Sonu Nigam is relevant again, and that’s five words I never thought I’d be saying in my life.
As of yesterday, Nigam has stirred up the weirdest controversy we’ve seen in a long time: the fact that the azaan wakes him up every morning, and that it is gundagardi that even though he’s not a Muslim, he’s subjected to hearing the azaan every day and that disrupts his sleep. Hate to say it, but he’s been hitting all the wrong notes with not just Muslims, but people from other religions, too.
God bless everyone. I'm not a Muslim and I have to be woken up by the Azaan in the morning. When will this forced religiousness end in India
— Sonu Nigam (@sonunigam) April 16, 2017
Understandably, people were upset with him over this.
And it wasn’t just regular people displaying their outrage but also celebrities who were wondering why Nigam was questioning the basic secularism of the country they’re all so patriotic for.
Well, Azaan meant different things for me https://t.co/DnqmnaxeJQ
— Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) April 17, 2017
Yes Sonu Nigam ban everything that disturbs ppl . From Azaan to ghantis & jagrans to celebrations on roads. Come with me to @CMOMaharashtra
— Tehseen Poonawalla (@tehseenp) April 17, 2017
But one person who shone through, without targeting Sonu was Pooja Bhatt
I wake each morning to the sound of church bells & the Azaan in a quiet by-lane of Bandra.I light an aggarbatti & salute the spirit of India
— Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) April 18, 2017
Pooja mentions both Church bells and the sound of the azaan and how they contribute to the secular state of India and her culture. And it’s true. India prides herself in being a secular state where the Parliament and ministries have a Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Parsi representation, and you can’t single out one religion and say that it disrupts people and their sleep.
Priyanka Chopra, in an unrelated statement from a while ago, also spoke about how the azaan is her favorite time of day A
People are resharing the interview as a counter-statement to Sonu Nigam’s tweet.
Sonu Nigam
When journalist asked @priyankachopra what's yr favourite time of d day?
PC: #Azan #azaan #sonunigam pic.twitter.com/xdtBjSEsR5— Firoz Saifi (@SaifiFiroz) April 17, 2017
A lot of celebrities, since then, have spoken out against Sonu’s tweet in their interviews and they all somehow make sense.
And they all are, somewhat, based on the same premise as Pooja Bhatt’s tweet.
@sonunigam that everyone has thr own point of view but that can be said without hurting others sentiments.hope u'll understand whr comng frm
— Wajid Khan (@wajidkhan7) April 17, 2017
Even Anupam Kher couldn’t believe the fact that these tweets came from Sonu Nigam’s personal, verified account
Moreover, Nigam later tried clarifying his statements by saying that he actually meant that those people who don’t follow any religion should not be forced to listen to the offerings and calls to prayer for any religion, either. While this clearly looks like he’s counting himself among those who don’t believe in any religion
I don't believe in any temple or gurudwara using electricity To wake up people who don't follow the religion . Why then..? Honest? True?
— Sonu Nigam (@sonunigam) April 17, 2017
His tweets from just a few days ago say otherwise
I am merely a beneficiary of His Mercy… And Thank you my dear @kumarpriya … For your blessings.. https://t.co/whtcnSd0bg
— Sonu Nigam (@sonunigam) April 12, 2017
Mahesh Bhatt, Pooja’s father, also had his bit to say
Where he stated that all this is an engineered affair targeted at either instigating certain sects or this was done in attempts to make Sonu relevant again.
Sona Mohapatra said that we’re in a society where we’ve become very insensitive towards other people’s religions. Moreover, music revolutionary, Hard Kaur, said that you can’t make an issue about the noise levels in India because there are drills happening, music playing, honks on the roads all day long.
Of course, the funny ones had to say something and, well, it was quite funny.
Atul Khatri from East India Comedy had this parallel to draw, making Sonu seem like the advantaged one in this situation
Dear Sonu Nigam – you should consider yourself lucky that the azaan from the mosque wakes you up
My wife switches off the A/c and the fan
— Atul Khatri (@one_by_two) April 17, 2017
I used to be poor.
Then I sold my alarm clock, saved $$$ on batteries.
Thanks to Azaan, now I'm buying 2BHK in Bandra with the money saved.— चार लोग (@WoCharLog) April 17, 2017
Regardless of what religion one belongs to, or whether they don’t belong to any religion, we need to respect what the other person believes in, on the basis of humanity, if nothing else.