Author Hardeep Singh

Noted Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan has once again sought forgiveness for his objectionable remarks made against Punjabi language, mother tongue of all Punjabi people, and those who opposed them five years ago, a couple of weeks before his tour to United States (US) where his shows are scheduled to be held in October. 

In an interview with US based Punjab radio channel, Maan made another attempt to make the Sikh community pardon him for “all incidents that happened in the past which unintentionally hurt anyone’s sentiments”. “If my words have hurt anyone’s sentiments, I apologise by holding my ears and with folding my hands”, he said. 

Before decoding his fresh words of “apology”, we need to go through what he did wrong with Punjab and Sikh community in the past. 

This is well known fact that Mann has always played in hands of Indian State which is fascist in nature and has been carrying out genocide of Sikhs and other minority communities since 1947. He is still acting as a tool of the Indian system. The Indian State has worked to suppress Sikh struggle through singers like him during the armed Sikh movement. Such policy of the State is still continuing. It is still being implemented through singers like Mann. 

Biggest proof of Gurdas Maan being a tool of the Indian State is his close ties with notorious Police officer KPS Gill who expired a few years ago and was known as “Butcher of Punjab”. 

Gill headed Punjab Police in 1990s, when activities of Sikh genocide were on rise in form of extra-judicial killings, fake encounters, enforced disappearances of Sikhs in Punjab. Thousands of Sikhs were massacred by Gill-led Punjab Police in grave violation of human rights. During that period, the Punjab Police did not even spare the children, women and elderly persons. Using Gurdas Maan like singers was one of the agenda of KPS Gill, favorite officer of the Indian State, to suppress the Sikh movement. And Maan-like singers executed this agenda very well. 

Proximity of Gurdas Maan can be gauged from the fact that (https://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041111/cth2.htm#12) on November 11, 2004, he got music of his Punjabi feature film ‘Des Hoya Pardes’ released by KPS Gill, who was then President, Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), at Sector 22, Chandigarh. This movie was produced by his wife Manjeet Mann. It depicted Sikh movement in poor light. 

Talking about the film script during the release function, Gurdas Maan referred to Sikh movement as “terrorism”, as per The Tribune story. He said,” It is an effort to portray the suffering of the common man. This film is set in Punjab during the period of terrorism. It is a movie for the family. It depicts how members of a family get separated due to violence..”

And Maan has never felt regret over his role in the anti-Sikh operations of the Indian government and its agencies. 

Gurdas Mann faced backlash after he endorsed the then BJP national president Amit Shah’s batting for ‘one nation one language’ idea in India in September, 2019. 

Speaking on National Hindi Day in New Delhi on September 14, 2019, Shah had supported Hindi as “one language for the country”. 

When asked to comment on the development a few days later in a radio talk in Canada having a sizeable population of Punjabi community, Mann justified having one language in the country in the form of Hindi.

Commenting on those who are agitating against this idea, he said, “The uproar is made on whatsapp or social media by those who don’t have any other work to do. Making negative comments against others has become very common on social media. Those who are sincere in promoting their mother tongue and culture, continue their work with their own way”.

What Gurdas Mann said exactly?

“Hindi is being talked about nowadays, that Hindi must be there. I would say there must be Hindustani (language), a mixture of common words of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi languages. If it is done, I don’t think there is any bad thing in it. Because people watch Hindi movies, also listen to Hindi songs daily. If you can listen to Hindi, read it as well as write it, you should do it. You should learn every language. But weaker thing should not be destroyed seeing stronger one.

It is necessary that one nation must have one language, so that one could get his words understood even in south India. If you could not do so, what is the use of being a Hindustani. For instance, France has its own one language and its people speak it. Similarly, Germany has one language, entire country speaks. And if our country speaks (one language), what is wrong with it? It should be spoken. If we are emphasizing so much on the mother tongue, the emphasis should also be laid on aunty (language)”.

As the video of this talk went viral, backlash sparked on social media against Mann. When asked to clarify his words in a press conference held later, Mann kept his words supporting the “one nation one language” idea. “The mother tongue should be respected and preferred but being Indians there must be our one language”, he insisted.

Mann faces protest during show at Abbotsford in Canada

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Amid this backlash, Punjabi Sikh activists held a demonstration outside the venue of Mann’s evening show at Abbotsford, a city of British Columbia in Canada, carrying placards and shouting slogans against him and organizers of the show. 

Placards reading “Traitor of Punjab Mother tongue” were shown to the convoy of Mann when he reached the venue—Entertainment Centre. They appealed to the community members to boycott the organizers of the show.

Apart from this, a Sikh activist named Charanjit Singh Sujon started protesting with a placard inside the auditorium, when Mann started performing. “My conscience did not allow me to go without protesting Maan who favoured Hindi as one language of the country”, said Sujon.

Moreover, Mann reacted at him with the words that were also termed highly objectionable by the community and went viral. His new remark further fuelled the row. 

Several other demonstrations were held at various places across the world against Mann. He tendered an apology in the past but in a diplomatic manner, that his plea was never accepted by the Punjab community. 

In 2021, Mann hurt Sikh sentiments during an event in Nakodar when he said Laddi Shah, the chief of Dera Murad Shah, is a descendant of third Sikh Guru Sri Guru Amar Dass. Though Maan had apologised when members of the community protested, a case was registered against him for hurting religious sentiments. However, the police filed a cancellation report in the case in 2024.

He also sang objectionable songs like “apna Punjab hove, ghar di sharab hove”. He is promoting drugs in this song.  Drug addiction is turning out to be the biggest menace in Punjab. Drugs are claiming the lives of youths daily in Punjab. The government and its agencies including Punjab Police are facilitating the smugglers and letting the drug addiction spread. 

Fresh apology

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Reacting to the fresh apology, Sujon said, “It’s not an apology, it’s a drama. It is generally seen that first shows are scheduled and their promotion is carried out. When these shows face protests, an apology drama is performed. If one is sincere for atonement, he or she should first talk to those with whom he or she is in conflict to have settlement of the dispute before”. 

“Secondly, this conflict is not between Gurdas Mann and me. It’s between Gurdas Mann and sons of Punjab. I don’t have any right to pardon him. It is upto Punjabis whether they pardon him or not”, he said in a fresh interview with a web channel. 

The Sikh activist who is currently living in Surrey in Canada, said, “Actually, objectionable, abusive and uncivilized language was used by him not by us. So, he is responsible for what he is facing even after five years”. 

Responding to Mann’s claim that he happened to speak the objectionable words after he was “provoked” by a “verbal abuse” made by the demonstrators for his mother, Sujon said, “First of all, I never abused anyone in my life. Secondly, we are Sikhs. We even consider mothers and sisters of our enemies as ours. We can never think of using objectionable language for anyone’s mother and sister. Gurdas Mann’s mother is my mother. Secondly, why should we abuse his mother or sister? It was not our motive. Our motive was just to protest him peacefully over his remark.  We were demonstrating peacefully, but he showed his real face on the occasion, which was hidden behind the humble and sweet face. His real face was full of hate and ego. So, his claim is totally baseless”.

Amid the great noise during a singing show, it was impossible to listen to the words of Sujon, said a political commentator on the claim of Mann. 

He further said, “Gurdas Maan is remembering his own mother while making this sheer lie in the fresh apology. However, he does not remember mothers of thousands of struggling Sikh youths, who were insulted at Police stations and torture centres. These mothers were kidnapped, raped, murdered and stripped in Police custody. And the man behind these brutalities was KPS Gill who was close to Gurdas Maan”. 

“Yes, anyone can commit a mistake, but there is also a solution to every problem. Will he withdraw the words he had spoken in the Punjabi language? He advocated the ‘one nation-one language’ idea of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah. He must clarify whether he condemns this fascist idea or not. This idea kills cultural and linguistic identities and promotes cultural assimilation. This idea is fatal for the ethnic minorities living in the Indian sub-continent. Gurdas Mann is called a traitor of Punjabi because he endorsed the idea of imposing Hindi over the mother tongue of all Punjabis”, Sujon added. 

Gurdas Mann tendered an apology at a time, when he was about to start his US tour. Two years ago, the show of Gurdas Mann was cancelled. The persons who purchased tickets of the show, got refund of their money. 

The Sikh leaders are also seeing his tour as an attempt to derail the community struggle for independence, which is at its peak especially in the US. 

The development comes at the time when a US court has summoned the Indian government after Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun filed a lawsuit, accusing India of plotting his assassination.

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York has issued the summons in the name of the Government of India, along with high-ranking Indian officials such as National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, former R&AW chief Samant Goel, R&AW agent Vikram Yadav, and businessman Nikhil Gupta. Those named have been asked to respond to the summons within 21 days. 

Few days ago, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi kicked off a political storm as he appeared to suggest that Sikhs in India might not be allowed to practice their religious faith freely. 

Pertinently, he made this statement speaking to the diaspora in Virginia  in the US at an event organised by the Indian Overseas Congress. “The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear a turban in India; or whether, he, as a Sikh, will be allowed to wear a kada in India; or whether he, as a Sikh, is allowed to go to a Gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about, and not just for him, but for all religions”, Gandhi said. 

This statement of the Congress leader upset the BJP-led Indian government and its agencies. His statement has endorsed the Sikh struggle against Indian State. 

In such a situation, US shows of Gurdas Mann suit the State agenda. 

Despite opposition from Sikh Diaspora, the organizers are not cancelling shows of Gurdas Mann. The pro-freedom Sikh activists are saying that this activity is aimed at hindering the Sikh struggle for independence in foreign countries especially in the United States. They say that this is meant to distract the Sikh activism. 

One show is scheduled in New York on October 5. The Sikh community has warned of stir if the show is not cancelled. “Khalistan struggle is at its peak in the US, due to which singing shows of Mann are being scheduled in this country. Despite voices for cancellation of the shows emerging, the organizers and promoters are adamant to hold it. The shows are not being cancelled due to the pressure of the Indian State”, said a Sikh leader. 

Moreover, Mann said, “I thought Punjabis must have forgotten that episode”. Besides, he is seen terming his tear as “drop of amrit (nectar)” indirectly.  

Gurdas Maan is becoming over smart by saying these words. By doing so, he is trying to prove his opposition wrong and unfair.