Politics Nokoriba Bondhu...

It has been 20 days since Assam lost its heartbeat- Zubeen Garg- yet the silence around what truly happened to him in Singapore grows louder than the truth. The investigation continues, five people have been arrested so far. But at the same time, the conversations instead of moving towards justice have drifted into gossip.

Who had pictures with whom?

Whose wife sponsored what?

Which friend? Whose girlfriend? And what not…

The fight for justice for Zubeen- once a cry of collective heartbreak and grief- has turned into a game of political arithmetic. However, since the first day itself the real question was and still is: What really happened to Zubeen Garg in Singapore?

Not who stood beside whom in photograph. 

Not whose wife or girlfriend attended what event.

Mourning Turned into Marketing!

In a time, when it should have been about reflection and dignity has unfortunately become a theatre of performances. Cameras are out; hashtags and narratives are trending in social media faster than facts. The same people who stood shoulder to shoulder at events and cultural festivals now scramble to erase their own proximity.
Ministers, opposition faces, event organisers, bureaucrats-Assam’s power circle has always been a small one.

They have shared the same banquet tables, same stages, same air-conditioned laughter. Now they stand opposite, trying to distance and performing outrage as if they have never known each other.

This is not grief.

This is choreography.

A political sanitisation of conscience.

Justice Lost in Translation

The Assam government under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has indeed intensified the investigation. The CID and SIT are at work. But the air is thick with politicization, as if solving the case depends on narratives and not evidences. 

Meanwhile, the Assamese community in Singapore, who might hold crucial answers, appears to have retreated from public accountability. Silence has replaced transparency. And in that silence, politics has entered — slyly, predictably.

If singers will sing, actors will act, then politicians — of course — will do politics. But there are moments when politics must pause. Zubeen’s death should have been one.

Instead, it has become a crossfire of convenience. Someone wants protests like Nepal. Someone wants Garima to contest elections. Someone wants headlines, someone wants vengeance. And amidst this noise, Zubeen Da’s truth is fading into speculation.

The Irony That Bleeds

When Zubeen Da once said, “Politics Nokoriba Bondhu”, he wasn’t being playful. He was issuing a warning.
A warning against the rot that begins when grief, art, and friendship are traded for influence.

He spent his life calling out hypocrisy — the nexus between art and authority, the apathy of those in power, the staged empathy of those who show up only when cameras are rolling. He sang for justice, not for patronage. He stood for dignity, not for deals.

And yet today, the same voices he once challenged use his name for sympathy and soundbites. The same political machinery that ignored his demands for cultural reform now speaks of “Zubeen’s legacy” as if it belongs to them.

Ministers quote his lyrics without meaning them. Opposition leaders weaponise his face without understanding his fight. Even journalists, once inspired by his defiance, now chase clicks over truth.

Zubeen’s death has become a stage, and every performer wants the spotlight.

The People Remember

But the people — the ones who sang “Mayabini” under the stars, who stood in lines to bid farewell with tears and silence — they know better.

They don’t need political scripts to feel loss.

They don’t need hashtags to prove loyalty.

They don’t need selfies to show solidarity.

They are the ones who understood Zubeen’s real message — empathy over ego, honesty over hypocrisy.

Because Zubeen wasn’t property to be claimed.

He was a conscience to be followed.

ALSO READ: Beyond the Songs, Zubeen Da Was the Song