Monday morning doesn’t seem to be too fresh at Sonu Nigam’s household.
Sonu Nigam was forced to wake up from the Morning Azaan, which followed a series of tweets where the singer expressed his anger over Religion in India. Azaan is basically the Islamic call to worship which is blared through speakers, exactly 5 times a day. His tweets can be summed up as a short rant about how religion is being forced in India through means like these. He also went on to say that he’s against the use of electricity and loudspeaker by any religious groups to wake up those who don’t believe in a particular religion.
Any criticism towards a religion has been noticed to not go down well, in a country like India which seems to be divided day-by-day on the very basis. And, the same happened with Sonu Nigam, who had to face a lot of flak for his tweets.
This is what Sonu Nigam said.
https://twitter.com/sonunigam/status/853758848133242880
https://twitter.com/sonunigam/status/853760205368078336
https://twitter.com/sonunigam/status/853761583666806784
https://twitter.com/sonunigam/status/853764889671720960
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri came in support of Sonu Nigam and even tagged Mumbai Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to look into the matter.
I am willing to sponsor a campaign against illegal blaring of Azaan and other prayers on loudspeakers. Suggest a creative hashtag.
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) April 17, 2017
Dear @DevFadnavis pl note and help us force police to act against illegal blaring of Azaan and other such activities. https://t.co/SKlclOUJZU
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) April 17, 2017
Many came in support of Sonu Nigam and concurred with his beliefs.
Don't want to hear the Azaan at dawn, nor do I want to hear a Chikni Chameli tuned Ganesh Aarti at dusk. Ban ALL loudspeakering of religion. https://t.co/BVu1Nb6mKR
— Apurva (@Apurvasrani) April 17, 2017
Valid point Sonu Nigam. Let's unite and stop both azaan and jagrata. Bcz both create noise pollution.
— G.MISHRA (@Satyameva_J) April 17, 2017
Well said @sonunigam religion is personal stuff, one should not enforce it on others via loud speaker or Bombs Sonu Nigam
— Kumar Priyadarshi (@darshi1986) April 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/PanthicPolice/status/853823937569935360
Yes, please ban loudspeakers in temples, gurudwaras, mosques & all other religious places. @sonunigam has a point. Stop imposing religion.
— Aarti Tikoo Singh (@AartiTikoo) April 17, 2017
However, some didn’t.
Sonu sir I was die hard fan of yours but today you gave such a cheap statement that doesn't suits you I am still in shock that it's you 🙁
— Majid Memon (@memon_majid) April 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/iamzaalima/status/853768259056828416
Dear Sonu Nigam u forget u started ur career doing jagrata all night. Where was gundagardi thn. If azaan shd stop thn jagrata shd also stop.
— G.MISHRA (@Satyameva_J) April 17, 2017
Sonu Nigam is a classic example of Hindu Privilege. I dare see a Muslim Celebrity speak of the noise caused by Ganpati Celebrations.
— Kpop X Physics (@ThePappadWoMan) April 17, 2017
There were also some who didn’t agree or disagree but had a rather comical take on the tweets.
<Enters Twitter>
Goooooood morning teacher.
Good morning kids.
What's the chapter for today teacher?
Today's chapter is SONU NIGAM.— Aisi Taisi Democracy (@AisiTaisiDemo) April 17, 2017
How dare Sonu Nigam cut lanes on outrage and create his own when Snapchat ka case abhi tak unsolved hai?
— Shakti Shetty (@Shakti_Shetty) April 17, 2017
All those trollers going on rampage against @sonunigam learn to respect an opinion and move on. Baal ki khaal mat nikalo. "Sonu Nigam"
— Karmalogy (@amitwriter) April 17, 2017
mera ghar railway station K pass hai aur full night railway horn Bjti hai aur rail ke chle ki awaj aati hai PLZ ban rail at night
— Md Afroz(Salmanistan (@beingmdafroz) April 17, 2017
Thanks to Sonu Nigam, atleast Snapchat ratings won't fall anymore.
— Akshar | اكشار (@akshaaaaar) April 17, 2017
Me: Ye 4 bank transactions ke baad charges kyun laga rahe hain?
Sonu Nigam: pic.twitter.com/7rKj8tjwU8
— Gentle Giant (@iKunaal) April 17, 2017
Sonu Nigam said nothing wrong, if you want to selectively listen & outrage, that just points to your opportunism and hidden agenda.
— Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) April 17, 2017
No matter what side you are on, one thing is to be noticed here that some 10 years back (2005), the Supreme Court had already banned cone-shaped speaker due to the high decibel sound that they produce. However, people are still using it and most of the time, these cone-shaped speakers are found at religious places, be it a Mosque or a Temple. The Bombay High Court in 2015 had also banned the use of loudspeakers from 10 pm to 6 am and asked the Mumbai Police to keep a check on it.
17th April 2017
Jyotsna Amla