Meanwhile, the Arvind Kejriwal government on Thursday invited Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali to perform in India’s national capital after his concert in Mumbai was cancelled due to Shiv Sena protests, saying “music has no boundaries”. “#BanTheBan”, said Delhi Tourism and Culture Minister Kapil Mishra in a tweet. He said that the borders between countries can not restrict music from streaming into the hearts of people.
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The move comes after Shiv Sena strongly objected to Ghulam Ali’s concert scheduled to be be held at Mumbai’s Shanmukhanand Hall on October 9 which subsequently got cancelled.
Ali, who made an entry in Indian cinema with his popular song “Chupke Chupke Raat Din” for B.R. Chopra’s “Nikaah”, also said that he is hurt and sad. The event has taken on a political tinge now with the AAP government promptly inviting the singer to perform in Delhi instead. Because now, the situation at the India-Pakistan border is so bad that everyone is a bit agitated about Pakistan’s actions. Or we have too much to lose by challenging the ruling class. I hate silence and I love my music: so I shall listen to a Ghulam Ali song on my IPod before I sleep tonight. This blatant hypocrisy goes to show that these bans & threats are only ploys used by Shiv Sena to divide people and appease their vote banks.
While these two musicians have not actively been opposed by the Shiv Sena, in 2012, Raj Thackeray threatened to disrupt a television show Sur Kshetra that included Pakistani singer Abida Parveen as one of the judges.
The other uncomfortable question raised by the cancellation of Ali’s concert relates to the relationship between music and politics.
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A recent assurance by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that Ali was welcome to perform in Mumbai and that his government would give him “full protection” did not deter his ally from opposing the concert. Recently four Indian soldiers were killed as you know, and also seeing the cold behaviour of the Pakistani Prime Minister towards our PM at the United Nations, all these things we’ve been hearing about in the media. If he can’t perform it will be our loss, not his. “When there are constant ceasefire violations, our jawans are beheaded; we can not be having fun with them”.
