Who is Shubh, the Canada-based singer whose India tour has been cancelled for supporting Khalistan?

Amid a diplomatic row between New Delhi and Ottawa, Canadian Punjabi singer Shubhneet Singh’s, aka Shubh, “Still Rollin India Tour” concert, which was scheduled from 23 to 25 September, has been cancelled. The move comes as Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the BJP’s youth wing, aggressively opposed the singer’s appearance, alleging his support for Khalistan and for displaying a distorted map of Kashmir. Here’s all you need to know about the rapper and the latest controversy. Also read: How the pro-Khalistan sentiment has grown in Canada All about the Punjabi singer Shubh has had tracks on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, the UK Asian and UK Punjabi Charts, and others. He has been making music for exactly two years and his songs are all about guns, gangs, fast cars, and the “Jat Life.” His style of Punjabi music is similar to that of the late Sidhu Moosewala and AP Dhillon, two other young Punjabi singers from Canada who have risen to prominence in the last three years.

We Rollin, the debut song by Shubh, was released on 17 September 2021. With more than 206 million YouTube views, it continues to be his most well-known song. He then released about seven more songs before recently announcing a world tour, starting in India and ending in the UK, UAE, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. Elevated, OG, and Cheques are a few of his other popular songs. Shubh records, writes, composes, sings, and performs all of his music in Canada, predominantly Ontario’s capital Toronto. In the next three months, Shubh will travel to 12 significant Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi, and Mumbai as part of his “Still Rollin India Tour.” Also read: Snubbed at G20, stranded in Delhi: Why Justin Trudeau’s visit has been turbulent The controversial IG story The uproar began when the 26-year-old rapper posted a distorted map of India on his Instagram story, glaringly omitting the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Northeastern states. He captioned the picture “Pray for Punjab,” which immediately drew criticism. The map was eventually removed by Singh, who replaced a message that simply said, “Pray for Punjab,” without any visuals.

“He is Subh, a pro-Khalistani singer who is from Punjab but currently living in Canada. He recently posted a map of India that clearly depicts Punjab as a separate entity, not a part of India. Surprisingly, he is now planning to perform in India.#WomenReservationBill pic.twitter.com/bWb6caMxK3

— Dr.Mayank pareek⚕️(UR) (@iamdocmayank) September 18, 2023

Shubh’s now-deleted message was published at the same time as Amritpal Singh, a Khalistani terrorist, was being sought by Punjab Police, which also resulted in the arrest of many of Shubh’s supporters. Also read: Diplomats expelled, trade talks on hold: How India-Canada ties have plunged to new lows The backlash Months later, just in time for his concert in India, he is now dealing with serious criticism from India. Cancelling the singer’s gig in India, BookMyShow said on X (previously Twitter) that it would refund the entire amount of the tickets within 7 to 10 days. As part of a three-month long tour starting September 2023, the rapper was set to perform across 12 cities, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune and Jaipur. “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 source account of the original transaction,” it said.

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

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The development comes after netizens urged people not to go to the rapper’s concert in an effort to express their outrage at the singer.

I would ask my fellow Indians to boycott the shows of this Khalistani (Subhneet Singh). No good for the country and their presence in foreign countries often leads to mishaps and a misconception towards Indians by the natives.
Jai hind🇮🇳#subh pic.twitter.com/dmxpmIMvrK

— XEST (@im_Ark167) September 17, 2023

He is Subh Canadian pro-Khalistan singer coming to perform a show sponsored by boAt in India

He had earlier shared a distorted map of India, which didn't include J&K, North-East and Punjab.

Dear @amangupta0303, Are you a nationalist only on social media and not in real life? pic.twitter.com/P50HbVcaQl

— Trade With Tanya (@tradewithtanya) September 18, 2023

Shubh’s posters were recently torn down by BJYM (Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha) members, who claimed the musician supports separatist Khalistani groups. Additionally, they sent a memo to the Mumbai police commissioner requesting that the singer be subjected to heavy punishment and that all of his performances be cancelled.

#WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra: Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) members remove posters for the upcoming event of Canadian Singer Shubh pic.twitter.com/KkbQvkj0FG

— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2023

With a post on the microblogging site, major electronics maker boAt today ended its sponsorship of the show. “At boAt, while our commitment to the incredible music community runs deep, we are first & foremost a true Indian brand. Therefore, when we became aware of the remarks made by artist Shubh earlier this year, we chose to withdraw our sponsorship from the tour,” declared the company, citing the singer’s earlier comments.

pic.twitter.com/zvWJTDfDOK

— boAt (@RockWithboAt) September 19, 2023

With songs like Elevated, OG, and Cheques, Shubh has become well-known in the music industry. Former Team India captain Virat Kohli has been seen dancing to Shubh’s music in a popular video. Kohli, along with cricketers KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya, unfollowed the artist on Instagram as a result of the controversy. Also read: Why Justin Trudeau has been 'soft' on Khalistani extremists in Canada India-Canada row The criticism of Shubh also comes at a time when relations between India and Canada are at a tipping point, with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau accusing New Delhi of conspiring the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a Gurdwara in the Vancouver suburb, was designated a “terrorist” by India in July 2020.

Hours after Ottawa dismissed India’s top intelligence agent, New Delhi on Tuesday, 19 September, ordered a senior Canadian diplomat to leave India. Talks on a bilateral free trade agreement between India and Canada were “paused” just days after Trudeau’s turbulent trip to Delhi for the G20 Summit. According to the Indian Express, Canada has long been seen as a safe haven for advocates of Khalistan and terrorist groups that have been linked to terrorism in India. Another charge against Justin Trudeau, which he has denied, is that he is soft on leaders and sympathisers of the Khalistani movement. Speaking earlier, he said: “Canada has always taken extremely seriously violence and threats of violence. We have always taken serious action against terrorism and we always will.” “We have an extremely diverse country and freedom of expression is something that we have but we will always make sure that we are pushing back against violence and extremism in all its forms,” he added. With inputs from agencies