Carnatic singer TM Krishna will perform in Delhi on Saturday, the day he was scheduled to perform at an event organised by the Airports Authority of India that was later postponed. The postponement came after members of Hindutva groups attacked the organiser for supporting an “anti-India” musician. Airports Authority of India later said that the event was postponed because of “some exigency”, not because of any criticism.
Krishna, who was supposed to sing at a show in Nehru Park in Chanakyapuri, will now perform at the Garden of Five Senses in Saket at 6.30 pm on Saturday. The event is organised by the state government’s Sahitya Kala Parishad.
“No artist should ever be denied an opportunity to perform,” said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. “It’s important to maintain the dignity of the art and artists.”
Krishna was attacked online and called a “converted bigot” and “urban Naxal” who sang about Jesus and Allah. The trolls also tagged several senior government officials such as Minister of Railways, Coal and Corporate Affairs Piyush Goel and Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu in their tweets.
In response, Krishna had said he was willing to perform anywhere in Delhi on November 17. “We just can’t let ourselves be cowed down by this kind of threats,” he added.
Airports Authority of India Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra, however, claimed the event was not postponed because of the criticism on social media. “Some exigency has come up and we are not free that day,” he said.
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