Prime Minister Narendra Modi met singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh on New Year. Sharing pictures from the meeting, the Prime Minister wrote, “Great interaction with Diljit Dosanjh! He is truly multifaceted, blending talent and tradition. We covered music, culture and more…'
The singer echoed his experience meeting the Prime Minister with a post on X (officially twitter), saying, “Wonderful start to 2025. A very memorable meeting with PM @narendramodiJi. We talked about a lot of things, including music!”
The meeting took place amid the recent controversy over a social media post by the singer that sparked a 'Punjab vs Punjab' debate. In a recent post on X, the singer shared a video of him arriving at the Chandigarh airport with the word 'Punjab' on it.
Social media users alleged that he deliberately removed the Indian flag emoji from his post. Responding to the allegations, Diljit dismissed the allegations as “conspiracy theories”.
“If the tricolor is omitted even once while mentioning Punjab in a tweet, it is called a conspiracy. Even missed it once in a tweet about Bangalore. If Punjab is written as Punjab, it is called a conspiracy. Whether you write it as Punjabi or Punjabi… it will always remain Punjabi (he wrote in Punjabi),” his post read.
Referring to its etymology, Diljit said the name originates from Persian and translates as “land of five rivers” (panj meaning five and ab meaning water). He said that spelling changes in English, a colonial language, does not change the identity of Punjab.
Earlier, the singer was embroiled in another controversy for giving a gift to his fan on stage during an event in the UK. After the fan tells him she's from Pakistan, the singer says he doesn't believe borders divide people. He wants borders between countries for the politicians, not the people of the two countries.
Meanwhile, Dosanjh's New Year concert in Ludhiana was overshadowed by a legal controversy following a formal complaint filed by Associate Professor Punditrao Dharenavar of Chandigarh. The complaint prompted the intervention of the Punjab Women and Children's Department, which issued a formal notice to the District Commissioner of Ludhiana to prevent Dosanjh from singing certain songs.
The singer had previously faced similar scrutiny for singing songs promoting alcohol and violence in other cities including Hyderabad and Indore. Additionally, during the Indore concert, Dosanjh was concerned about selling tickets for his shows on the black market.