diljit-dosanjh-new-icon-of-indian-culture-has-arrived

Popular Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh, as his name says, has literally won millions of hearts across the country and abroad. He has emerged as a new icon of youth, a symbol of the Indian, the Punjabi and the Sikh identity.

 

He wrapped up his year-long countrywide series of concerts in his hometown Ludhiana. Wherever he performed, whether in the north or the south, east or the west or central India, he drew lakhs of people to his shows, with the theme, “Punjabi aa gaye oye” (Punjabis have arrived).

 

Punjabi music has dominated the Indian cultural landscape for a long time. No wonder, the Punjabi music and the exclusive sound of the ‘dhol’ (drum) can be heard anywhere and everywhere, whether in the southern or the eastern or the western parts of the country. No dance party is complete without Punjabi numbers anywhere in India. Punjabi has turned out to be the “musical language” of India.

 

It was but natural that the iconic Ambani wedding had Diljit’s song and dance numbers in it and people wanted to have these more. It is also a fact that Diljit got more popular after his performance at the Ambani wedding.

 

Now, he has become a phenomenon, literally winning hearts everywhere, a household name. His parents must be feeling vindicated over the name they gave him. He is “living” it literally, by “winning hearts”.

 

Interestingly, immediately after Diljit wrapped up his countrywide shows of concerts, only the next day, he met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He performed in the famous Punjab Agricultural University on the night of December 31, 2024 and was seen with the Prime Minister Modi at his residence in New Delhi, the next day, January 1, 2025.

 

There was a message in both the countrywide concerts of Diljit, as well as his meeting with the Prime Minister Modi. Diljit proudly displays his Sikh and Punjabi identity along with his Indian identity. His performances could not have come at a better time.

 

The protests by a few radical and extremist elements outside the Indian missions abroad, like in London, Toronto, Washington DC and a few more places, had sent wrong signals across the country. Although the protestors are very few, rather negligible in number, they are mistakenly thought to be representing the Sikhs, living abroad, which actually is not the case.

 

Diljit has actually neutralised that misconception across the country. When he came out to perform in New Delhi waving the banner of Indian tricolor, there were millions of cheers for him. Whether intentional or not, it did convey a message to all those who had certain misunderstandings owing to protests outside Indian missions abroad.

 

At the same time, Diljit, did convey the message of plurality, while quoting Rahat Indori’s famous couplet, while performing in his hometown, Indore, “sabbi ka khoon hai shamil yanhaan ki mitti mein, kissi ke baap ka Hindustan thodi hai…” amidst lot of cheer and applause. Daljit not only conveyed a message, he made a point and a strong one at that.

 

When Diljit joined the anti-government farmers’ protests in Delhi outskirts and donated generously in the year 2020, he was trolled by those who were critical of the farmers’ agitation. Diljit instantly became a hero among the Punjabi masses for taking up the farmers’ cause. Other singers like late Sidhu Moosewala, Kanwar Grewal also supported and propagated the farmers’ cause and many others followed in.

 

Now it has been a turnaround for Diljit. After performing across the country, and meeting Prime Minister Modi, the troll army this time has started targeting him even suggesting he was selfish. Some even questioned him for ignoring the “fast-unto-death” by farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal. Unlike during the mass protest by farmers in Delhi outskirts, when Diljit took up their cause, he preferred to keep quiet this time.

 

But Diljit is not alone in keeping a distance from the farmers’ protests this time. All the singers have. Even almost all the political parties have kept a distance. Their leaders are only marking a token presence at the protest site and inquiring about Dallewal’s health with a signature photograph. Diljit apparently preferred to avoid that tokenism.

 

As the carefully crafted and brilliantly produced visuals of Diljit’s meeting with the Prime Minister, arriving with a bouquet in his right hand an a salute with his left hand, went viral, some of the social media users, with obvious intentions, taunted him with sarcasm, observing, he (Daljit) must have talked to the Prime Minister about Dallewal’s health.

 

But why should he? He is a national icon, not the spokesperson for a group of farmers, who themselves are not the sole representatives of the farming community, as a number of farm organisations have not only distanced themselves from the protests but also questioned its purpose.

 

Both, Prime Minister Modi and Diljit praised each other on the social media. “A great interaction with Diljit Dosannjh! He’s truly multifaceted, blending in talent and tradition. We connected over music, culture and more”, Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

 

Diljit wrote, “a fantastic start to 2025. A very memorable meeting with PM, Narendra Modi Ji. We talked about a lot of things including music of course!”

 

Culture is one of the most powerful and binding forces for a nation. Diljit has emerged as a national cultural icon, with whom the people identified irrespective of their caste, creed, language, region or religion. His tickets sold like the proverbial hot cakes as much in the southern parts of the country as these sold in Delhi, Chandigarh and Ludhiana.

 

In popularity, Diljit has actually matched the charts of cricket legend like Sachin Tendulkar or the Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. He radiates and sparks off an unusual energy among the youth, as he sings and dances on the stage. He is not much visible to the audiences who are spread far and wide in the venues, yet he makes his presence felt closer to everyone.

 

A new icon of the Indian culture has arrived. This time from Punjab.