Diljit says attempts made to stop his Indore concert, recites ‘kisi ke baap ka Hindostan thodi hai’

Bhopal Singer Diljit Dosanjh took the stage for his concert in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on Sunday and recited the famous couplet of poet Rahat Indori, “Kisi ke baap ka Hindostan thodi hai (India does not belong to anyone’s father),” amid security concerns and objections around the event. Mr. Dosanjh also claimed that he had come to Indore despite “several attempts being made to stop” him from performing in the city.

In an aggressive tone, the Punjabi artist also appeared to take a dig at the political opposition to his Aura India Tour 2026, which was kicked off with the concert in Indore’s Delight Dastoor ground. “Ye nahi gana hai, vo nahi gana hai. Ye nahi kar sakte, vo nahi kar sakte (You can’t sing this, you can’t sing that. You can’t do this, you can’t do that,” he said. Mr. Dosanjh then recited the lines by Rahat Indori, who hailed from the city.

“Humare munh se jo nikle wahi sadaqata hai, hamare munh mein tumhari zuban thodi hai. Agar khilaf hain hone do, oye jaan thodi hai. Yeh sab dhuan hai koi aasman thodi hai. Main jaanta hoon ki dushman bhi kam nahin, lekin hamari tarah hatheli pe jaan thodi hai (Whatever passes my lips is the truth; I do not carry your words in my mouth. If there are those who oppose me, let them—it is not a matter of life and death.

All this is merely smoke, not the vast sky. I know my enemies are formidable, but they do not hold their lives in the palms of their hands as I do),” he said. The singer ended the couplet in high energy, saying, “Sabhi ka khoon hai shamil yahan ki mitti men, kisi ke baap ka hindustan thodi hai! (The blood of all has mingled with this soil; India is not the private property of anyone’s father!)” Asking the crowd to chant ‘Jai Shri Mahakal’, Mr.

Dosanjh said that he was not afraid and that nobody could stop him from coming here. “People of Indore, this is the land of Mahakal, and nobody can stop us from coming here. We weren’t afraid earlier and aren’t afraid today. And where is the question of you being afraid? It is your strength that has brought us here today,” he said. “Although many attempts were made to stop me from coming here, I still came.

Once I tell someone that I will come, I never back out. Despite all the restrictions, I am standing here,” he asserted. Mr. Dosanjh’s concerts in cities like Indore and Gujarat’s Ahmedabad have faced objections from child protection authorities over songs involving liquor consumption, with the Indore District Child Protection Officer prohibiting four such songs in a November 6 order.

The final permissions for the concerts also arrived from the local police just hours before the show. Meanwhile, emails threatening bomb blasts at his concert were also received by the Indore Mayor’s office and other institutions, which were declared a hoax by the police following a brief probe. In recent years, Mr. Dosanjh and his concerts in India have also faced heat from various right-wing groups over his political views and allegations that his songs promote intoxication and violence.