The deceased singer’s latest song has been deemed controversial for its mention of the contentious Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal as well as calls for an undivided Punjab. The song also mentions several Sikh militant leaders, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Jagtar Singh Hawara and Balwant Singh Rajo
File image of Sidhu Moose Wala. Instagram/sidhu_moosewala
YouTube has removed deceased Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala‘s latest song. The song, titled SYL, is still available in other countries.
The song SYL was released on his official YouTube channel after his death on 29 May as armed assailants opened fire at him in Punjab’s Mansa district. The song was recorded weeks before his violent death.
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The song, however, has again been uploaded by several different accounts since it was taken down from Moosewala’s official channel.
SYL was composed, written, and sung by the late singer himself.
Why has YouTube removed the song?
According to The Indian Express, the song was removed after a complaint from the Union government. As the name suggests, the song raises issues with regards to the under-construction Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.
The river-linking project has been a contentious topic between Punjab and Haryana governments for the past four decades.
The song also brings up undivided Punjab, the riots of 1984, militancy in the state, Sikh prisoners and the flag hoisting at the Red Fort during the farmers’ agitation.
SYL was released on the evening of 23 June and it got nearly three crore views in less than three days. It also received 33 lakh likes on the video sharing and social media platform.
According to The Tribune, the song begins with Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha member Shushil Gupta’s recent statement, “Now we have a government in Punjab. In 2024, AAP will form government in Haryana too. In 2025, water will reach every farm in Haryana. This is not our promise but our guarantee.”
The song’s lyrics challenge the statement, asking for sovereignty and undivided Punjab.
The song also mentions members of Babbar Khalsa, a designated terrorist organisation by the Indian government, as well as other ‘Sikh Liberation’ heroes, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Balwinder Jattana, Balwant Singh Rajoana and Jagtar Singh Hawara.
Pictures of Sikh militants Davinder Pal Bhullar, Gurdeep Singh Khaira, Lakhwinder Singh, Jagtar Singh Tara and many others are also shown.
As per The Tribune, SYL also includes a statement of Punjabi singer-actor Deep Sidhu, who died in a car accident earlier this year.
Highlighting a NASA study about water crisis in north India, the end of the song includes hashtags as #savepunjabwaters and #releasesikhprisoners.
It concludes with a message, “Each one of you is the last hope for protecting Punjab’s river waters to prevent the state from turning into a desert.”
What is the controversial SYL project?
The Satluj Yamuna Link Canal is a proposed 214-kilometre-long canal connecting Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. It was planned in 1966 after the state of Haryana was carved out of Punjab.
While the decision to share resources was taken, the terms on sharing waters of two rivers, Ravi and Beas, were left undecided.
Also read: Explained: The decades-long Punjab-Haryana fight over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal
Punjab, however, was against sharing waters of the two rivers with neighbouring Haryana, citing riparian principles, which state that the owner of land adjacent to a water body has the right to use the water, besides arguing that it had no water to spare.
The four-decades old project has had a violent and bloody history in which some leaders as well as officials were killed by militants. After hitting several roadblocks and intervention by the Centre government as well as the Supreme Court, the project remains incomplete.
With inputs from agencies
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