Indian Punk Bands: 8 Acts From Tripwire On

Indian punk bands to know: Tripwire, The Riot Peddlers, Death By Fungi, Pacifist, Punk on Toast, False Flag and more, with a starter playlist.

Key facts

Veterans: Tripwire, a Mumbai punk trio formed in 2002
First hardcore punk act: The Riot Peddlers, formed in Mumbai in early 2010
Scene hub: Mumbai, home of the Bombay Hardcore collective including Death By Fungi and Pacifist
Milestone: Tripwire were the first punk band chosen for Independence Rock, in 2004
Ethos: DIY recording, self-run gigs and lyrics about politics and city life

The Indian punk bands to know are Tripwire, the Mumbai trio that has played punk rock since 2002, The Riot Peddlers, widely called India's first hardcore punk act, and the Bombay Hardcore bands Death By Fungi and Pacifist. Add Punk on Toast, Pune's False Flag, the pop-punk of The Lightyears Explode and Delhi's The Superfuzz, and you have the core of a small but stubborn scene. Here is who they are, what they sound like and where to start.

What Indian punk sounds like

Punk arrived in India late and stayed underground. The Revolver Club describes the Indian scene as still in its infancy, with a small but devoted audience, and points to the traits that define it: short, fast songs, palm-muted guitars, thrashing drums and lyrics about everyday struggle.

The scene runs on do-it-yourself work. "Punk/hardcore has everything to do with the DIY spirit of ownership," Pacifist vocalist Sidharth Raveendran told The Wire. "You create the music, the artwork, organise your own gigs, run your own magazines/labels, create your own merchandise." Promoters, the same report notes, often only just break even.

Most of the bands below come from Mumbai, which is why the city's loose collective of hardcore acts is known as Bombay Hardcore. For the wider picture of the city's music, see our Mumbai indie scene guide.

The essential Indian punk bands

1. Tripwire

Tripwire formed in Mumbai in 2002 as a trio of suburban childhood friends: Amey on vocals and guitar, Sagar on bass and Jack on drums and backing vocals. A RadioVeRVe profile says the original bassist, Tanveer, left for Australia and Sagar took his place.

Their first show was at a competition where the organisers put them in the first slot as soon as they heard the word punk. They played at three in the afternoon to an audience of two. In 2004 Tripwire became the first punk band chosen for Mumbai's Independence Rock, which our Independence Rock festival history covers in full. Their single "Norm The Guy Is Cool" appeared on the compilation We ARE The Scene – Vol. One.

By 2016 The Times of India counted more than 150 shows and an Asia tour through Malaysia and Indonesia. Their releases include the albums Standby and Homeless and the international compilation Disenfranchised in India. The band draws on Bad Religion, Black Flag, Green Day and the Ramones.

Start with: Norm The Guy Is Cool

2. The Riot Peddlers

The Riot Peddlers were formed in Mumbai in early 2010 by Ashwin Dutt and Arun Singh Ravi and are described as India's first hardcore punk act. The band is openly political. Its lyrics deal with police corruption, casteism, wealth inequality and sectarianism, and political cartoonist Manjul drew the cover of the EP High Horse. They have played across India and in Singapore and Malaysia.

Releases: Sarkarsm (2012), Strength in Dumbers (2020), High Horse (2023)
Start with: Chai Paani

3. Death By Fungi

Vrishank Menon formed Death By Fungi in Mumbai in 2013, playing guitar, vocals and drums on the first demo himself. The New Indian Express reported in 2019 that the band had grown into a quartet with Aryaman Chatterji, Kamran Raza and Tabish Khidir. Their releases include two EPs, a split with the Bengaluru sludge band Shepherd and the 2019 EP Die in Bombay.

Die in Bombay is about segregation and violence in Mumbai. Its title track deals with the normalisation of deaths on the city's railway. The band names Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Botch as influences and keeps costs low by recording in its own jam space.

Start with: Die in Bombay

4. Pacifist

Pacifist are a Mumbai post-hardcore band whose name contradicts their sound. In 2019 The Wire listed the line-up as vocalist Sidharth Raveendran, guitarist-producer Apurv Aggarwal, drummer Varun Sood, bassist Utkarsh Jaiswal and guitarist Ashish Dharker. "Reactionary", from the EP Greyscale Dreams, attacks online outrage culture. Raveendran said another song was inspired by the 2017 stampede on a railway bridge at Mumbai's Elphinstone Road station.

Start with: Reactionary, Greyscale Dreams

5. Punk on Toast

Punk on Toast are a four-piece punk rock band from Mumbai, formed in 2009. Their EP For Hire opens with a line calling democracy a lie, and the Punk Diaspora project describes their mix of pop-punk and politics. Bassist Prathamesh Sandansing and drummer Kalidas Shenoy have named NOFX and Blink-182's Travis Barker as influences, and credit Tripwire with introducing them to punk.

Start with: For Hire

6. False Flag

False Flag are a five-piece hardcore punk band from Pune. Their debut EP Spectrum Disorder won them attention, and The Wire traces their sound to the British band Napalm Death. Like their heroes, they are outspoken. The song "Docile Body" on their 2018 album draws on the German philosopher Max Horkheimer's essay "Rise and Decline of the Individual".

Start with: Spectrum Disorder

7. The Lightyears Explode

The Lightyears Explode are a Mumbai pop-punk band founded by vocalist-guitarist Saurabh Roy and bassist Shalom Benjamin. They once called their sound masala punk, and their lyrics sprinkle in Bollywood references. Their 2013 debut The Revenge of Kalicharan was followed by the EP Mellow in 2020 and, in 2023, Suburban Prose, their first full-length album in 10 years. On that record Roy sings about mental health, decaying friendships and family political differences. Drummer Jeremy D'Souza replaced Aaron Carvalho, and Jishnu Guha plays guitar live.

Start with: Pills, Nostalgia 99

8. The Superfuzz

The Superfuzz formed in New Delhi in 2004, with Sanchal Malhar on guitar and vocals, Nikhil "Rufus" Raj on bass and Aditya on drums. Their raw mix of punk and grunge took them to Campus Rock Idols, Great Indian Rock and Channel V's Launchpad. The Revolver Club credits them with shaping the songwriting of many punk bands that came after. To see how they fit into the capital's music, read our Delhi indie scene guide.

More Indian punk bands to explore

The Revolver Club also points to Hoirong, a New Delhi project led by Kamal Singh, formerly of Lounge Piranha, that mixes noise, shoegaze and punk. It names Retromist from Guwahati as a rare hardcore punk band from the east, and The Supersonics, a post-punk band that started in 2006 and owes as much to The Beatles as to The Clash.

An Indian punk starter playlist

Norm The Guy Is Cool by Tripwire
Chai Paani by The Riot Peddlers
For Hire by Punk on Toast
Die in Bombay by Death By Fungi
Reactionary by Pacifist
Spectrum Disorder by False Flag
Pills by The Lightyears Explode

FAQ

Is there a punk scene in India?

Yes, though it is small. It is centred on Mumbai's Bombay Hardcore bands such as Death By Fungi and Pacifist, with acts in Pune, Delhi and Guwahati, and it runs largely on DIY gigs and releases.

What was India's first hardcore punk band?

The Riot Peddlers, formed in Mumbai in early 2010, are widely described as India's first hardcore punk act. Tripwire had been playing punk rock in Mumbai since 2002.

Which Indian punk bands sing about politics?

Most of them. The Riot Peddlers tackle corruption and casteism, Punk on Toast open For Hire by attacking democracy's failures, and Pacifist and Death By Fungi write about life and violence in Mumbai.

What are some Indian pop-punk bands?

The Lightyears Explode from Mumbai are the best-known, from their 2013 debut The Revenge of Kalicharan to Suburban Prose in 2023. Punk on Toast also mix pop-punk with politics.