Shubh India tour cancelled: India-Canada row spells trouble for Punjabi artists

Ticketing platform BookMyShow cancelled Shubh’s tour, which was scheduled to happen on September 23-25 across Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and other Indian cities. (Image source: Instagram/@shubhworld)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday alleged that “agents of the Government of India” played a key role in the assassination of Canadian Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The serious allegation caused a diplomatic storm, the ripple effect of which was felt not just by the Indian and Canadian diplomats in their respective countries, but also by the Punjabi music industry.

‘No Love’ for Shubh concertgoers

A young crop of Indian-Canadian singers whose songs appeal to both the diaspora and Indians back home, now stand at the risk of being cut off by brands, possibly losing endorsements and chances of touring in India, which makes up for a major chunk of their ticket sales. One of them, 26-year-old singer Shubhneet Singh aka Shubh, known for hits like Elevated and Still Rolling, is already facing the brunt of a diplomatic fallout between the two G20 nations. Ticketing platform BookMyShow cancelled Shubh’s tour, which was scheduled to happen on September 23-25 across Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and other Indian cities.

The step was taken after an Instagram story shared by Shubh in March this year, surfaced online. The picture, which was posted in the wake of Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh’s arrest, showed a map of India which omitted both Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. Electronics brand boAt ended sponsorship for Shubh’s tour in light of the escalation, calling themselves a “true Indian brand”. Cricketer Virat Kohli, who had earlier called Shubh his “favourite artist” and even used his music on his Instagram stories unfollowed the singer on Instagram.

AP Dhillon’s shoes cause outrage

Escalation of diplomatic tensions between democratic nations seldom results in revenue loss in terms of brand deals and cancellation of shows. But given the unique synergy that exists between India and Canada, where a large section of Indian diaspora living in the North American country, the fallout is expected to be massive, particularly for artists who profit off both markets.

Recently, Prime Video platformed AP Dhillon’s documentary First of a Kind and later, the singer released an EP of the same name. Shortly before the release of his documentary, the Excuses hitmaker was accused of being a Khalistan supporter by social media users when he wore shoes with the Indian flag on them. Dhillon, like Shubh, had put out an Instagram story during the police search for Amritpal Singh in April this year with the text “Pray for Punjab”. Dhillon is also followed by several Bollywood stars, many of whom also attended his concerts in India. None of the above brands or people have distanced themselves from Dhillon yet.

Singer Jaswinder Singh Bains, popular as Jazzy B, is known for interspersing his music and lyrics with imagery invoking Operation Bluestar and Bhindranwale. The singer has his own clothing and accessories brand ‘B Jazzy’ which remains operational in India.

Also, singer Inderpal Moga, whose song Daku mixes Bhindrandwale’s actual voice with the track, came under the scanner earlier this year for the provocative lyrics. “I’m a Daku, and I accept this…I’m a Daku”, Bhindranwale can be heard saying on the track.

Diljit Dosanjh’s balancing act

Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh, who has also starred in Bollywood films, came under the scanner for “promoting Khalistani agenda” when he engaged in a Twitter spat with Kangana Ranaut over the Farmers protests in 2020. More recently, Dosanjh’s film Punjab 95 was removed from the line-up at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year. The movie is on the life of Punjab-based human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who documented the disappearance of thousands in Punjab during the peak of the Khalistani movement.

Dosanjh is a product-endorsement maven. In August 2015, Coca-Cola signed Diljit Dosanjh as brand endorser for Punjab. E-commerce platform Flipkart roped Diljit Dosanjh for its Flipkart Connect campaign for Punjab. It is yet to be seen if any of the brands will dissociate themselves from Dosanjh, who is Indian-born artist.

In the wake of Amritpal Singh crackdown, Diljit also took to Instagram and posted a story in Punjabi, which roughly translated to, ‘May my Punjab live and prosper’. While Dosanjh has, in his own way, shown solidarity towards Amritpal Singh, the singer has refrained from making inflammatory comments unlike his hardline Canadian contemporaries.

With the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issuing advisory for Indian students in Canada, and India-Canada ties getting worse, it wouldn’t be surprising if brands pull out of endorsement deals and cross-country promotional tours - at least temporarily. It is important to note here that the cancellation of Shubh’s concert came at the heels on #UninstallBookMyShow trend on X (formerly Twitter). In the past, numerous brands have been boycotted for much less.

Not just artists; brands could suffer too

Popular Canadian coffee brand Tim Hortons made its way to India in August last year with two outlets; one in Delhi and Gurgaon each. The coffeehouse chain has since become popular among young Indians.

Besides this, the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board has investments in key Indian companies—the likes of Zomato, PayTm, Nykaa, Delhivery and ICICI Bank. It is not yet known how the diplomatic shake-up will affect the cross-country investment and subsequently the economies of both countries.

While it may be too early to see which way the tide turns, what can be said with certainty is that a lot will depend on what happens in the next few days.