(New Delhi) YouTube has removed a video of murdered Indian rapper Sidhu Moose Wala, posted posthumously and which had garnered nearly 30 million views, following a government complaint.
Posted at 7:28
The song, SYLis about a river at the center of a long conflict between the Sikh rapper’s home state of Punjab and neighboring Haryana.
The song, released posthumously on Thursday, also addresses the deadly riots targeting the Sikh community that broke out in India in 1984 and the storming of a major Sikh temple by the army the same year.
The song was viewed nearly 30 million times and racked up 3.3 million “likes” on the singer’s YouTube page before being taken down over the weekend.
“This content is unavailable on this national domain due to a legal complaint by the government,” reads a message at the link address. However, the song remains available in other countries.
In an email to AFP, a YouTube spokesperson said the company had removed the song “in accordance with local laws and our terms of service after careful review”.
Contacted by AFP, the government has not responded yet.
The rapper’s family called the song’s removal “unfair” and called on the government to drop their complaint, according to local media.
“They can ban the song, but they can’t take Sidhu out of people’s hearts. We will discuss legal options with lawyers,” his uncle, Chamkaur Singh, was quoted by the daily as saying. Hindustan Times.
Sidhu Moose Wala, whose birth name is Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, was shot dead in his car last month in Punjab. Last week, Indian police arrested three suspects and seized a cache of weapons, including a grenade launcher.
The 28-year-old artist had won the hearts of young people in Punjab with very catchy rap videos attacking rival singers and the political class and presenting him as spearheading a fight for justice and dignity for the people of the country. Punjab.
But he was also a controversial figure, accused of glorifying arms.
His murder shone a spotlight on organized crime in Punjab, a major transit route for drugs entering India from Afghanistan and Pakistan.