'Ghulam Ali cancels concert in New Delhi'

Singer's son says he cancelled concert as he is wary of fringe elements and waiting for conditions in India to settle

Renowned Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali has cancelled his concert scheduled to be held in New Delhi on November 8 citing personal reasons.

The ghazal maestro’s son Amir said the singer had cancelled the concert as he was wary of fringe elements and was waiting for conditions in India to settle, according to India Today.

Controversy aftermath: New Delhi government invites Ghulam Ali for a show

Earlier in October, the 75-year-old was scheduled to perform in Mumbai and Pune as part of the death anniversary tribute to singer Jagjit Singh. However, the show in Mumbai was called off after Hindu right-wing party Shiv Sena called for the concert to be cancelled. Ali was scheduled to perform at Mumbai's Shanmukhanand Hall, a venue for several Shiv Sena functions.

Soon after, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal invited him for a show in the Indian capital and his party Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had announced to deploy its ‘army of workers’ to ensure ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali’s concert goes well.

“If need arises, we will deploy our army of party workers to ensure the programme goes fine. We will not allow any kind of disruption in the event,” senior party leader Sanjay Singh had said.

Aam Aadmi Party’s ‘army’ to guard Ghulam Ali concert in New Delhi

It is believed that Ghulam Ali will be participating at Lucknow Mahostav starting November 25 and he will also perform on Ghazal night on December 3.

Hindu extremist organisation Shiv Sena has also targeted Paksitani actors Mahira and Fawad Khan and vowed not to let them promote their films in Maharashtra of which Mumbai is the capital city.

“We have taken a stand not to allow any Pakistani actor, cricketer or performer to step on Maharashtra soil,” Emirates 24/7 quoted Akshay Bardapurkar, a top Shiv Sena leader as saying.

On Monday, megastar Shah Rukh Khan finally broke his silence on the matter. In an interview with NDTV, on his 50th birthday, King Khan said creative people should not be barred from working anywhere just because they come from a different country.



Shiv Sena, an ally of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been in the headlines in recent weeks for its anti-Pakistan rhetoric and activities. The group, which is notorious for violence, has targeted even high-profile visitors from Pakistan including former foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri  and Ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali, and more recently, forced the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to cancel talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to revive bilateral cricketing ties.

This article originally appeared on India Today