Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan cancels show as India-Canada diplomatic row disrupts cultural track

Amidst ongoing Indo-Canadian diplomatic row, celebrated Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan’s Canada trip has been cancelled. The production house said the move is the most responsible and necessary course of action for the time being.

“In light of the current diplomatic unrest between the two countries and after careful consideration and assessment of the unpredictable circumstances, it has been determined that the cancellation of the event is the most responsible and necessary course of action for the time being,” the production house posted on Facebook announcing the cancellation of Gurdas Maan’s tour. The production house has promised his fans that all tickets would be refunded and new dates would be announced soon.

Mann was scheduled to perform in Canada this month between October 22 to October 31. Though planned months ago, the tour was caught in line of fire with India and Canada being at loggerheads over the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.  The cancellation of the tour has got thumbs up from the Indian diaspora who hailed him for taking an anti-Khalistani stand while accusing others of avoiding the issue.

Before Gurdas Maan, Canada-based rapper Shubhjeet Singh was in the spotlight after his first-ever India tour was cancelled in September following outrage over his alleged pro-Khalistani views. Shubh was criticised for an old social media post which showed a distorted map of India omitting Jammu & Kashmir. After his show was cancelled, Shubh said India is his country too and he was born in India. “And Punjab is my soul, Punjab is in my blood. Whatever I am today, I am because of being a Punjabi. 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,” Shubh wrote. Names of artists like AP Dhillon and Diljit Dosanjh were too dragged into controversy.