Zubeen Garg, the remarkable singer and multi-instrumentalist who became a household name across India thanks to his Bollywood hit “Ya Ali,” has passed away in Singapore at the age of 52.
His passing was confirmed by organizers of the North East India Festival in Singapore, where Mr. Garg had been slated to perform. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of India’s northeastern Assam State, also announced the news at a press conference.
Mr. Sarma indicated that Mr. Garg’s cause of death was drowning. The Singaporean government has yet to release an official statement regarding the incident.
Mr. Garg’s musical style was a vibrant fusion of Assam’s traditional folk music with modern pop and rock influences. Endowed with a powerful voice, he effortlessly delivered both romantic melodies and poignant ballads. His extensive career saw him perform in dozens of languages and dialects, master various instruments, star in films, and compose numerous film scores, consistently drawing large crowds to his concerts.
The song that cemented his national recognition, “Ya Ali,” a heartfelt track about love and longing, featured prominently in the soundtrack of the 2006 Bollywood movie “Gangster.”
As a playback singer, Mr. Garg lent his voice to “Ya Ali” – a role where vocalists record songs for actors to lip-sync onscreen. For this performance, he earned the prestigious award for best playback singer at the 2006 Global Indian Film Awards.
Born in 1972 in Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India neighboring Assam, Mr. Garg pursued his high school and college education in Assam. However, he ultimately chose to dedicate himself entirely to music, leaving his science degree unfinished.
His debut album, “Anamika,” was released in 1992 when he was just 19 years old.
Throughout his almost three-decade career, Mr. Garg recorded thousands of songs in a multitude of Indian languages. Yet, the monumental success of “Ya Ali” came as a pleasant surprise to him.
“I didn’t know it would become so big,” he once shared in a 2012 interview on an Indian television show. “It was good for me, too.”
For millions of his devoted fans, Zubeen Garg’s voice offered solace and inspiration. His music transcended the diverse and sometimes tense ethnic landscape of India, making him a unifying figure. Despite achieving celebrity status, he remained widely admired for his down-to-earth demeanor.
He opted to reside primarily in Assam, nestled in the Himalayan foothills of India’s far northeast, rather than migrating to Mumbai, the sprawling coastal metropolis and heart of Bollywood.
Mr. Garg was also known for his outspoken political views. He joined other Assamese singers in publicly opposing a controversial 2019 citizenship law championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which sparked widespread and deadly protests. Critics argued that the law was a clear attempt to transform India into a Hindu-centric nation, marginalizing its 200 million Muslim minority citizens.
He also dared to challenge religious dogma. At a concert in 2024, he publicly questioned the divinity of a revered Hindu god, stating, “Krishna is not a god. He was a man.”
This bold statement led to him being barred from performing in Majuli, a significant center for one of Hinduism’s sects in Assam, as reported by local news outlets at the time.
Details regarding Mr. Garg’s surviving family members are not currently available.
In 2024, the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, honored Mr. Garg with an honorary degree, recognizing his profound contributions to music.
Following his passing, Mr. Garg’s body was flown back to Assam. Millions of mourners lined the route from the airport to a stadium in Guwahati, the state’s largest city. Across Assam, prayers and heartfelt tributes filled the air, with loudspeakers in bustling alleys playing his iconic songs as people gathered to pay their respects to a beloved icon.