Editorial
Zubeen Garg unites people even in his death
Opinion | Editorial | John S. Shilshi | 04-Oct-2025
Many ordinary people who are not connected to music and art might not have even heard of Zubeen Garg, despite him being an iconic artist and a person who cared for others. However, after his unfortunate and untimely demise on September 19, 2025, social media is replete with tributes, not from the high and mighty of Indian society, but from common people, whom he had endeared during his lifetime through his songs, art, and compassion. Therefore, by now many must have known who he was. He was not only an artist who gravitates the mass with his songs but also someone who genuinely cared for fellow human being.
The news of his demise, therefore, saddened his fans beyond words. People who had been closely following the unfolding events since September 19 say thousands of Assamese who stayed abroad took flights and came to join the funeral, while many more from cities and towns outside of Assam had also headed homeward to have a last glimpse of the man they loved so dearly. It was heart-wrenching to see how Assam welcomed him. When the mortal remains landed at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport in Guwahati, the airline staff went hysterical. Employees of various airlines simultaneously thronged to the coffin, unmindful of the conduct rules set by their respective employers, as soon as it was brought down from the baggage hold of the aircraft. They clung to the coffin and cried like kids; a scene perhaps never witnessed in any airport. Since then, grief descended upon the Ahom land like a dark cloud.
The journey from the airport to the city and elsewhere in the following days saw an unprecedented gathering of people. It is said to be the fourth largest in the world, surpassing the funeral participation of some well-known personalities. Men and women, young and old, stood side by side or walked beside each other. There was no shouting or howling, jostling or pushing, but solemnity and orderliness, calmly flowing like the river Brahmaputra, which their philanthropist hero revered so dearly. The inclusive nature of participation, too, was unprecedented. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, name it, and they were all there, not because some government agency or event manager had compelled their presence, but on their own volition and out of genuine love for their icon. This itself was a story that told the past of the iconic humanitarian.
Every route the coffin passed through was a sea of humanity, akin to the return of the Indian cricket team to Mumbai after winning the World Cup – the only difference being that here people weren’t celebrating a victory but were grief-stricken. They shed tears, sobbed, or cried inconsolably. It was a moment of rude encounter with the reality that their beloved hero was no longer alive. His songs rent the air one after the other, only to be interrupted intermittently by his voice that says, “I have no tribe, I have no religion, I am a human being who believes in humanity,” as emotions swept through the mourners. Close scrutiny of the names of those who ran reels on social media suggests Zubeen Garg’s mourners comprised people from every community, their videos viewed by thousands of people. Perhaps none of them had ever imagined that their reels would attract so much attention and be liked and followed by so many people. It was a kind of unseen magic the spirit of their icon had worked.
People from different faiths – Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, etc. – organised condolence meetings across Assam and beyond. Zubeen's devotional songs became viral, and people repeatedly played his comments on communal harmony. In other words, his message to treat every human being equally reached a larger audience after his death. Among all reels that went viral, one shared by a certain S. Deb, which showed an elderly Muslim woman braving through the crowd and hugging Zubeen’s wife, Garima, was most striking and heartwarming because people of her generation among conservative Muslims would normally avoid exposing themselves among the crowd like that. Likewise, the gifting of a Quran to the bereaved wife by a Muslim clergyman was not only a touching gesture but was also a manifestation of how much Zubeen was loved by people across communities and religious groups.
On a grander scale, the opening ceremony of the Women's World Cup 2025 appropriately honoured Zubeen Garg in numerous ways. At the Barsapara Stadium, a giant board that reads "Shraddhanjali Zubeen Garg" was put up. Besides, the BCCI altered its original plans to accommodate tributes to Zubeen by different artists, including the famed Shillong Chamber Choir. When some of his songs were sung in remembrance of him, the usual shouts and cheers one normally sees on such occasions were missing. Instead, the spectators listened to them with absolute solemnity, their eyes moist with emotion.
Even in his death, Zubeen brought together people from diverse communities. He personified unity in diversity during a time when communal harmony is declining, hate speeches have become the new normal, and some sections of society no longer view diversity as India's pride. The region and the country will miss him fondly. One hopes that the controversies surrounding his death are brought to a meaningful end in a fair and just manner. May his legacy endure.
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