Guns, Violence and Gangsters- The Murder of Sidhu Moosewala.....by Gurjot Singh Kaler 

June 1, 2022: If you are a living human being and your heart is still functional with kindness, sympathy, and empathy, it is, then, simply impossible for any sane man or woman to desist from crying at this macabre turn of sordid events. 

The tears of pain can be felt in every human eye. There is a deep sense of shock, grief and mourning which has engulfed the entire nation into a collective emotional journey of unimaginable pain, agony, frustration and dejection. The reason for this current wave of mass sadness is unquestionably the tragic murder of a renowned Punjabi singer-cum-rapper turned politician. 

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, has been brutally shot dead by unknown assailants in broad daylight at a nondescript village of Jawaharke of district Mansa in the state of Punjab, India. The murder was committed in such a heinous manner that it has sent bone-chilling shock waves across all spectrums and sections of society in India as well as abroad.

On 29th May 2022, as the news of 28-year-old Sidhu Moosewala’s murder spread like a wildfire, people from all walks of life slipped into a terrifying mode of unfathomable anguish, pain, trauma and began to openly blame the state government as well as the police forces for pruning the security of singer Sidhu Moosewala just a day before he was shot dead gruesomely. 

First of all, whatever has happened is extremely sad and needs to be vociferously condemned in one voice. A young, talented artist has been shot dead. It is not only an irreparable loss for the hapless parents but also a big jolt to his fans, family members, acquaintances and admirers across the globe. It should not be any exaggeration to claim that Sidhu Moosewala brought recognition, glory and fame to his village- Moosa and catapulted Mansa into the international limelight through his perennial love and affection for the village where he was born and brought up. Therefore, his untimely death at the hands of the merciless assailants is certainly a big loss to the state as well as the nation.

Even as we collectively grieve the loss of this iconic personality, it is shamelessly sad that there are murmurs going around in public that Sidhu Moosewala’s songs depicted gory violence or he tried to glorify gangsters as he highlighted guns, arms, ammunition and cuss language in his lyrics and videos. His murder cannot be condoned or justified by simply attributing the chief reason to the type of songs he choose to sing or his ideologies. He was not a gangster himself. However, even if one did not like, agree or approve his style of songs or videos, still this is actually not the right time to talk about such things. 

Afterall, the singer is dead now and he cannot defend himself against the volley of accusations, ill-defined censure or unnecessary blames. Needless to emphasize, it is not prudent and sagacious to further victimize, criticize or vilify the reputation or memories of a dead man. 

No doubt, the Punjabi music industry has certainly gone overboard in promoting songs of despicable violence, guns and ammunition and this surely needs to be regulated or controlled at the earliest, still, just out of respect for the departed soul, we can leave the much needed introspection to a later date and time in the near future as, right now, we all hopelessly try to come to terms with the ghastly murder of the popular singer who had huge fan-following cutting across age groups.

Countless questions have rightly been raised post the diabolic shoot-out in which Sidhu Moosewala succumbed to around 25 bullets which were indiscriminately fired upon him and his associates while he was travelling in his vehicle. 

No doubt, the image of the state government has got terribly sullied by this incident and Punjab police is now expected to produce miraculous results. Rather than ignoring brickbats or turning blind, deaf and mute to justifiable criticism, age-old wisdom demands that it is really imperative that one must discuss, debate and analyse as to what has gone wrong in Punjab’s society in order to rectify the disorder, mayhem and chaos that has come to sadly define the current state of affairs in Punjab.

 People are out on the streets demanding justice and questioning the existing law and order of the state of Punjab. Not long back before Sidhu Moosewala’s murder, a youth leader, Vicky Midhukhera, was also killed by shooters in broad daylight at SAS Nagar (Mohali), then, a famous Kabaddi player, Sandeep Nangal, was also gunned down by the gangsters in a similar modus operandi. It has become critically important to take stock of the situation at the highest level before things turn further irreconcilable.  

The law and order is of utmost importance for any society. With such daredevil shoot-outs taking place in a periodic manner as well as the recent rocket propelled grenade attack on the Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters at SAS Nagar (Mohali), the trust and confidence of the public starts getting eroded in the government and the police. 

The Anti Gangster Task Force which has been setup lately is a step in the right direction. It has already produced good results in the past but a lot more needs to be accomplished. We need cutting edge ground level intelligence, human surveillance as well modern technological finesse to tackle the growing threat of gangsters in Punjab. It is a serious matter of concern to find out as to what is the source of military grade weapons like AN-94, rocket propelled grenades in Punjab. Similarly, the incidents of criminals using mobile phones in jails needs to dealt with an alarming concern lest things go out of control.

A through security audit needs to be immediately done in every village and city of Punjab. Rising above the political lines, it is of dire urgency that inter-state coordination and cooperation between the police forces is institutionalized and developed in a productive way which leads to actionable outputs in a quick, speedy and legal manner. 

Apart from enforcing strict police and judicial action against the anti-social elements, it is also our moral and social duty to understand and figure out as to why and how such deadly gangsters get produced and proliferated in any society. Is it because of unemployment, lack of education or lack of willpower or a deep desire to accumulate ill-gotten money and wealth etc.? It is not just enough to bring retribution to the guilty through the legal channels of law enforcement, but the need is to address the root cause of the problem elaborately and comprehensively.

Watching violence based Punjabi songs of singers may be one of the reasons of the youth going astray, but it cannot be the only reason for it. There has to be something more to it than what meets the eye under such peculiar circumstances. Unless we adopt a multipronged strategy to deal with the menace, we cannot launch ourselves into course correction. 

The political parties need to resist their urge from indulging in a misplaced game of political one-upmanship at this juncture. It is not the time to score brownie points. Every Punjabi is in a state of bereavement and the hearts are filled up with anger, sorrow, impatience and frustration as one watches the parents of Sidhu Moosewala crying inconsolably at the loss of their only beloved son. One may or may not be a fan of Sidhu Moosewala’s songs or his ideology, but it goes without saying that whatever has happened cannot be condoned or forgiven by any measures. Nobody has the right to kill anyone. 

It is important to bring peace to that lone father who is asking for proverbial justice by holding his revered turban in his hands and pleading for help with his grief-stricken eyes in a heart-rending manner. May the Almighty bless the departed soul and give strength to the family and friends of the slain singer to bear the unimaginable and unrepairable loss. This is really heart-breaking to the core. Rest in Peace!