Social Resistance, Ethical Consciousness and Pingal Prosody in Contemporary Haryanvi Ragni

The present study examines the relationship between ethical consciousness, social resistance, and Pingal prosody in selected contemporary Haryanvi Ragnis composed by Anand Kumar Ashodhiya. Focusing on the compositions “बेईमानी और लालच,” “मुफ्तखोरी और लालच,” “लोभ की चौसर,” and “चुनावी शतुरमुर्ग,” the article explores how Haryanvi Ragni functions as a medium of public ethics, cultural memory, and socio-political critique within North Indian folk traditions. The study employs a qualitative interdisciplinary approach combining textual interpretation, oral-performance analysis, cultural semiotics, and prosodic examination. It argues that contemporary Haryanvi Ragni has evolved into a significant vernacular form through which issues such as corruption, welfare exploitation, commercialization of education and healthcare, electoral manipulation, and moral decline are articulated in culturally accessible ways.

The article further demonstrates that the prosodic features of these compositions—including Samamatrik rhythmic organization, Yati placement, refrain structures, and Antya-Anupras patterns—strengthen emotional communication and collective memorability during oral performance. Drawing upon insights from oral tradition studies and Indian folk aesthetics, the study situates Haryanvi Ragni as a living performative tradition where ethical reflection and oral poetics intersect. It also identifies a continuing research gap in interdisciplinary studies combining Pingal analysis with socio-cultural interpretation in Haryanvi folk literature. The article therefore contributes to contemporary folk literary discourse by positioning Haryanvi Ragni as an important vernacular tradition of ethical expression, oral aesthetics, and democratic social critique.

Keywords

Cultural Semiotics, Folk Aesthetics, Folk Performance, Folk Prosody, Haryanvi Ragni, Institutional Critique, North Indian Folk Poetics, Oral Epistemology, Oral Tradition, Pingal Shastra, Saang Tradition, Social Resistance, Vernacular Ethics,