Zubeen Garg demise and political implications

Kolkata: Zubeen Garg’s death in Singapore has not only saddened Assam but stirred up a complex aftermath marked by grief, political manoeuvring, and social unrest. The tragic drowning of this iconic singer has become a pivotal event exposing deeply entrenched political and cultural issues in Assam, revealing both the larger-than-life persona of Zubeen and the fractures within Assam’s socio-political landscape.

Zubeen Garg was far more than a musician; he was Assam’s cultural soul—its first true rockstar and a unifying figure across ethnic, religious, and political lines.

His expansive body of work—over 38,000 songs in 40 languages—and his outspoken, socialist-leaning political beliefs connected deeply with the common people.

A self-declared follower of Che Guevara, he fiercely advocated for social justice, opposed communal politics, and criticized policies like the Citizenship Amendment Act that divided communities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he even converted his home into a care centre, embodying his commitment to humanitarianism. His death triggered unprecedented mourning: schools and businesses closed, the public thronged in vast numbers to pay respects, and his songs became anthems of collective loss and solidarity ?????.

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Despite the initial Singapore police reports ruling the cause as accidental drowning with no signs of foul play, suspicions and conspiracy theories rapidly took hold in Assam’s public discourse.

Accusations of negligence, conspiracy, and even murder surfaced, stoked by allegations from people close to Garg at the time.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed by Assam's government under public and artistic community pressure to probe the circumstances more deeply.

Key figures associated with the concert and Garg’s entourage were arrested, including his manager and the festival organizer, but all deny wrongdoing.

The SIT is still investigating, with toxicology and forensic reports pending, amid a charged atmosphere of demand for justice.

This complex scenario has ignited fierce political controversies in Assam. The sudden demise of a beloved figure turned into a theatre of political opportunism, where different factions tried to leverage the tragedy for their own power narratives.

The involvement of influential individuals linked to government circles surfaced in rumours, deepening mistrust. Instead of transparent inquiry and shared mourning,

Assam saw a decaying of ethical politics, where grief was repackaged as political capital and cultural industries became battlegrounds for control and influence by the new elite class. Public anger spilled onto social media and the streets, sometimes culminating in clashes with the police, as calls for accountability grew louder.

The BJP's response to Zubeen Garg's death has been widely viewed as an attempt to use the tragedy as a shield to divert the opposition's serious allegations against the government.

Since Garg's mysterious death, marked officially as accidental drowning by Singapore police, the BJP-led Assam government has launched a "Nyay Yatra" (justice march) across the state, purportedly to seek justice for Garg.

However, this has drawn sharp criticism from groups like the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), which accused the ruling BJP of turning Garg's death into a political flashpoint and questioned whom the BJP was truly protesting against and seeking justice from. Many see this as a political strategy rather than pure pursuit of justice.

The opposition and civil groups have alleged that the BJP government is using Zubeen Garg's death to overshadow and deflect attention from heavy-handed methods it has allegedly employed in Assam, including forceful eviction drives targeting marginalized Muslim communities, controversial law enforcement actions, and accusations of corruption within the administration.

The opposition points to arrests of individuals connected to Garg’s death but also highlights the government's crackdown on political dissenters and activists who question its investigation or highlight the plight of marginalized groups.

Activists like Ingty Raj Gogoi faced police interrogation and warnings for social media posts demanding impartial investigation and criticizing the government’s tactics.

Reports indicate that key figures close to the singer, who were arrested, have links to powerful political and business interests tied to the current government, which fuels public suspicion of corruption and cover-ups.

Prominent politicians like Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma have framed opposition voices and protests around this issue as "anti-government politics" and incitement, further polarizing the discourse.

Observers interpret the BJP's swift arrests, publicized by government officials, and the narrative around delivering "justice" as efforts to gain political mileage ahead of upcoming elections rather than a purely fact-based process.

In truth, the BJP government in Assam exemplifies the dangerous face of communal politics, ruthlessly exploiting Zubeen Garg’s tragic death as a smokescreen to deflect from its own systemic abuses.

Thriving on a poisonous ideology that demonizes minorities—especially Muslims—the BJP weaponizes grief to bolster its divisive Hindutva agenda rather than foster justice or unity.

The cynical politicization of Garg’s legacy is emblematic of a regime that prioritizes majoritarian domination and sectarian violence over democratic accountability and social harmony, deepening fractures in Assam’s plural fabric and betraying the inclusive values the artiste himself championed. Such exploitation is not mere political opportunism but a deliberate strategy to sustain a communal, authoritarian project that undermines the very foundation of India’s constitutional democracy.

The author is a political observer