New Delhi: Should Pakistani artists clean up their tweets on Narendra Modi and Kashmir and apologise before they can perform in India?
Karachi hip-hop duo Young Stunners — comprising rappers Talha Anjum and Talhah Yunus — are being reminded about their negative comments on India, Indian Air Force Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, and PM Modi. They have five months to make amends before their India tour in December. There is a lot of cleaning up to do, and Indians are wasting no time pointing this out.
The rapper Talha Anjum had doubled down on his position in 2020 when his tweets first came to the attention of the Indian audience. It was around the time Young Stunners released a song with Indian rapper Kr$na.
Now, the announcement of the new tour—set to happen in New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai—has led to a revival of the controversy. Indian X users have dug up Talha’s old posts where he mocks Abhinandan, calls Modi a terrorist and advocates for a free Kashmir. The rapper has not made any statements on the matter yet.
Pakistan never had to fight for Kashmir, back then Jinnah said 'Kashmir is gonna fall in our lap like a ripe fruit' but Nehru was well equipped back then politically, militarily. Modi is a fool if he thinks it's the same case now. Pak has always opted for freedom of Kashmiris. https://t.co/pgXvdING6Y
— Talha Anjum (@talhahanjum) August 11, 2019
Tweets range from users demanding an apology from the rappers to questioning why Pakistani artists are being given a platform in the first place.
⚠️ALERT⚠️@SkillBoxIndia will organize an event where Pakistanis will given stage!
Talha Anjum, lead of Young Stunners is a hate monger who hates India from their core and made fun of our Army and our Country many times.
— Dr. Goutam Guha (@goutamguha10) August 3, 2024
Talha Anjum is a Pakistani rapper. He deleted several posts against India and mocking IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan because he has to do shows in India.
He planned his tour of India in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai for December 2024.
He will earn money from India to target India pic.twitter.com/dOBZyUxeSu
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) August 2, 2024
According to Rolling Stone India, Skillbox, the ticketing platform for Young Stunners’ India tour, delisted the event from their website in response to the backlash. “…We do not support sentiments that incite hate or violence against India,” the company said in their statement on Instagram, clarifying that they “were not and never were the promoters of the event”.
However, organisers Desi Disco Entertainment have indicated that the show is still on, and that they have created a different website for registrations.
Speaking to ThePrint from Australia, Vaheed Khan, the head of Desi Disco, alleged that the outrage was part of a larger strategy to target the show because they had refused to collaborate with a few internet handles.
“It is now personal. I will make sure the show happens and will not be bogged down by a few tweets,” he said, adding that when the show was announced on 1 August, 600 people were employed to conduct 16,000 registrations that were completed in the first 12 hours in all three cities.
“Many of these internet pages wanted a cut from the revenue and when we refused to put the logo [of these pages/companies], the tweets started surfacing. Half of the tweets are fake and have nothing to do with either Talha or Pakistan,” he claimed.
Khan added that for most other organisers, it was a shock that the duo was performing in India and hence they wanted to sabotage it.
“I wanted to change the music scene in India with this show. After Skillbox delisted it, we made our own website and the Mumbai show was sold out in three minutes. The shows will definitely happen.”
The outrage reflects a larger polarising sentiment against Muslims in India, Khan said, adding that “this wouldn’t have happened had it been some other artist”.
After the Uri terror attack in 2016, India imposed a ban on Pakistani artists. The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) resolved not to engage with artists from the country, citing reasons of “security” and “patriotism”.
Consequently, artists such as Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar, Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan stopped collaborating with their Indian counterparts.
In October 2023, Justice Sunil B Shukre and Justice Firdosh P Pooniwalla of the Bombay High Court criticised a petition seeking a complete ban on Pakistani artists as a “retrograde step in promoting cultural harmony, unity, and peace”. The Bombay High Court sided with cross-border cultural exchange, dismissing the plea for “lacking merit”.
The 2021 reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor facilitated cultural exchange, but that was about it. No Pakistani artist has set foot in India since 2016.
Politically vocal duo
Young Stunners are renowned for melancholic tracks that seamlessly blend English with Urdu. Earlier in June, Talha Anjum wrote a diss track titled Kaun Talha after Indian rapper Naezy dismissively asked “Kaun Talha (Who’s Talha?)” in an interview; he was being questioned about possible collaborations with Pakistani musicians.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, noted Dawn, Anjum seldom relies on heartbreak anthems to maintain his relevance. His songs steer clear of the typical modern rap themes of money, sex, and extravagance. His debut album Open Letter (2023) exemplifies this distinctive approach.
His opinions have also been political, and he has often criticised the Pakistani government.
“I have always been vocal about my political views and that has nothing to do with Indian rappers/dj’s or the general public that listens to my music. It’s not like we sit on a table and agree to everything we say or represent as individuals and only then collaborate;this is for all the indians who listen to me from delhi,mumbai, pune & lucknow & what not I check the stats I see you all and i love you, I don’t like your prime minister tho, I hated my last prime minister too & the one before him & also the one before him..” he had posted on X.
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Indians demand apology
Indian users continue to demand an apology from Young Stunners, with some even calling for a complete boycott. One Instagram user wrote, “Being someone who is critical of Modi and his certain policies, this is NOT CALLED FOR. It was a cheap, irresponsible way of showing hatred. They shouldn’t be allowed. Meanwhile, an X user wrote: “Recognize your worth before the power of music. Have some self-respect, everything is not about money.”
Pakistanis, on the other hand, are concerned about their favourite rappers’ safety.
“Do not let young stunners go to India bro they won’t make it out alive”, one X user wrote. Another one said: “Indians are so messed up, they’ll find any reason to cancel someone’s career. Talha Anjum tweeted something when he was a kid, but making a big fuss over it is insane. You’ve gotta be seriously twisted to pull that kind of revenge”
Indians are so messed up, they’ll find any reason to cancel someone’s career. Talha Anjum tweeted something when he was a kid, but making a big fuss over it is insane. You’ve gotta be seriously twisted to pull that kind of revenge
— Ahmar (@AhmarBodla) August 2, 2024
Speaking to ThePrint from Pakistan, musician Farasat Anees said that collaboration always fosters creativity. “This mutual support can lead to greater exposure and success for everyone involved,” he said. Commenting on the Young Stunners controversy, Anees added:
“As an artist, you are allowed to have political opinions, and I think if someone is stating it right, then it shouldn’t affect the art.”