New Delhi: After Canada-based Punjabi singer Shubh reacted to the cancellation of his India tour, singer AP Dhillon has shared a long message on Instagram and said that political groups use the public image of singers and artists to further their divisive agenda. Apart from Dhillon, Late Sidhu Moose Wala's Instagram page also posted a message in support of Shubh.
AP Dhillon wrote on Instagram Stories on Friday, “I try to stay out of all the social mania as it is clear to me that regardless of what I say or do, it is a lost cause... someone, somewhere is going to spin the narrative to their liking and create more division. As an artist it has become almost impossible to stay focussed on your craft and do what you love. I try to be mindful of everyone's sentiments but it has gotten to a point where we have to second and triple guess our every move due to fear of unintentionally fuelling even more division.”
He further wrote, “Special interest and political groups constantly use our (artists') public image as a chess piece to further their agenda, while we are just trying to make art that helps people on individual level, regardless of their colour, race, religion, nationality, gender etc."
"Spread love not hate. Let's start thinking for ourselves and not let hateful influences program our beliefs. We are ALL one. let's not let man-made social constructs divide us. Division has gotten us to this point but unity is the key to the future...,” the singer concluded.
Apart from AP Dhillon, a long message supporting Shubh was also shared from late singer Sidhu Moose Wala's Instagram account. A part of it read, “Sidhu consistently advocated for his people, only to be unjustly labeled a terrorist without any substantiated evidence. Regrettably, a similar fate has befallen Shubh. A single Instagram story, posted with benevolent intentions, has unexpectedly ignited a torrent of national animosity. It raises the question of why artists hailing from minority communities seem to consistently face such adversity, either through persecution or silencing.”
Check the complete statement here:
Earlier on Thursday, Shubh took to Instagram and said that he was 'extremely disheartened' as he was 'enthusiastic to perform in my country, in front of my people'.
I was highly amped up and enthusiastic to perform in my country, in front of my people. The preparations were in full swing and I was practicing with my heart and soul for the last two months. And I was very excited, happy, and ready to perform. But I guess destiny had some other plans,” a part of his statement read.
Shub’s old Instagram post had gone viral creating outrage. The post captioned 'Pray for Punjab', along with two folded hands emojis, depicted a map of India without the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and the North-East on it. The singer had shared the post during the Punjab Police hunt for Khalistani terrorist Amritpal Singh.
Shubneet’s ‘Still Rollin India Tour’ was announced on August 4. The three-month long tour included cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune and Jaipur.