Song of solidarity for sit-in

A Malayalam music director has composed a song of solidarity with Sreejith, whose sit-in before the Kerala state secretariat, seeking a CBI probe into the custody death of his brother, completed 770 days on Thursday.

Gopi Sundar, who has composed, recorded and filmed Justice For Sreejith, said he would donate to Sreejith's cause whatever money he earns from YouTube for the song.

Sreejith, 30, has become a rallying point in Kerala since last weekend, when social media woke to his solo battle, with top actors voicing solidarity and political heavyweights across parties rushing to meet him and express support.

"I happened to come across this news the day before (Tuesday). I could not concentrate on my work after that," Sundar told The Telegraph.

Sreejith's brother Sreejeev was arrested for an alleged phone theft on May 19, 2014, and died in custody two days later, the police claiming suicide by poison and his family alleging foul play.

For two years after Sreejith began his protest in December 2015, he was ignored by the Congress-led government under whose watch his brother died, the Left government that succeeded it, and society at large.

Now he is overnight a household name, with a change.org petition for a CBI probe into Sreejeev's death garnering tens of thousands of signatures.

Trying to deflect public anger, the CPM-led government hurriedly arranged a meeting between Sreejith and chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday, but the protester says he'll continue his sit-in till a CBI probe begins.

"This man's plight haunted me - I hadn't seen anything like this," said Sundar.

He got songwriter B.K. Harinarayanan to pen a few lines on solidarity and justice, and drafted playback singers Sithara, Abhaya Hiranmayi and Maqbool Mansoor as well as his own studio's chorus to record the song.

"It took just 20 minutes to record it but it's the best work I've ever done," Sundar said.

Production was completed on Wednesday morning and the song was uploaded on YouTube at night. By early evening on Thursday, it had clocked more than two lakh views and was trending at No. 1 in India among all YouTube videos.

The video, which has visuals of the singers and newspaper clips, ends with a famous quote by Martin Luther King Jr: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."