Sidhu Moose Wala

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sidhu Moose Wala after his village of Moosa in Mansa district, was a Punjabi rapper and singer from a Jatt Sikh farming family. He drew attention in Canada in 2017 with the track "So High", and his debut album PBX 1 reached number 66 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart in 2018. His songs mixed the styles of Punjab's folk singers with rap and celebrated rural life, and Scroll says he gave voice to young people facing debt, unemployment and pressure to emigrate.

• March 2020: after Sikhs objected to a song that used the name of Mai Bhago, he and his father appeared before Giani Harpreet Singh at Sri Akal Takht Sahib. In an earlier letter he had apologised and said he had not known the act would hurt Sikh sentiments. The same report says he and Mankirat Aulakh were booked for allegedly promoting gun culture and violence through the song "Panj golian" (The Tribune).
• From August 2020: he backed the farmers' protest against the three farm laws, and Scroll says his song "Panjab" accompanied the tractors at the Delhi borders. Scroll adds that his admiration for Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale "was not hidden". A critic writing in Swarajya in January 2021 (an opinion piece) says "Panjab" opens with a 1982 speech by Bharpur Singh Balbir given in Bhindranwale's presence and shows visuals of Bhindranwale.
• Later songs turned to political prisoners, and he called self-styled religious custodians "Dharm de thekedar" (Scroll). He stood as a Congress candidate in the February 2022 assembly election and later offered to campaign for Simranjeet Singh Mann in a Lok Sabha bypoll.
• 28 May 2022: Punjab Police withdrew security cover for 424 people including him (Scroll, citing NDTV).
• 29 May 2022: he was shot dead at about 5:30 pm in Mansa district after leaving Moosa. The Tribune says he did not take the two Punjab Police gunmen who were still with him.

Police named Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Goldy Brar as the alleged masterminds, and by July 2022 49 people had been arrested or brought on production warrants (The Tribune). On 1 May 2024 a Mansa sessions court framed charges against 27 accused, including Lawrence Bishnoi, and dismissed their discharge pleas. By 12 March 2026 the Supreme Court had granted bail to two accused, Pawan Bishnoi and Jagtar Singh, citing prolonged custody without a speedy trial; the report notes that bail does not clear them (News Arena). The reports opened for this profile record no conviction.

His cremation drew people across caste, class, religion and region, and he was mourned in Punjab and among Punjabis in Pakistan. Some reports linked the killing to a gang war, though Scroll presents that as a claim and not a settled fact.