Boat withdraws sponsorship for Canadian Singer’s India Tour over Khalistan remark, here’s what company said – Times of India

Consumer electronics company Boat has announced that it has decided to withdraw sponsorship of Canada-based Punjabi singer Shubh’s upcoming tour to India. In a statement posted on its social media handles, the company said that it has withdrawn the sponsorship over certain remarks he made earlier this year. “At boAt, while our commitment to the incredible music community runs deep, we are first and foremost a true Indian brand. Therefore, when we became aware of the remarks made by artist Shubh earlier this year, we chose to withdraw our sponsorship from the tour,” the company said in a post on social media platform X.
Shubhneet Singh, popularly known as Shubh, is scheduled to perform during the Cruise Control 4.0 event in Mumbai from September 23-25. He is also scheduled to perform in cities such as New Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Shared distorted map of India
Recently, cricketer Virat Kohli unfollowed Shubh on social media app Instagram. This move by Kohli too reportedly came after the singer posted a distorted map of India in the wake of Khalistan separatist issues. The map shared by him had the state of Jammu and Kashmir missing.
The announcement by Boat came on a day when tensions between Canada and India flared up after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the involvement of “agents of the Indian government” in the killing of a prominent Sikh separatist leader in Surrey in June. These claims have been outrightly rejected by the Indian government as “absurd” and “motivated”. Canada and India have expelled a senior diplomat each amid the escalation of the tensions.