Who was Sidhu Moose Wala?
'Ho chobbar de chehre utte noor dasda, ni ehda uthuga jawani ch janaja mithiye (the glow on the face of this young man shows that he will die young),' these were the lyrics of late Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala’s last song, The Last Ride, which was released on YouTube on May 15, 2022. After his death, his fans have been looking for meaning in his last song: whether Moose Wala somehow, ominously, predicted his own end two weeks before he was shot dead.
The Punjabi singer was killed in broad daylight on May 29, 2022 by unidentified assailants in the Jawaharke village of the Mansa district in Punjab.
His killing has sent shockwaves across the country. The popular Punjabi singer who rose to fame with his song So High in 2017, was revered by fans across the globe.
Here is a brief look at his career:
SIDHU MOOSE WALA THE STAR
Sidhu was born June 17, 1993 in Moosa village in Mansa district of Punjab. His real name was Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu. He studied at the Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College in Ludhiana and graduated in electrical engineering in 2016. He learnt music from Harvinder Bittu in Ludhiana. After completing his graduation, Moose Wala moved to Canada.
MUSICAL SUCCESS
Sidhu began his journey as a lyrics writer for the song License by Ninja in 2016. He began his singing career with a duet song G Wagon in July 2017 while he was in Canada. He shot to fame with his song So High in 2017.
In 2019, his song 47 was ranked on the UK Singles chart. In 2020, he was named by The Guardian among 50 up and coming artists.
10 of his songs made it to the UK Asian chart. The song Bambiha Bole was listed among the Top 5 on Global YouTube music chart.
CONTROVERSIES FOLLOW
Moose Wala was a youth sensation and had nearly 6.9 million followers on Instagram, but controversies followed him more.
One of his songs titled Jatt Jeone Morh Wargi courted controversy as it made a reference to the 18th century Sikh warrior Mai Bhago. FIRs were also registered against him for promoting drugs and violence through his songs.
In May 2020, he was booked under the Arms Act as a viral video showed him using an AK-47 with assistance from some police officers. In December 2020, he released a song called Panjab: My Motherland where he glorified Punjab separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
As of 2022, Sidhu Moose Wala had four criminal cases against him. Two of those cases were related to obscenity in his music videos.
POLITICAL JOURNEY
The 28-year-old Moose Wala started his political innings on December 3, 2021 when he joined the Congress party in Punjab, ahead of the state assembly elections. He contested from the Mansa constituency but lost to AAP’s Vijay Singla by a margin of 63,323 votes.
TRAGIC DEATH
His security cover was withdrawn by the Punjab government on May 28. Moose Wala was among the 425 people whose security cover was withdrawn by the state. After this, Moose Wala, who had his rivalries with gangs, was left with only two security guards, who too were missing at the time he was shot dead.
On May 29, 2022, his car was ambushed by unidentified assailants and he was shot dead. Hours after his death, Punjab gangster Goldie Brar claimed responsibility for the murder. Brar is part of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. At the moment, Lawrence Bishnoi is in Tihar jail. He and Goldy Brar are both on the radar of the police for their apparent role in the murder of Sidhu Moose Wala.