Sidhu Moosewala’s first posthumous song - 'SYL' – garnered more than 10 lakh views on YouTube within an hour of release on Thursday 23 June. By Sunday it had crossed 2.5 crore views until it was banned by YouTube from being viewed in India. It crossed 3 crore views by Tuesday, despite the ban.
On 28 June, the Punjab Assembly announced a resolution condemning this ban on SYL.
As the name of song suggests, SYL is based on Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal – a key issue connected to the water rights of Punjab. In the song, Moose Wala also raises the issue of Sikh political prisoners and justice for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom. All of these are emotive issues for Punjabis, especially Sikhs.
What Does the Song Say About SYL?
The song starts by targeting the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab by putting out a byte of its Rajya Sabha MP and Haryana in-charge Sushil Gupta.
In the byte, Gupta can be heard saying, "We are in power in Punjab. In 2024, We will form the government in Haryana and in 2025, each field in the state (Haryana) will have water supply”.
In the first line of the song, Moose Wala speaks about a Sanjha or united Punjab by showing pre-partition maps that include West Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
He says, “Sanu sada pichokad te lana de diyo, Oh Chandigarh, Himachal te Haryana de diyo” (Give us back our past and our community. Give us Chandigarh, Himachal and Haryana). In next line Moose Wala says, “Till we do not get the path of sovereignty, leave alone giving water we won’t even supply a drop of water.”
What is SYL and Why Is It an Emotive Issue for Punjabis?
After Punjab was reorganised in 1966, newly carved Haryana demanded water for its fields and people. Punjab opposed the idea saying that it does not have water to share with Haryana. In 1976, the union government issued a notification granting water to Haryana.
In 1981, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan sealed a pact to share water of Sutlej, Beas and Ravi and Punjab was supposed to construct SYL canal within two years.
The SYL canal became a major issue for Punjabis with the Akali Dal starting the Kapuri Morcha.
The subsequent crackdown and the sequence of events eventually led to Operation Bluestar in 1984 and the rise of militancy in Punjab.
In 1985, a deadline was set under the Rajiv-Longowal Accord to construct a canal to supply water to Haryana. In 1986, Harchand Singh Longowal was assassinated by militants who were against the pact.
In SYL, Moose Wala praised Sikh militant Balwinder Singh Jattana, who played a major role in halting construction of the canal.
He sings, “Jeh na tale phir Balwinder Jattana ayo.”(If you do not mend your ways, then Balwinder Jattana will come back.)
In 1990, Balwinder Jattana killed chief engineer of SYL ML Sekhri and superintending engineer Avtar Singh Aulakh.
In 1991, Jattana was killed in an encounter. His family was burnt alive by notorious Punjab Police cat Ajit Singh Phula.
The SYL construction still hasn't been completed.
Reference to Sikh Political Prisoners
In SYL, Moose Wala also demands the release of Sikh prisoners, by saying “Singhan nu rihai de diyo”.
Linking it to SYL, he says, “Till you do not remove handcuffs from our hands, leave alone water we won’t even give you a single drop of water.”
Release of Sikh political prisoners has been an emotive issue in Punjab politics.
Before the 2022 Assembly elections, Sikh organisations had led protests to demand the release of Davinderpal Bhullar, Balwant Singh Rajoana, Jagtar Singh Hawara and others from jail.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) fielded Rajoana’s sister Kamaldeep Kaur in the recent Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll as a means to tap into the political prisoners’ issue.
How Moose Wala Ruffled Many Feathers in SYL
In SYL, Moose Wala attacks “topi-walahs”, a reference that isn’t entirely clear. It could have been a veiled reference to the Indian state, politicians in general, Jawaharlal Nehru, RSS or AAP.
The song says, “Kyo paga nal khenda firda to topi walya,(Why do you mess with turbans, you who wear hats).
At this point, the video shows Indian soldiers wearing hats.
Moose Wala’s song also takes a slight dig at Punjabi singer Babbu Mann.
“Nale Edhar nale udhar duniya bahut hisabi, nishan jhole te fer kyo ronda c adab Punjabi,” (Those who play on both sides are extremely calculative, why did Adab Punjabi cry when Nishan Sahib was unfurled at the Red Fort)
Adab Punjabi refers to a song by Babbu Mann. The dig on Mann is due to his claim that he had cried on 26 January 2021, when the Nishan Sahib was unfurled at the Red Fort during the farmers’ protest.
There is a history to this. Moose Wala’s rise as a singer challenged Babbu Mann’s dominance in the Punjabi music industry. Mann and Moose Wala used to occasionally challenge each other verbally.
The song ends with a byte of Meghalaya governor Satyapal Malik talking about Sikhs.
“Indira Gandhi knew she would be killed. She was killed. They killed General Vaidya in Pune. They killed General Dwyer in London. Do not test the patience of these communities”.
Malik had made this speech during the farmers’ protest, warning the Union government not to provoke Sikhs.
Though Moose Wala never shied away from raising political issues in his songs, SYL is at a different level as it places Sikh identity, Sikh issues and the rights of Punjab at the centre of his narrative.
It also shows how Punjab’s ground water is depleting and that it should be a cause of alarm for Punjabis
Moose Wala was supposed to release the song on 6 June, the anniversary of Operation Blue star. But he was killed on 29 May, a week earlier.
Though released after his murder, the song gives him new identity as a singer who speaks about Punjab’s issues, human rights and emotive issues of Sikhs.
It is not clear what exactly led to the ban on the song in India – whether it was the reference to Balwinder Jattana or the part about Indira Gandhi and General Vaidya’s killing.
Interestingly, Governor Satyapal Malik’s speech where he made that remark, can still be viewed without any restrictions.
The blocking of Moose Wala’s SYL in India comes at a time when several Punjabi and Sikh Twitter handles have been withheld in India under orders from the authorities. Many see these as part of a larger attempt to block Sikh and Punjab-centric voices.
(Sandeep Singh is a freelance journalist based in Punjab. You can follow him on Twitter at @Punyaab)
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