Justice and Politics after Zubeen: How Assam’s Grief Turned into a Movement
Assam is still mourning Zubeen Garg. But what began as grief has now become a political flashpoint in Assam.
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About 30 kilometres from Guwahati, in Kamarkuchi village in Sonapur, the songs haven’t stopped. Each day, hundreds gather with incense sticks, candles and small oil lamps to offer prayers at the plot of land where Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg was laid to rest.
Among them are Kabita, Himani, and Runu Das, fans who travelled nearly three hours from Assam’s Baksa district to pay homage. “We left home around five in the morning and have been singing naam here since we arrived,” Kabita said, sitting cross-legged beside the others. In Assam, naam is a form of devotional singing that, for the three women, has now become both a ritual of mourning and an act of resistance.
“We want nyay (justice),” Kabita said. “To us, he is like god, and we are confident that god will get justice.” The group has adapted Kaande Abhimanyu, one of Garg’s Assamese folk songs, into a prayer, accompanied by traditional instruments like nagara and taal.
It has been over a month since Garg passed away in Singapore on 19 September reportedly from drowning. But in Assam, the grief has not lifted. In the days after his death, lakhs took to the streets for a final glimpse of the beloved singer, musician, actor and filmmaker.
Each day, hundreds gather with incense sticks, candles and small oil lamps to offer prayers at the plot of land where Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg was laid to rest.
(Photo: Sanskrita Bharadwaj)
Garg’s funeral drew huge crowds, so vast that his remains were kept at Guwahati’s Sarusajai Stadium for two days to allow mourners to pay their respects. An unofficial three-day bandh followed, with shops, offices, and institutions across the state shutting down in collective mourning.
A State Still Sad and Angry
Grief soon gave way to anger. As videos of Garg’s final moments aboard a yacht in Singapore surfaced online, speculation and suspicion grew. Garg had travelled to Singapore on 17 September to perform at the Northeast India Festival (NEIF), but tragically died while swimming near Lazarus Island two days later. Many alleged foul play, even as the Singapore police force (SPF) maintained that the autopsy showed no such evidence.
In the following weeks, the Assam government’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested five people under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and causing death by negligence. Section 103, pertaining to murder, was later added. Two of Garg’s personal security officers were also arrested after investigators uncovered suspicious financial transactions.
At Zubeen Garg's residence in Kahilipara, Guwahati.
(Photo: Sanskrita Bharadwaj)
Sanchita Das, a 17-year-old student from Nagaon town of Assam, came with classmates and teachers as part of a school excursion. A fan since she was five-years-old, she said, “It still feels like he is with us, and I believe he will always remain among us.”
Morjina Begum, who travelled from Hajo—about 30 km from Guwahati—said, “Everyone in Assam wants justice for Zubeen. We still feel sad every day.”
For Garg’s family, friends, and fans, the call for justice remains constant.
(Photo: Sanskrita Bharadwaj)
Calls for Justice
For Garg’s family, friends, and fans, the call for justice remains constant.
The seven people who have been arrested so far are: festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Garg’s manager Siddhartha Sharma, bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, co-singer Amritprabha Mahanta, Assam Police DSP and Garg’s cousin Sandipan Garg, and personal security officers Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya.
Actor Ravi Sarma said there was “clear negligence” on the management’s part as well as those who were present on the yacht on 19 September. “Zubeen suffered from epileptic seizures, and his manager, who had known him for years, was aware that doctors had advised him to stay away from fire and water,” Sarma told The Quint. “The video footage showed he was visibly tired. When he is in Assam, he’s surrounded by bouncers; why wasn’t the same care ensured abroad?”
Former Inspector General of Police Violet Baruah noted that organisers “had a responsibility towards him, especially given his known health condition,” and said those aspects “must be investigated thoroughly” by the police.
Senior lawyer Ziaul Kamar explained that the case, involving two sovereign countries, falls under the mutual legal assistance treaty that allows information-sharing. Normally, the place of occurrence determines jurisdiction, “but since this happened on foreign soil, it is an exception,” he said. “The police will need a sanction order from the central government before trial begins, though not for the ongoing investigation itself.”
Kamar explained negligence could be either civil or criminal, depending on intent and evidence, and cautioned against speculation. He also criticised the All Assam Lawyers’ Association’s call to boycott representing the accused, saying, “No one can deny a person the right to choose their lawyer.”
Two members of the SIT, led by Special Director General of Police (Criminal Investigation Department) Munna Prasad Gupta, went to Singapore on 20 October and held a meeting with a five-member SPF team the next day.
Gupta said the full investigation report would be submitted by Singapore police within 90 days via diplomatic channels, and all exchanges have followed the mutual legal assistance treaty. Gupta assured that Assam Police will continue probing every angle as new information arrives.
Questions over the Northeast Festival
The NEIF, organised by Shyamkanu Mahanta, aims to showcase the culture, trade, and tourism of Northeast India to Southeast Asian audiences.
Following Garg’s death, several artists have questioned both the intent and representation of the festival. Musician and singer Diganta Bharati said, “The organiser is quite influential. He always says he gives a stage to artists. But he calls artists like Zubeen who are already established. In truth, he’s using big names to pull crowds.”
Rahul Gautam Sharma shared a similar view. “I don’t believe the festival represented the deep cultural essence of Northeast India’s musical folklore,” he said. “It was more about inviting a few local groups, setting up stalls with local liquor and smoked pork, and organising a cultural night. While they included token folk performances as a selling point, it didn’t really reflect what Northeast India stands for culturally.”
Sharma, who last met Garg on 16 September, recalled, “We didn’t discuss the festival. We met at his office, shared a Subway wrap, and talked mostly about our upcoming film Roi Roi Binale.”
Grief Turns Political
Garg held a cult-like following in Assam, which cut across caste, class and religion in a state marked by communal and ethnic conflict. “Zubeen’s creations resonated deeply with people’s aspirations, pain, anguish and fragile hopes. To those outside Assam, the reaction to his death may seem like ‘mass hysteria’, but it is not. Zubeen was that rare phenomenon who embodied more than music. With his sudden passing, the loss feels unbearably personal,” said senior journalist Sushanta Talukdar.
The BJP has led mass Nyay Yatras (Justice Marches) across districts like Nalbari. Sarma, seeking to assure voters, announced that the BJP would not deserve votes if it failed to deliver justice for Garg’s death, while also warning that “some people are trying to turn Assam into Nepal.”
Sarma has consistently tried to position the BJP as aligned with Assam’s collective grief over Garg’s death, declaring, “Moiu Zubeen, Amiu Zubeen,” (I am Zubeen, we are Zubeen). He has repeatedly accused critics and opposition parties of politicising the tragedy, warning of “fake fans” who have emerged only to exploit Garg’s death for political mileage. He has also rejected claims denying Garg’s religious identity, stating, “They say Zubeen had no caste or religion. Wasn’t he Assamese? Wasn’t he Hindu?”
Garg publicly rejected caste distinctions and religious labels, despite being born into an Assamese Brahmin family. He was widely quoted as saying, “Mur kunu jaati nai, mur kunu dharma nai, mur kunu bhogobaan nai. Moi mukto. Moiei Kanchanjunga,” which translates to “I have no caste, I have no faith, and I have no god. I’m free, I am Kanchanjunga.” Garg had also said he had once removed and discarded his sacred Brahmin thread, and insisted he wanted to be seen simply as a human being, not defined by caste or religion.
Opposition parties have repeatedly demanded a CBI probe rather than an SIT investigation led by the state CID, citing lack of trust in the government’s process. They have also accused the BJP government of shielding the NEIF manager Shyamkanu Mahanta, who is said to be powerful and close to the administration.
Noted public intellectual Hiren Gohain told The Quint that people in the state remain “deeply suspicious of the government’s good faith."
Reflecting on the larger meaning of the tragedy, Gohain said, “The most startling result of Zubeen’s death has been the almost magical collapse of the myth of a historical and civilisational divide between Hindus and Muslims, goals that people like us have been trying to achieve for decades and succeeding only to a limited extent.”
“The present danger is not from just any kind of politics, but from politics that tries to colour and poison everything in our society and culture,” Gohain said. “Zubeen stood for honour, love and human dignity – what’s happening today is a blow to those who oppose such values.”
(Sanskrita Bharadwaj is an independent journalist from Assam.)