Singer Sonu Nigam has been booked after his controversial remark linking a Kannada song demand to the Pahalgam terror attack during a Bengaluru concert, triggering strong reactions and an FIR filed against him by the police.
Bengaluru: Singer Sonu Nigam is facing legal trouble after making remarks about the Pahalgam terror attack during a recent performance in Bengaluru. Police in the city have registered a first information report (FIR) against him on Saturday.
The controversy arose during a musical event held at East Point College of Engineering and Technology in Virgonagar, Bengaluru, on April 25-26. According to reports, Mr. Nigam was repeatedly asked by a young man to sing in Kannada, which triggered an angry response from the singer.
The singer said in Hindi,
“I have sung in different languages, including Kannada. Whenever I come to Karnataka, I come with a lot of love and respect. You all have treated me like family,”
He added,
“I always sing Kannada songs when requested. I have been singing in Kannada before that young man was born. But I didn’t like the way he shouted ‘Kannada, Kannada’. It is because of such behaviour that incidents like the Pahalgam attack happen,”
These comments were met with widespread outrage and condemnation, including from film producer Karthik Gowda and Kannada activist SR Govindu.
On Friday, the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, a pro-Kannada organization, lodged a formal complaint at the Avalahalli Police Station in Bengaluru. The organization alleged that Mr. Nigam’s statements had offended the sentiments of the Kannadiga community.
The complaint stated,
“The statements have incited hatred among various linguistic communities in Karnataka, and are likely to provoke violence. A video of Shri Sonu Nigam’s statement has gone viral, causing widespread outrage among millions of Kannadigas across the state,”
It added,
“On April 25 – 26, during a musical event at East Point College, it is reported that a student requested Shri Sonu Nigam to sing a Kannada song. In response, Shri Nigam made an objectionable statement, saying, ‘Kannada, Kannada, Kannada, this is exactly why the incident happened in Pahalgam’… By linking a simple request to sing a Kannada song to a terrorist act in which 26 people were killed, Shri Nigam insulted the Kannadiga community and equated their cultural pride and linguistic identity with violence and intolerance,”
The organization further expressed concerns that the singer’s remarks could incite “potential attacks” on Kannadigas in other parts of the country.
Based on the complaint, an FIR has been filed against Mr. Nigam under sections of the law pertaining to promoting enmity between groups, defamation, and outraging religious or linguistic sentiments.
A tragic terrorist attack took place in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, On April 22, 2025, which claimed the lives of 28 people. The attackers, believed to be linked to The Resistance Front (TRF), a group associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, targeted a group of tourists.
They separated men from women and children before shooting them at close range. The victims were chosen because they could not recite Islamic verses, and many were killed at restaurants and in wooded areas.