingly, which also stated that when the resident asked the two to stop listening to these songs, abuses and anti-India remarks were hurled at them. Furthermore, a video has gone viral on social media, depicting the two minors listening to a song that features the “Pakistan Zindabad” slogan.

According to ANI, Raj Kumar Agarwal, The Superintendent of Police, Bareilly, says “We have registered an FIR against two people who allegedly played songs with Pakistan Zindabad”.

In conclusion, it is wrong to label this issue as “arrested for listening to Songs by Pakistani artists”, when in fact the songs sing the praise of Pakistan. Whether or not this warrants an arrest can be a matter of debate, but equating this to simply listening to songs by Pakistani artists is misleading as well. “Arrested for listening to a song with Pakistan Zindabad slogan” would be a more accurate headline.