The belligerent Shiv Sena had its way on Wednesday, as it forced the organisers of renowned Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali’s concert to cancel the event scheduled at Shanmukhananda Hall at Matunga in north-central Mumbai on October 9.
Within hours after the Shiv Sena’s cine wing Chitrapat Sena met the Shanmukhanand Hall management and threatened to disrupt the programme, the organisers made an announcement about the cancellation of the programme. The event was a tribute to singer Jagjit Singh.
The announcement came after the organisers met Sena president Uddhav Thackeray at the Mayor’s bungalow in the evening and sought his intervention in ensuring the smooth conduct of Ghulam Ali’s concert.
Uddhav politely declined to intervene in the situation, saying that there was no change in the Sena’s opposition to Pakistani artistes performing in Mumbai. “We have immense respect for Jagjit Singh. We are also fans of Ghulam Ali. We have no enmity with Pakistani artistes. The Shiv Sena’s stand is that we should not have any cultural ties with Islamabad at a time when Pakistani soldiers are killing our innocent citizens. That being the case, you should not be surprised about our opposition to Ghulam Ali’s concert in Mumbai”.
After their meeting with the Sena, the organisers formally announced the cancellation Ghulam Ali’s concert.
Earlier in the day, Chitrapat Sena’s general secretary Akshay Badrapurkar said: “If Ghulam Ali’s is not cancelled, we would protest in Shiv Sena style”.
Badrapurkar and several Chitrapat Sena met the Shanumkhananda Hall management and submitted a memorandum seeking the cancellation of Ghulam Ali’s concert.