BookMyShow has made the decision to cancel the upcoming India tour of Shubhneet Singh, a singer-rapper hailing from Canada who goes by the name Shubh. This action follows a prominent social media campaign that accused Shubh of endorsing Khalistani elements.
Singer Shubhneet Singh’s Still Rollin Tour for India stands cancelled. To that end, BookMyShow has initiated a complete refund of the ticket amount for all consumers who had purchased tickets for the show. The refund will be reflected within 7-10 working days in the customer’s…
— BookMyShow (@bookmyshow) September 20, 2023
Shubhneet Singh, a 26-year-old artist originally from Punjab, had a three-month-long tour scheduled, with his first performances set to take place in Mumbai from September 23 to 25. He had plans to perform in 11 other Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, among others.
The controversy surrounding Shubh began in March when he shared two stories on his Instagram account. These stories displayed a map of India that notably excluded both Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. These posts coincided with a period when the Indian authorities were actively pursuing Khalistan supporter Amritpal Singh and his associates.
The exclusion of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir from the map sparked a significant backlash on social media. Numerous users alleged that Shubh was lending his support to the Khalistani movement, a separatist ideology aiming to establish an independent Sikh state within the Punjab region of India.
BookMyShow’s decision to cancel Shubh’s tour comes at a time when tensions between India and Canada are already high due to various factors. One such factor is the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June of this year. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had previously suggested that New Delhi may have had a role in the assassination, a claim that India vehemently denied as baseless.
The relationship between India and Canada, which had traditionally been close, has faced strains in recent years, primarily due to issues such as the Khalistan movement, the aforementioned killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and Canada’s granting of asylum to Sikh separatist Jaspal Atwal.
The cancellation of Shubh’s India tour is likely to exacerbate these diplomatic tensions between the two nations, adding yet another layer of complexity to their relationship.
