Amritpal Singh Crackdown: Why Punjabi Artists Have Responded Cautiously So Far

A lot has changed since the farmers' protest and Sidhu Moose Wala's assassination.

For Hindutva supporters on Twitter, the tables had turned. Pro-right wing actor Kangana Ranaut, who has recently returned to Twitter, took repeated digs at Punjabi actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh over the crackdown on Amritpal Singh. The latter chose not to reply, a sharp contrast to how he had given befitting replies to Ranaut during the farmers' protest.

Dosanjh isn't alone in his restraint. A number of Sikh artists who were extremely vocal during the farmers' protest have been careful in their response to the ongoing crackdown in Punjab.

So how have the artists responded this time?

What has changed since the farmers' protest?

We will try and answer these two questions in this article.

How Have Artists Responded?

It won't be correct to say that artists have remained silent during the current crackdown, but they clearly have been cautious. Most of them have chosen to post their views on Instagram stories, which remain live only for 24 hours.

With a few exceptions, most of the artists who spoke out have been careful in their choice of words.

Diljit Dosanjh posted a story on Instagram saying, 'May my Punjab live and prosper'.

AP Dhillon, Tarsem Jassar, Sharry Maan and Himmat Sandhu's posts on Instagram stories were on similar lines.

Canada-based singer and rapper Shubh too posted 'pray for Punjab' but with an illustration depicting a policeman, hinting towards police excesses. Sruishty Mann condemned the police's forceful removal of the protest at Sohana Gurdwara in Mohali.

Karan Aujla asked 'what is the fault of Punjab and Punjab's mothers?'

Two artists who spoke out in stronger terms were Jazz Dhami and Wazir Patar.

Dhami put out a twitter thread accusing the government of human rights violations.

Patar shared a post that has been going viral in Punjab contrasting the government's approach towards Amritpal Singh and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

What Has Changed Since Farmers Protest?

What explains the relatively cautious approach adopted by the artists compared to how they spoke out during the farmers' protest?

One is of course the difference in circumstances. The farmers' protest had agitated almost their entire state of Punjab. The response to the ongoing crackdown is from limited sections.

But more than that, there is also an atmosphere of fear among Punjabi artists. This is due to a number of reasons. First is of course the assassination of Sidhu Moose Wala after which many artists genuinely became concerned about their own safety.

For instance, singer Shree Brar claimed that he had been facing threats ever since he sang in favour of the release of Bandi Singhs - or Sikhs who have been in jail under terror charges beyond their life terms.

The second reason is that a number of Punjabi artists have had to face a great deal of scrutiny from law enforcement agencies.

Two of the more politically assertive singers - Kanwar Grewal and Ranjit Bawa - were raided by the Income Tax department in 2022.

Kanwar Grewal too, has sung in support of Bandi Singhs last year.

Ranjit Bawa has in the past sung about the traumatic period of 1980s and early 1990s. In 2020, he had to face trolling from pro-Hindutva social media users for his song on casteism.

There were reports about I-T raids on Diljit Dosanjh as well, but he later denied these reports.

Of course, it also remains true that many of the artists may not agree with Amritpal Singh and that this isn't a cause like the farmers protest which a broad section can rally behind.

However many Punjabi artists who may not agree with Amritpal Singh, there is concern regarding large scale arrests, raids and internet censorship.

Some are also trying to gauge public mood before taking a public stand.