A sea of people...of all ages…from all sections...from other states than Punjab...converged at Moosa village in Mansa district of Punjab on Wednesday to pay their last respects to renowned Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, who was brutally murdered on May 29 in broad daylight.
Notwithstanding extreme heatwave conditions, all roads leading to Moosa village were jam-packed, with people organizing langar, chabeels en route to facilitate those going to attend Moosewala’s bhog ceremony, organized at Baharli Anaj Mandi in Mansa. People came sporting turbans, wearing T-shirts with Moosewala’s pictures, holding his posters and banners demanding “justice for Moosewala”; while some carried the message, “'legends never die”.
Before reaching the venue of his antim ardas (last prayers), his fans, followers, and people paid a visit to the place of his cremation — which has turned into a sort of memorial witnessing several people visiting it every day and bowing their heads to pay respect to a singer, who courted several controversies during his three-year-long career but ruled millions of hearts in India and abroad.
Urging the people not to worship his son or offer any money at the place of his last rites, Moosewala’s mother Charan Kaur on Wednesday made a moving appeal — “plant a sapling in his memory and this will be a real tribute to my son”.
Ikk rukkh zaroor laayo....Meri benti hai, osde naam da ikk ikk rukh laake, ohnu chaddna nahi, ohnu paalna hai...Ohnu bohar di tarah vadhauna hai...taaki kuch mainu shaanti mil sake (Please plant at least one tree...It is my appeal that please plant a sapling in his (her son Sidhu Moosewala’s) name. Don’t abandon it, nurture it...Let it grow like a banyan tree so that I may have some peace),” she said while addressing the massive gathering at the bhog ceremony.
The security personnel was deployed in large numbers for the ceremony. Roads leading to the venue witnessed a huge rush of people coming from parts of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, and Delhi.
Apart from political leaders, especially from the Congress party, several Punjabi singers and artists, including Amrit Mann, Kulwinder Billa, Mandy Takhar, and Kaur B attended the ceremony.
Punjab Cabinet Minister Dr Baljeet Kaur, also attended the ceremony on behalf of the State Government, along with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs Gurpreet Singh Banawali, Balkar Sidhu, Gurmeet Singh Khudian, and Narinder Kaur Bharaj.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, who was also present at the ceremony, said Moosewala was like his younger brother. “Farewell my brother! At the Bhog and Antim Ardas ceremony of Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu Moosewla. To the world he was a great singer, to me he was like a younger brother. Will always remain in my thoughts and memories. And for his parents, I'll always be there,” he tweeted.
Three friends from Ganganagar in Rajasthan reached Mansa at 4 am on Wednesday to pay respects to Moosewala. We were shocked when we came to know about the singer's death, said one of them.
A group of youngsters, who were carrying posters of Moosewala, came from Fatehabad and Sirsa districts of Haryana to attend the ceremony and they demanded that those behind the heinous crime be brought to justice at the earliest. Three friends from Haryana's Panipat said they loved Moosewala's songs. Several children who came with their families could be seen dressed like the singer.
A family from Ludhiana distributed badges carrying pictures of Moosewala to people. Several people distributed saplings for plantation in the memory of Moosewala.
Moosewala’s family members organized an antim ardas (last prayer) ceremony for the singer on Wednesday. Moosewala’s mortal remains were brought to his home in Moosa village amid tight security on May 31, and a funeral ceremony took place on the same day.
The singer was shot dead on May 29. The state police termed the incident a case of an inter-gang rivalry and had said that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind it. Canada-based Goldy Brar, who is a member of the Bishnoi gang, claimed the responsibility for the murder. This murder was in retaliation of youth Akali leader Vicky Middukhera’s murder that took place last year, he had claimed.
FATHER APPEALS TO FREE PUNJAB FROM ORGANISED GANGS OF CRIMINAL
In an emotional speech on the antim ardas of his son, Sidhu Moosewala's father Balkaur Singh on Wednesday called for freeing Punjab from organized gangs of criminals.
Declaring that he would not rest until he gets justice, Balkaur Singh said that he still does not understand what was his son’s fault that led to his killing.
“He never indulged in any wrong activities. We still don’t know why our son was killed. He could have hired private security had he been involved in any wrongful action. He worked hard for what he achieved,” said Singh, an ex-serviceman, while urging the social media users to desist from “maligning” his son’s image.
The grieving father said that he would first give the Punjab Government time to complete the investigation. “If things are not found to be in the right direction, I will release a video for the next action plan for justice. We want to know the motive behind the killing,” he said.
With his wife standing along with him, Balkaur said: “Our family has been ruined but I do not want any other family to suffer the same way...Until we get justice, we will not rest.” He also thanked the people, Moosewala’s fans, and everyone for sharing their grief. “Seeing your love and support, our pain has lessened to a great extent,” he said.
Sharing anecdotes from Moosewala's childhood and later life, Balkaur described him as a “simple youth”, who used to go to his school riding a bicycle for 24 kms, who never ever carried a wallet, and had “always asked me for money whenever he needs it”.
Also cautioning the people against fake social media accounts of Moosewala, he asked them not to pay heed to any news or information being circulated on them. “It is painful to see some people start fake online donation collection campaigns in Moosewala’s memory. Please do not get misled by all this,” he said.
Balkaur also thanked all those who offered support to the family, including politicians such as Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and others. “Joining politics was Sidhu’s own decision though we had strong reservations. We are still in shock and social media is fuelling baseless conspiracy theories.”
MOOSEWALA’S DEATH AN IRREPARABLE LOSS FOR FAMILY AND FANS: PUNJAB CM
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in a written condolence message to the family, said that the demise of the renowned Punjabi singer was a huge and irreparable loss for the family and fans. In the message, which was personally handed over to the aggrieved family by the Cabinet Minister Dr Baljeet Kaur, Mann said that the entire State Government pays tributes to the singer who has carved a niche for himself in the field of music and entertainment.