Singer Shubhneet Singh is a poplar singer with the likes of Virat Kohli and Yo Yo Honey Singh appreciating his work. However, he is currently at the centre of a new controversy amid the whole Khalistani issue with the Canadian government.
Shubhneet Singh, a Canadian singer, has found himself in the middle of a political controversy. Amid the increasing tension between India and Canada over the allegations made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, demands for a mass ban against Shubhneet have emerged in the country. The popular singer enjoys a fan base of millions including prominent celebs like Virat Kohli and Yo Yo Honey Singh who have gone on record in the past to appreciate his work. However, as the latest issue escalated online, Indian celebs unfollowed Shubh on social media. Here’s more about the singer and the controversy in detail:
Who is Shubhneet Singh And What’s The Whole Controversy About?
Shubhneet, known as Shubh among his community of fans, is a 26-year-old singer and music composer based out of Canada. Born in August 1998, he was brought up in Canada by his parents who both work as professors. Shubh belongs to a Punjabi Sikh family and has a younger brother, Ravneet Singh, who’s also an actor and a singer. Shubhneet is quite popular in Canada and among the lovers of Punjabi music all over the world. It’s not been a long time since he found fame after releasing his breakthrough single ‘We Rollin’ in the year 2021. He made his singing debut with a single titled ‘Don’t Look’ with another Canadian singer Imran Thiara in the same year. However, it was ‘We Rollin’ that took him all over the world. Later, he released his other popular singles including ‘Elevated’ and ‘Offshore’. Earlier this year, he released his debut album titled ‘Still Rollin’ which was ranked 16th on Billboard Canadian Albums Charts. He is now scheduled to perform in India in 10 cities this month.
Ahead of his India tour, Shubhneet, earlier this month, took to his Instagram stories and shared a photo. He wrote ‘Pray For Punjab’ on the photo and that triggered the whole nation. The photo that he shared and later deleted showed a distorted map of India sans the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and the North Eastern states. The photo went viral in no time and brought a whole ire for the singer who was called a ‘Khalistani supporter’ for his act.
Screenshots of Shbhneet’s post/ Kangana’s reaction to the post
Kangana Ranaut Calls Shubhneet Singh a ‘Criminal’
His stories didn’t go unnoticed by the celebs and actor Kangana Ranaut, who is always vocal in matters of nationalism and politics, took to her social media to vehemently criticise Shubh. Sharing the screenshot of the post that the singer shared in his Instagram stories, Kangana wrote, “Yeh Khalistani Virs wali bimari wahan kaafi Punjabi celebrities ko pakdi hue hai… beheading India in its map should have serious legal consequences… GOI must make strong laws against such criminals… do din jail ki hawa khilake, inke dimaag ke Khalistan mein answer bhar do, fill in the blanks kr do inn sabka (sic).”
BJP Demands Ban on Shubhneet’s Upcoming India Concert
Later, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the ruling party BJP, opposed Shubh’s upcoming concert. The singer is set for his ‘Still Rollin India Tour’ in the next three days which is going to be a three-month-long concert happening in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Pune among other cities. The BJYM has also filed a written complaint against the singer and has submitted a memorandum to the Commissioner of Police in Mumbai, requesting action against Shubh and the cancellation of all his performances in India. They have also demanded to register an FIR against him.
boAt Withdraws Its Sponsorship From Shubhneet’s Event
Meanwhile, following the outrage, Indian electronics brand boAt announced its official withdrawal from Shubh’s concert in India. In a statement released in the media, the company made its stand clear on the issue and announced that they are ‘true Indians’. “At boAt, while our commitment to the incredible music community runs deep, we are first & foremost a true Indian brand. Therefore, when we became aware of the remarks made by artist Shubh earlier this year, we chose to withdraw our sponsorship from the tour (sic),” they said.
Shubh hasn’t spoken on the matter yet and no official statement has been made regarding the postponement or cancellation of his scheduled India tour from September 23.