Singer Sonu Nigam reacts to loudspeaker ban in mosques, recalls how his 2017 remark on 'Azaan' created ripples!

Sonu Nigam had deactivated his Twitter handle back in 2017 citing a lack of respect for freedom of speech.

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing row over seeking a ban on loudspeakers in mosques, singer Sonu Nigam reacted to the controversy and recalled his own 2017 statement on Azaan which has back then created ripples online. 

Over a text message, Padma Shri Sonu Nigam told Zee News exclusively that 'Filhaal main mountains mein hun...lekin jo awaaz maine uthai thi, uska echo ab auro ki taraf se aane dijijiye. (I am currently in the mountains...but let the echo of the voice raised by me resonate from others.)

The singer was conferred Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, March 28, 2022.

Sonu Nigam back in 2017 had tweeted over Azaan and drew the religious ire of people for it. He had expressed his displeasure towards the loudspeaker noise of Azaan and called it 'forced religiousness' in the country. 

He had deactivated his Twitter handle back in 2017 citing a lack of respect for freedom of speech. In a series of tweets, he mentioned why he feels everyone is 'angry' on the micro-blogging site and 'one-sided'. 

The singer later clarified saying, “My words have been taken out of context. If I have done anything wrong, please forgive me. My intention was just to talk on a social topic and not a religious topic". The singer said it was wrong to focus on one particular tweet where he described the broadcasting of sermons on loudspeakers as 'gundagardi' (hooliganism), reported PTI. "People took one tweet of mine where I mentioned 'gundagardi' and ignored other tweets where I also talked about temples and gurudwaras," he has been quoted as saying. 

"I am a secular person, a neutral person. You will rarely find people who are neutral. So, I am the minority here", he further added.

For the unversed, on April 2, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray urged the Maharashtra government to remove loudspeakers from mosques. Addressing his supporters at a rally in Mumbai's Shivaji Park, Raj Thackeray said, "Why are loudspeakers in mosques played at such high volume? If this is not stopped, there will be speakers outside mosques playing Hanuman Chalisa at a higher volume."

“I am not against prayer, or any particular religion. I do take pride in my own religion," he added.