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I answer to i i pop group in South Asia. Their name means "passion." They sing in Urdu and Punjabi: their sound is a seamless blend of '70s hard rock, Bombay pop and Sufi mysticism. Oh, and the bass player is Irish-American; he grew up in Queens but lives in Karachi. Since last spring Junoon has sold over a million CDs in India alone; they've also had two number one music videos on MTV Hong Kong. The band has toured in India, the Middle East, Britain and the US, where a free summer concert in New York City drew thousands of exuberant Asian fans (known as "Junoonis") to Central Park. Junoon's rocket ride to stardom coincided with one of the most dangerous military con frontations of the late 20th century. In May, 1998, Junoon played an outdoor concert for 50,000 Indians in New Delhi. The band led a "Peace, not war! " chant from the stage. But it didn't work: a few days later India detonated three nuclear bombs near the Pakistani border, triggering a South Asian arms race. Since then, contraversy has engulfed Junoon in Pakistan: members have received death threats, journalists have questioned their patriotism and the state television net work has refused to air the band's music videos. Last September the Pakistani Ministry of Culture sent Junoon an official letter stating that they had "belittled the concept of the ide ology of Pakistan" while on tour in India last spring. And what is the ideology of Pakistan? Basically that South Asian Muslims need their own country because Hindus and Muslims can't live together in peace. Bureaucrats were particularly upset by a BBC television interview in which Junoon's lead singer, Ali Azmat, remarked that music knew no boundaries and that Junoon didn't believe in nuclear weapons. Back home, many Pakistanis interpreted this to mean that Junoon had abandoned their homeland in its hour of need. On the Internet, word spread that Junoon was in trouble with the Pakistani govern ment. The band's global following of emigrant South site (www.junoon.com) with messages of sup Both musically and politically, Junoon is a new pop animal: beyond East, beyond West, beyond nationalism. Their music is the soundtrack for a pan-Asian youth culture emerging in the middle of a new cold war. But if their sound owes much to classic rock, the band's political views have little in common with Western pop activism. From Bob Dylan to Adam Yauch, most politically articulate Wester[l rock artists have followed a vaguely leftist ideology in which hip culture opposes an "establishment" that has usually includ ed government, multinational corporations and the military. But not Junoon. Until the nuclear crisis, the band had friendly relations with the politically powerful Pakistani army, and a lucrative sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola. In October of 1997, global capital and South Asian militarism converged when Coca-Cola sponsored a Junoon concert for Pakistani troops stationed on the Siachin Glacier in the Himalayas, the world's highest altitude battleground. Azmat fainted in the heli copter and all three band members got nosebleeds, but they completed their set in front of several thousand freezing but appreciative soldiers. In concert, Salman Ahmad often performs a solo electric guitar version of the Pakistani national anthem, inspired by Jimi Hendrix' legendary Woodstock deconstruc tion of the Star Spangled Banner. The difference is that Pakistani audiences stand at attention for the duration of the song, rather than rolling around in some Asian equiva lent to farmer Yasgar's mud. Even so, Coca-Cola cancelled Junoon's sponsorship last year, worried that the political controversy swirling around the band might hurt their share of the Pakistani cola market. And Junoon's peculiar but heartfelt brand of rock-and-roll patriotism is no longer good enough for the Pakistani army, which recently banned the group from performing on military property. By becoming popular in India, Junoon challenged the ideological foundations of Pakistan; hence the ban. And by reaching a global Asian emigre audience via satellite TV and the Internet, the band transcends the liarsh polarities of south Asian nationalism. While India and Pakistan threaten to incinerate each other's population centers, fans from both countries flash Junoon's funky message of youth rebellion and divine love around the world. That's pop, and politics, in the information age . •