Neither Cricket Nor Music Attracts ‘ Shiv Sena ’ In Maharashtra.
Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali’s concert in Mumbai has been cancelled under political pressure as the Shiv Sena objected and threatened to stop the show if the organizers failed to cancel it on their own. This is not the first time the Sena has taken such a drastic step. Now it is music, earlier it was cricket. The Sena had objected and stopped India-Pakistan cricket matches being played at Wankhede stadium; the pitch was literally queered a day before a match was scheduled to be played. This time around, there is much more than what meets the eye in the demand to ban the concert of a Pakistani singer.
The Sena has been raising objections to any kind of ties between India and Pakistan — be it an exchange of artists and singers, concerts by Pakistani singers or a film by an artiste from across the border. The question being raised is how we can allow Pakistani music or art to flourish in India when Indian soldiers are being killed mercilessly in border skirmishes. The terrorist attacks and suicide bombings across India, engineered by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of the Pakistani army, have killed several innocent civilians.
Music, visual arts and literature are more powerful than guns, and art does not recognize artificial boundaries. They keep on spreading like wildfire and are always influenced by the contemporary scenario. This is one reason why despite all kinds of curbs and official bans, Indian films and music find space in Pakistan despite threats from Jihadi groups and even authorities.
It is ironic that while the Shiv Sena demanded immediate cancellation of the show, BJP Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis promised full security to the singer and the show while calling the Sena’s demand “improper”.Incidentally, the CM is holding charge of home affairs and it is his primary responsibility as a home minister to maintain law and order in the state. However,the organizers preferred to cancel the show instead of going ahead with it and face the wrath of the Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray.The concert was organized as a tribute to Indian ghazal singer Jagjit Singh. However, this has not helped the Shiv Sena to change its mind as it stuck to its guns saying that the party has been opposing all Pakistani artistes performing in Mumbai, after the 26/11 terror attack.
