Team Clarion
INDORE – Singer Diljit Dosanjh dedicated his concert here to internationally-renowned Urdu poet Rahat Indori and recited his famous lines “Kisi kay baap ka Hindustan thoda hi hai”.
The invoking of Rahat Indori on Sunday in his hometown is seen as a response to Bajrang Dal’s protest which sought a ban on his concert alleging ‘use of liquor and meat’ and display of liquor ads, which they saw as a threat to culture. Bajrang Dal activists had approached police to stop Dosanjh’s event
The Canadian singer dedicated the performance to Rahat Indori, a revered figure in the city, before he passed away in August 2022.
Diljit recited Indori’s iconic ghazal. He said, “Agar khilaaf hain hone do, jaan thodi hai/yeh sab dhuan hai asmaan thoda hi hai. Sabhi ka khoon hai shaamil yahan ki mitti mein/ kisi kay baap ka Hindustan thoda hi hai.”
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Bajrang Dal men protested on Saturday and Sunday in Indore. They got support from two BJP MLAs of the city in their opposition to the concert. Two men were arrested on the eve of the concert.
“Our protests, particularly centred around the sale of booze and non-veg food at the venue. We submitted to the administration visuals of the stalls and banners advertising the sale of booze, after which those stalls were removed. All our demands were met,” Bajrang Dal leaders said.
The Sunday concert was part of the Indian leg of Diljit’s Dil-Luminati Tour. The next stop of the tour will be Chandigarh on December 14 and Guwahati on December 29.
