NEW DELHI: Pro-Khalistan group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has announced plans to “shut down” Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh’s concert in Australia on November 1 — the same day the Akal Takht Sahib observes as Sikh Genocide Remembrance Day. The organization’s move comes days after Dosanjh was seen touching the feet of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, whom SFJ has accused of “inciting mobs” during the anti-Sikh violence of 1984.
In a statement, SFJ’s general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said Dosanjh had “insulted every victim, widow and orphan of the 1984 Sikh Genocide” by paying respect to Bachchan.The decision by the SFJ comes after Diljit Dosanjh was seen touching the feet of Amitabh Bachchan, who, as the group claims, on 31 October 1984 “publicly incited Hindustani mobs” with the genocidal slogan “Khoon Ka Badla Khoon” — “Blood for Blood” — a call that unleashed death squads that committed genocidal violence in which more than 30,000 Sikh men, women, and children were killed across India. Calling Dosanjh’s scheduled show a “mockery of remembrance,” SFJ urged Sikh groups and artists worldwide to boycott the concert. The group said it would stage a Panthic Shutdown Rally outside the venue on November 1, and has written to the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, asking him to summon Dosanjh to explain his actions. The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of authority Sikhity, had in 2010 officially declared the 1984 killings as a “genocide” and designated November 1 as Sikh Genocide Remembrance Day, “Remembrance is not for sale, and genocide cannot be normalized for applause,” SFJ said in its statement, accusing Dosanjh of commercializing a month of mourning. The singer, who has not yet commented publicly on the controversy, is currently on a world tour with multiple international shows lined up through November.
