On 29th October (local time), controversial rapper Shubh was apparently seen holding a hoodie during his concert in London that looked like a newly launched hoodie with artwork celebrating the assassination of former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi. A video of Shubh holding the hoodie was shared by a Khalistani X account SherePanjabUK which is withheld in India. The post read, “Panjabi Artist Shubh holding a hoodie of an illustration that shows Indian PM Indira Gandhi (aka maimuna begum) being greeted by Shaheed Bhai Satwant Singh and Shaheed Bhai Beant Singh #NeverForget84.”
The video went viral on social media after several pro-Khalistani accounts shared the video.
ਵੈਰ ਸਾਡੇ ਨਾਲ, ਛੋਟੇ Dead-End ਨੀਂ Footage from lastnight at the 02 of #shubhworldwide holding the hoodie of Indira Gandhi being greeted by Shaheed Bhai Satwant Singh & Shaheed Bhai Beant Singh– ਖ਼ਾਲਿਸਤਾਨ ਜਿੰਦਾਬਾਦ pic.twitter.com/g7Vrw9snWf
— ਅਨੰਦਪੁਰ ਵਾਸੀ (@anandpusahib84) October 30, 2023
OpIndia’s tried to verify the video and it was inconclusive whether the hoodie held by Shub was one where the assassination of Indira Gandhi was celebrated. When we zoomed in and enhanced the image of the hoodie Shubh was holding, it was clear that Shubh held the hoodie with a Punjab map outlining the districts, however, the image quality did not allow us to conclude if the assassination image was there.
The hoodie was created by a pro-Khalistani clothing line, Akaal Clothing, that shared the video on their Instagram account as well. From the video, it appears the hoodie was handed over to Shubh by someone in the audience. He looked at the artwork and then flaunted it towards the crowd. In the pro-Khalistani artwork, the date of Indira Gandhi’s assassination, which was 31st October 1984, was printed. Akaal Clothing is using the controversy around Shubh’s now-cancelled India tour to promote the recently launched hoodie.
After the video of the concert went viral, there were several individuals who claimed that the two hoodies were different, while others claimed Shubh had indeed held up the very hoodie that glorified the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
Soon after, Shubh issued a statement through his Instagram handle.
In his statement, he claimed that several articles and clothes were thrown at him during his performance and he held up the hoodie without seeing what was on it. It is important to note here that Shubh is not denying that the hoodie indeed had the image glorifying the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
Shubh and distorted map controversy
On 23rd March 2023, Shubhneet Singh alias Shubh posted a story on his Instagram account captioned “Pray for Punjab”, showing a distorted map of India. He posted a photo of the map without the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and North-eastern states. This post was clearly an attempt to challenge the sovereignty of India and peddle the Khalistan narrative. The Canadian singer did this at a time when the Punjab Police was on the lookout to nab Khalistani terrorist Amritpal Singh. Shubh had openly supported Khalistani elements at the time.
In September, he announced his India tour in association with BookMyShow and the tour was sponsored by the Indian brand boAt. As the controversy around the distorted map resurfaced, first boAt stepped back from sponsorship, and later, BookMyShow announced that the concert was cancelled. Leading celebrities, including Indian cricketer Viral Kohli, unfollowed him on Instagram amid the backlash. Short video creating platform Moj also removed his songs.
Shubh and the artist who created the artwork remained silent for a long and spoke only after Shubh’s tour was cancelled. However, by then, it was too late, and people questioned why they remained silent and did not apologise earlier.
Terming India as his country, Shubhneet Singh said his “ancestors and Gurus did not blink an eye” when it came to making sacrifices for the country’s freedom. “India is MY country, too. I was born here. 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. Whatever I am today, I am because of being a Punjabi,” he said in a post on Instagram.
Earlier, the artist Inkquisitive who created the distorted map played victim and blamed Kangana Ranaut, social media and “powerheads” for the controversy. However, he stood by his creation and released another version of it.
Amandeep Singh claimed that the ‘artwork’ published on 21st March this year aimed at highlighting the blackout in Punjab and merely depicting a policeman taking the switch out of the Punjab region. The artist further mentioned that he did not intend to offend anyone while depicting the northern side of the map as faded or missing; however, he did intend to highlight this area as dark due to the blackout.
Update: This article has been updated after singer Shubh issued a statement on the controversy through his Instagram handle
