A far right Hindu group Thursday asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to thwart a musical event in which, besides others, a Pakistani origin hip hop singer is scheduled to participate.
The event scheduled at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu is scheduled to be attended by Punjabi folk singing legend Gurdas Maan, Roger David aka Bohemia, a Pakistani American rapper, song writer and music producer from California regarded as the first ever desi hip hop artist, and others on December 27.
The far right group, Shiv Sena, while addressing to media, said: “…some influential persons with the support of some political leaders are organizing musical event on December 27 at the stadium, which is a total violation of the court directions.”
The group’s state president, Dimpy Kohli claimed ‘stadiums or play grounds cannot be used for any other activity except sports events’.
He said that the organizers of this event in disguise of sports, actually organizing exclusive musical event in which prominent punjabi singers are participating.
The group which is based in the central India state of Maharashtra had earlier opposed a musical event of Pakistani legendary Ghazal singer Ghulam Ali. Post the threats from the Shiv Sena, the Ghazal maestro had cancelled all his event in India. “We can’t have cultural ties with Pakistan when they kill our soldiers,” the Sena had said while demanding that the Ghazal concert be cancelled.
“This event is merely an attempt to get huge financial benefits,” Kholi claimed.
“We met the deputy commissioner in Jammu and secretary sports council and handed over memorandum to them for immediate withdrawal of permission and told them,” he added.
The Shiv Sena warned authorities that ‘in future they should restrain from giving permission for such activity in any stadium or play ground’.
“We also appeal to state government to take action against those officers who granted permission for such event,” he added.
On October 19, this year, ahead of Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shahryar Khan’s scheduled meeting with the Board of Control of Cricket in India president Shashank Manohar, 40 to 50 members of the Shiv Sena had stormed the board’s headquarters at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, shouting slogans against Pakistan.
Shouting ‘Pakistan hai hai’ and carrying placards which said ‘Shashank Manohar murdabad’, ‘Shahryar Khan chale jao’, Shiv Sena activists had gheraoed Manohar in his office shortly before the meeting could start. They were carrying saffron flags of Shiv Sena and black flags to condemn resumption of Indo-Pak cricketing ties.