The ‘Remember Bhopal Museum’ is organising a session on Info-Activism, made especially for college students, on how social media can be used collectively by the youth to highlight pressing social issues.

Those who participated in the discussion talked about Kodaikanal that was in the news with some good news for a change. For those who do not know, the people of Kodaikanal are leading a sustained struggle against the Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever with its headquarters in Britain, for the last 15 years. Health and environmental issues came to the forefront after Unilever set up a 100% export oriented thermometer factory there.

It was this story that made Sofia Ashraf make a rap video about corporate pollution in the idyllic hill town and there by dragged the issue back to spotlight. Sofia Asraf’s rap ‘Kodikanal Wont’ has been viewed nearly 2 million times on YouTube. A parody of the Nicki Minaj song Anaconda, the video features the 28year-old, once known as the burqa rapper dancing on a boat and sprawling on a train while demanding that Unilever clean up its ‘toxic shit’.

Ashraf was working at the advertisers Ogilvy & Mather when she was approached to do the video. “After working in an ad agency, I developed a better understanding of how to use popular culture to reach a wider audience,” Ashraf said. “So for Kodaikanal Won’t I decided to piggyback on a popular song like Anaconda. It would attract Niki Minaj fans, but also get the attention of those who hate her.