Shubhneet Singh, widely known as ‘Shubh,’ a Punjabi artist and rapper, canceled his planned tour on Wednesday, just days after he made headlines for his purported support for Khalistan and separatists.
Ticketing platform BookMyShow, in a post on X, said: “Singer Shubhneet Singh’s Still Rollin Tour for India stands canceled. BookMyShow has initiated a complete refund of the ticket amount for all consumers who had purchased tickets for the show. The refund will be reflected within 7-10 working days in the customer’s source account of the original transaction.”
Over the next two months, the singer from Canada was set to perform in several cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi, and Kolkata. He’s also one of the headliners for a cruise festival on Cordelia Cruises in Mumbai later this week.
The news comes amid continuous anti-Shubh protests in Mumbai spearheaded by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the BJP’s youth wing. One of BJYM’s demands was that the singer’s tour and concert be canceled. They had already written to the Mumbai police, requesting that an FIR be filed against Shubh “for waging war against the Government of India and posting anti-government posts.”
What is the point of contention?
On March 23, 2023, Shubh posted two stories on his Instagram account, one of which included a distorted image of India without Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, with the comment “Pray for Punjab.” The singer’s purpose was to demonstrate that Punjab is not a part of India and to propagate the Khalistani agenda, According to the memorandum presented by BJYM to the Mumbai police.
“Shubh is openly a Khalistani supporter and if he is allowed to hold a concert here, he will be influencing a lot of youth in Mumbai and our country to support his agenda…He has proven that he is a pro-Khalistani activist and openly supports their agenda and [he] is also influencing the youth of the country to do the same and wage a war against the Government of India by posting such absurd and derogatory posts about the Government of India,” the complaint read.
BJYM President Tajinder Singh Tiwana told the media, “We won’t let singer Shubh perform in the auspicious land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mumbai. If no proper action is taken then the organizers will have to face our protests.”