Sites of Dissent and Power: Transmission of Cultural Memory Through Resistance Slogans and Songs

Book: Cultural Memory in Translation: Revisiting Cultural Memory Through Interpretative Lens from India by CSMFL Publications

Anubhuti Srivastava1 & Ayushi Dwivedi2
1Research Scholars, Department of English and Modern European Languages, University of Lucknow, India; 2Research Scholars, Department of English and Modern European Languages, University of Lucknow, India.

10.46679/9789349926639ch23
This chapter is a part of: Cultural Memory in Translation: Revisiting Cultural Memory Through Interpretative Lens from India
ISBN (Ebook):978-93-49926-63-9
ISBN (Hardcover Print):978-93-49926-41-7
ISBN (Softcover Print):978-93-49926-75-2

© CSMFL Publications & its authors.
Published: November 10, 2025

Srivastava, A. & Dwivedi, A. (2025). Sites of Dissent and Power: Transmission of Cultural Memory Through Resistance Slogans and Songs. In A. G. Uppal & D. Barot, Cultural Memory in Translation: Revisiting Cultural Memory Through Interpretative Lens (pp 329-341). CSMFL Publications. https://dx.doi.org/10.46679/9789349926639ch23

Abstract

This study examines the hermeneutics of resistance through the global circulation and translation of slogans and songs, which serve as instruments of political and cultural dissent. When human rights are violated, resistance often emerges through slogans and protest songs. Given the universality of human emotions, struggles in one region often resonate with those in another, prompting the translation of these slogans and songs into local languages. Resistance is seldom contained within a single location or language; it travels, adapting its slogans and songs to match different socio-political environments. Cultural memory encompasses the shared knowledge, values, customs, and historical experiences that shape a group’s identity and its understanding of the world. This paper aims to highlight the cultural memory of past struggles against oppression, the resilience of marginalized communities, and their victories. Translation acts as a vehicle for transmitting these cultural memories across linguistic and state boundaries. Stories of resistance, through translated songs and slogans, go beyond their original contexts and resonate with people around the globe.

Revolving around global resistance movements—from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, where songs like “Senzeni Na?”, resonated in American civil rights music, to the Indian independence slogan “Inquilab Zindabad”, meaning “Long Live the Revolution,” now widely used in contemporary South Asian civil rights activism—this research investigates how meaning is negotiated, reinterpreted in translation, and used for transmitting cultural memory. This paper draws on the theoretical frameworks of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (The Politics of Translation), Benedict Anderson (Imagined Communities), and Susan Bassnett and André Lefevere (Translation as Rewriting). The methodological approach blends translation studies, postcolonial theory, semiotics, and feminist critique. It argues that translation serves as a bridge between resistance movements and promotes solidarity. Lastly, it demonstrates that the cry for justice is universal and, through translation, it is renewed across borders and generations.

Keywords: Hermeneutics, Cultural Memory, Resistance, Protest Songs, Slogans, Translation Theory.

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