Mika Singh has questioned why Pakistani Muslims in India are often viewed negatively, while Muslims living in Dubai are viewed in a more positive light. The singer spoke about his experiences in Pakistan and said that he never understood the difference in how people were perceived in the two places.
Mika also recalled seeing Muslims in Pakistan helping Sikhs at religious sites. Talking about his ties to the country, he recalled how local Muslims would help take care of the shrines and participate in cleaning them.
During his appearance on From the heart podcast, the singer said, “When I went to Pakistan, many Muslims who are our brothers served in the shrines and helped with the cleaning.”
Mika spoke about the importance of Sikh shrines in Pakistan and his views on the people he met there. Before raising questions about the way Pakistani Muslims are viewed in India, he said that they do not see Pakistan or its people as intrinsically bad.
“Pakistan is not a bad thing. The people of Pakistan are no worse than anywhere else. I don’t know why the Muslims of Pakistan have become evil. But the Muslims of Dubai seem very nice. This society has not come to me till today (Pakistan is not bad. The people of Pakistan are not bad at all. I don’t know why, but for some reason, we seem to dislike the Muslims of Pakistan. But we actually like the Muslims of Dubai. I never understood it),” he said.
Mika’s comments come years after his own visit to Pakistan became a talking point in India. In 2019, the singer performed at a pre-wedding celebration in Karachi. The event was hosted by a close relative of Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf.
A video of Mika’s performance has surfaced online at a time when tensions were high between India and Pakistan. The All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) then announced a boycott of the singer and barred him from working professionally in the Indian entertainment industry.
The ban was lifted later that month after Mika apologized.
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