Singer Mika Singh, who urged his fans in Houston to join him in celebrating the independence days of India and "Apna Pakistan", has drawn criticism from Indian-Americans for his "unforgivable" remarks. Singh, popular for his hip-hop dance tracks, is scheduled to perform in Houston on August 12, ahead of the independence days of Pakistan and India on August 14 and 15 respectively.
In the run-up to his show, he posted a video on the Internet, urging his fans and supporters from India and Pakistan to join the celebration. In the video, he could be seen with a local Pakistani-origin promoter of his show. Mika posted about it on Twitter and wrote, "Be ready to rock with me.. Houston and Chicago.... I'm coming to rock you guys Jai hind."
“15 August ko humara Hindustan azaad hua tha aur 14 ko humara Pakistan," he says in the video, shared widely on Twitter. The 40-year-old singer drew criticism for saying 'Apna Pakistan.' Mika's statement has left Twitter very angry. "Shame on you. You are celebrating Pakistani Day? Do you know how many of our Army Jawan are being killed by Pakistan?" a user tweeted.
A large number of Indian Americans have criticised the "ill-timed" video calling for a joint celebration at the show. They say the video comes across as a "cruel joke" in the wake of the ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the LoC, resulting in "deaths of innocent civilians and the armed forces personnel."
Swapan Dhairyawan, a community activist and former president of the India Culture Centre, said, "It would not have been an issue had the artiste been performing for a regular concert. But emphasising it as a celebration of Pakistan Independence Day and saying on his viral video Apna Pakistan is unforgivable and unfortunate."
(With PTI Inputs)
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