New Delhi: Very few singers in Punjab want to talk about Shubh. It’s been less than 48 hours since the Canadian-Punjabi singer’s Still Rollin Tour of India was cancelled for a pro-separatist Instagram post, and already rappers, musicians, singers and producers in Punjab are distancing themselves from him. One singer claimed he had never heard of Shubh. Another slammed the phone down. And a third begged to be kept out of it for fear that the National Investigation Agency would come knocking on his doors.
Even big stars like Honey Singh and Mika Singh are so far silent, while Daler Mehndi’s team declined to comment. And folk singers said he was never part of their world or music.
“I don’t know who Shubh is. I don’t know anything about the controversy. Maafi do (Spare me),” said Punjabi folk singer Paramjit Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Pammi Bai.
Another Punjabi folk singer, Feroz Khan, also insisted that he had never heard of Shubh until now. “I only hear about those who sing well,” said Khan. “I am hearing about the singer and his music for the first time from you. I have not heard any of his songs, and I concentrate on my Punjab and its music.”
Shubh or Shubhneet Singh (26) left Nangal town of Rupnagar district for Canada six years ago. And he shot to fame in 2021 with the song We Rollin. But since then, his star has been on the rise; he counts the likes of Virat Kohli, Shubham Gill, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya as fans. They have unfollowed him on social media after his post.
Some of his contemporaries including Garry Sandhu, Jordan Sandhu and Wazir Patar have posted on Instagram in support.
As part of his tour, which he called his “homecoming” Shubh was scheduled to perform in several cities across India, including Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurugram, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
Shubh posted an apology on Instagram late Thursday night expressing his “dismay and sorrow” over the cancellation of his tour in India. He went on to add that India is his country, the land where he was born.
“It is the land of my Gurus and my ancestors, who didn’t even blink an eye to make sacrifices for the freedom of this land, for its glory, and for the family. And Punjab is my soul, Punjab is in my blood…Punjabis do not need to give proof of patriotism. At every turn in history, Punjabis have sacrificed their lives for the freedom of this country. That’s why it’s my humble request to refrain from naming every Punjabi as a separatist or anti-national,” the Instagram post read.
Taranjit Singh Kinrha, who runs a magazine on Punjabi music called Sangeet Darpan, says it’s not possible that fellow musicians don’t know about Shubh.
“They are just scared. After Sidhu Moosewala, Shubh is the rising star of the Punjabi music industry.”
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Increasing divisiveness
Many Punjabi singers and rappers are worried that they will lose fans, sponsors, and come under investigation if they support Shubh.
“I don’t want to invite any agency such as ED or NIA,” said a Punjabi singer who did not wish to be named. He worries that his views will be taken out of context. Silence is preferable. “It takes seconds for a comment to go viral and then it takes only a few hours for an agency to land at your door. Why would I invite that to myself?”
ThePrint tried speaking to Daler Mehdi but his team said that he would not comment on the controversy.
Kinrha is uncomfortable with this divisiveness filtering into the Punjabi music industry.
“Music is something that brings people together. It’s wrong to drag music and singers into this Khalistani trope. Elections are round the corner and politicians are defaming singers for their own agenda. This is wrong. No true Punjabi demands Khalistan,” he said.
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The Canada dream
Shubhneet Singh was one of the lakhs of Punjabi youth who dreamed of Canada until it finally became a reality. He’s now based in Ottawa.
His first song is about t men cruising the streets in fancy cars. Guns and women—a staple in Punjabi rap—featured in the song as well, which soon made it to the UK Asian, UK Punjabi and Official New Zealand charts.
With 1.2 million followers on Instagram, the singer’s song Baller made it to the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. Shubh has 3.25 million subscribers on YouTube and 13.1 million listeners on Spotify.
However, with India and Canada ties deteriorating, an old Instagram post allegedly by Shubh, remerged on social media. It featured a photo of a map of India where Punjab was blackened, while Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, and the northeastern states omitted. There was a drawing of a police official holding a disconnected cable with the caption “Pray for Punjab”.
The post created an uproar and soon after, Shubh posted a clarification saying his intention was not to provoke “any sort of separate state agenda”. But the damage was done. The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of BJP, demanded the cancellation of his three-month tour.
“Shubh became popular very quickly. His first song was an experiment by him. He was always interested in singing but never wanted to be stuck in Punjab like his brother. He wanted to make it big,” said a man close to Shubh’s family.
Shubh’s brother Ravneet Singh who lives in Punjab is a singer and has also acted in Punjabi movies such as Jatt Vs Ielts. His phone is switched off, the copy will be updated when he replies to ThePrint’s questions.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)