# Neha Singh Rathore

Neha Singh Rathore is an Indian folk singer and political satirist who sings and composes songs in the Bhojpuri language. She is known for songs with a focus on political and social issues.Her songs "Bihar Mein Ka Ba" (2020), "UP Mein Ka Ba?" (2022), "UP Mein Ka Ba? Session-2" (2023), and "MP Mein Ka Ba?" (2023) have been popular on social media.

## Early life and education

Neha Singh Rathore was born in 1997 and raised in Jandaha. Her father is an architect and her mother is a singer and a homemaker, and Rathore is the youngest of three siblings. Rathore completed a B.Sc. at Kanpur University in 2018.

## Career

In 2019, Rathore began her career as a composer and singer of Bhojpuri folk songs, started recording song videos on a phone, and uploaded video to Facebook. Rathore has said she considers the work of Bhojpuri poets Bhikhari Thakur and Mahendar Misir to be inspirations for her songs. During the COVID-19 pandemic in India, after learning about the impact of the March 2020 lockdown on migrant workers, she began her YouTube channel in May 2020 so she could use social media and music to raise awareness.
She has posted her work on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and by October 2020, had about fifty popular videos, with recognition for satire about politics and political figures. In her music videos, she wears a bindi and sari in the pallu style - according to Jyoti Yadav, writing for ThePrint, "The combination of this unthreatening visage and excoriating lyrics challenging the highest echelons of power soon had people paying attention."
In 2021, Rathore received the YouTube Silver Creator Award after her channel reached 100,000 subscribers. By November 2023, her YouTube channel had 1.2 million subscribers, and she was producing between two and four song videos per month.

### Bihar Mein Ka Ba

Rathore's rap song "Bihar Mein Ka Ba" (what does Bihar have) was popular on social media in 2020, during the 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, as were other political songs she wrote and performed during the election season. Rathore adapted the song "Bambai Mein Ka Ba" by Manoj Bajpayee into "Bihar Mein Ka Ba" to focus on Bihar workers.

### UP Mein Ka Ba?

In January 2022, Rathore uploaded her song "UP Mein Ka Ba?" (what's there in UP?) to her YouTube channel. The song was a response to a song released by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ravi Kishan, which was titled "UP Mein Sab Ba" (UP has everything). In her song, Rathore's criticism of governance included a variety of issues, including deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, Lakhimpur Kheri violence, and the 2020 Hathras gang rape and murder case.

### UP Mein Ka Ba? Session-2

In February 2023, Rathore released "UP Mein Ka Ba? Session-2", which questioned and criticized the Uttar Pradesh government about the death of two women during an eviction drive in Kanpur Dehat district. Rathore was given a notice by Uttar Pradesh police about the song video and a request for her to reply to their questions about the song and video. The Indian People's Theatre Association condemned the notice to Rathore as "intimidating and a threat to freedom of expression" and requested it be withdrawn. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also condemned the notice, and Rathore commented, "I stand by the song and I will keep on singing."

### MP Mein Ka Ba?

On 7 July 2023, a FIR was filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party employee against Rathore after her social media post that included a caricature of a half-naked man being urinated upon by another man, with the caption, "MP mein ka ba?" (what is happening in MP?), which was understood as a reference to the Madhya Pradesh urination incident. On 13 July, Rathore released the song "MP Mein Ka Ba?" (What does MP have?) which became popular on social media, and was shared by Congress party leaders during the 2023 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election season.

## Personal life

In 2022, Rathore married Himanshu Singh.