Â
On Wednesday, the popular online ticketing platform, BookMyShow, made a public announcement regarding the cancellation of the much-anticipated India tour of Shubhneet Singh, also known as Shubh, a singer-rapper hailing from Canada. This decision by the platform came in the midst of a growing uproar on social media, where demands for the cancellation of his scheduled shows had been gaining momentum due to allegations of his purported support for Khalistani elements.
It's noteworthy to mention that the statement released by BookMyShow did not explicitly disclose the specific reasons behind the tour's abrupt cancellation.
In its official statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), BookMyShow stated, "Singer Shubneet Singh's Still Rollin Tour for India stands cancelled. To that end, BookMyShow has initiated a comprehensive refund process for the ticket holders of the show. The refunded ticket amounts will be credited to the customers' original transaction source within a timeframe of 7-10 working days." The 26-year-old artist, originally from Punjab, had originally planned to kick off his three-month-long tour with performances in Mumbai, slated for September 23 to 25, and had additional shows scheduled in 11 other cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and more.
The Controversy Unveiled:
The controversy surrounding Shubhneet Singh began to unravel back in March when he posted two stories on his Instagram account. These stories depicted a map of India that notably omitted both Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, sparking a massive outcry and raising questions about his stance on certain sensitive issues.
These posts were made during a period when Indian authorities were actively engaged in a crackdown operation aimed at apprehending Amritpal Singh, a fervent supporter of Khalistan, and his associates. Singh, who led a group known as 'Waris Punjab De,' and his associates are currently incarcerated in a jail located in Assam's Dibrugarh.
India-Canada Diplomatic Tensions:
The situation escalated further on September 19 when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being responsible for the June killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian national who was fatally shot in Surrey, Canada. Najjar was a well-known advocate for Khalistan, an envisioned independent Sikh nation, and had been designated as a terrorist by Indian authorities. While India vehemently denied these allegations and, in a retaliatory move, expelled a high-ranking Canadian diplomat, the diplomatic standoff between the two nations continues to linger. In the backdrop of these developments, the clamor on social media calling for the cancellation of Shubh's tour gained momentum.
In light of these circumstances, the decision to cancel Shubhneet Singh's tour has been met with heightened scrutiny and garnered significant attention, further deepening the ongoing discourse surrounding the complex issues of Khalistan and diplomatic tensions between India and Canada.
