Prime Minister Narendra Modi met singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh on the occasion of New Year. Sharing photos from the meeting, the Prime Minister wrote, “Great interaction with Diljit Dosanjh! He is truly multifaceted, combining talent and tradition. We connected over music, culture and more…’
The singer also reciprocated his experience of meeting the Prime Minister with a post on We talked about a lot of things, including music of course!
The meeting comes amid a recent controversy over a social media post by the singer that sparked a ‘Punjab versus Panjab’ debate. In a recent post on X, the singer shared a video of himself arriving at the Chandigarh airport accompanied by the word ‘Panjab’.
Social media users alleged that he deliberately left out the Indian flag emoji in his post. In response to the accusations, Diljit dismissed the allegations as “conspiracy theories.”
“If the tricolor is missing once while mentioning Punjab in a tweet, it is called conspiracy. Even in a tweet about Bengaluru, it was missed once. If Punjab is spelled Panjab, it is called a conspiracy. Whether you write it in Panjab or Punjabi… it will always remain Punjab (he wrote in Punjabi),” his post read.
Referring to its etymology, Diljit said the name comes from Persian and translates to “Land of five rivers” (panj meaning five and ab meaning water). He said differences in spelling of English, a colonial language, do not change the identity of Punjab.
Earlier, the singer found himself embroiled in another controversy over giving a gift to his fan on stage at an event in the United Kingdom. After the fan tells him she’s from Pakistan, the singer says he doesn’t believe borders divide people. For him, the borders between countries are exactly what politicians want, not the citizens of the two countries.
Meanwhile, Dosanjh’s New Year concert in Ludhiana was overshadowed by a legal controversy following a formal complaint by Punditrao Dharenavar, an assistant professor from Chandigarh. The complaint prompted the Punjab Women and Children Department to intervene, with a notice issued to the Ludhiana district commissioner to stop Dosanjh from performing certain songs.
The singer had previously faced similar scrutiny in other cities, including Hyderabad and Indore, for performing songs inciting alcohol and violence. Additionally, during the Indore concert, Dosanjh raised concerns over the sale of tickets for his shows on the black market.
