Uttar Pradesh: Yogi govt stops Qawwali during performance, saying it “cannot be played here”

First time in the history of Uttar Pradesh ‘Qawwali’ has been categorized as anti-Hindu music that can hurt sentiments of the community of the particular religion.

Renowned Sufi-Kathak dance form creator, Manjari Chaturvedi, was allegedly forced to terminate her 'qawwali' act during her performance at a UP government event in the state capital, Lucknow.

She was invited by the Uttar Pradesh government itself to perform at the event but while she was performing, the 'qawwali' was stopped and an announcement for the next act was made by the organisers.

She said it was the first time that her act was stopped for being a 'qawwali', adding, "I thought it was a technical glitch but then the next act was announced. It was clear that this was not an error. When I enquired, I was told 'qawwali nahi chalegi yahan' (qawaali cannot happen here)," the danseuse told News18.

"I have performed across the world. I am shocked that this happened to me in Lucknow, my hometown," Chaturvedi said.

On raising the question on the alleged case by Chaturvedi, the state government denied it by calling it ‘rubbish’ and said that there was 'some issue' between the organisers and the performer, News18 reported.

A government official was quoted by News18 as saying that, "Chaturvedi was done with two performances and third was underway. Since the programme was running late and there was a Braj performance that was yet to happen, we were concerned that the CM may arrive before the show ends. We wanted all performers to get space. But there was possibly some issue with communication between both parties. The dancer's act was stopped and space was made for the next event".

“And the danseuse's performance was interrupted because of "organisational compulsions and not due to any religious or linguistic basis" ”, the official added.