By: Kainat Bashir
As tensions between Pakistan and India continue unabated, Pakistani songs and artists have been slashed from Spotify and other streaming platforms — and it has everyone talking. Twinkle Khanna reignited the conversation with her signature dose of sarcasm.
Taking to social media, the wife of Bollywood star took a pointed dig at the the removal of Pakistani artists from Indian platforms, writing that perhaps India should go ahead and “let Dhinchak Pooja re-dub Abida Parveen.” For those familiar with the names, the irony was cutting: Abida Parveen is regarded as one of the greatest living Sufi singers, while Dhinchak Pooja is a viral internet personality best known for her cringe-worthy music. Twinkle’s post was not just a joke but a mirror for Indian government.
Twinkle’s jibe was a satirical response to this new low by the Modi-led government, which appears to be desperately making absurd moves to isolate Pakistan.
Her comment has since gone viral, raising eyebrows as netizens began calling out the hypocrisy of a cultural policy that punishes artists for their nationality rather than their art.
Music has long been one of the last remaining threads connecting India and Pakistan — a shared language of emotion, storytelling, and history. Platforms like Coke Studio, the rise of desi hip-hop, and cross-border streaming habits have shown that while politics divides, music unites.
Banning artists like Abida Parveen or editing Mahira Khan out of history doesn’t protect a nation’s culture — it shrinks it. A wave of cultural censorship has swept across digital platforms in India. Pakistani artists — many of whom enjoy massive Indian fan bases — have been quietly shadow-banned, removed from playlists, or subjected to unofficial boycotts.
Artists like Atif Aslam, Talha Anjum, and Abida Parveen have seen their Spotify numbers plummet. Once streaming in the millions — often 90% of it from India — their reach has sharply declined. The song Jhol by Mannu and Annural Khalid, which once boasted over a million plays daily, now hovers around 300,000.
The censorship isn’t limited to music streaming. Visuals from collaborative Bollywood songs have been edited to remove Pakistani actresses like Mahira Khan and Mawra Hocane. Social media platforms are also part of this quiet cleansing — thumbnails changed, credits omitted, and reach throttled.
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