Sidhu Moose Wala: Late singer sparked controversy for promoting weapons and violence through songs

New Delhi: Sidhu Moose Wala, the singer-turned-politician was shot dead on Sunday owing to suspected gang rivalry. The incident happened a day after his security was withdrawn by the state police.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu popularly known as Sidhu Moose Wala was a popular singer from Punjab. He contested this year’s Punjab state polls on a Congress ticket. Meanwhile, in terms of his music career, most of his songs talked about rebellion through gun culture or violence. This was one of the reasons behind the singer’s popularity among the youth. The singer had over 8.1 million followers on Instagram.

Besides, in 2020, the singer staged a position in the top 50 new artists list by The Guardian. Becoming successful in his music career, Moose Wala acquired several record-breaking tracks namely ‘Mafia Style’, ‘Poison’, ‘Homicide’ and ‘Sidhu’s Anthem’. 

The singer was born on June 17, 1993, and belongs to Moose Wala village in Punjab’s Mansa district.

The singer gained fame in the early twenties, however, he faced a lot of controversies during his music career.

Guns, Drugs, Music & Controversy

Moose Wala learned music during his college days and later moved to Canada after completing his education. He gained popularity for his gangster rap. However, his songs and lyrics made headlines, mainly for all the wrong reasons.

The singer was often accused of promoting gun violence and drug abuse through his songs. After he wrote the song, ‘License’ which was crooned by Ninja and released in 2016, his music career took off. 

Again, his song titled ‘Jatti Jeone Morh Wargi’ released in 2019 was criticised as it portrayed 18th century Sikh warrior Mai Bhago in a bad light. Several FIRs were filed against the singer for hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikh community and promoting violence.

The singer later issued an apology after receiving backlash from the people.

Another hit song named ‘Sanju’ also sparked debate as he compared himself with Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt in the track. The Punjabi singer had released the song after he walked out of bail in an AK-47 firing case.

Charged With Promoting Gun Culture

The late singer was charged by the Punjab Police under the Arms Act for promoting gun culture in 2020 over his song, ‘Panj Goliyan.’ He was also criticised for glorifying Khalistani separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in his song ‘Punjab: My Motherland’ which included archives of the speech made by Bharpur Singh Balbir, a Khalistani supporter, in the late 1980s.

The sudden death of the singer has shocked the nation and has raised questions over the withdrawal of his security. Police are currently investigating the matter and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to carry out the probe.

The last rites of the singer have begun which huge crowd of people from far places gathered in his native village to pay their last respect.