The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Wednesday cancelled musician T.M. Krishna's concert that was scheduled to be held in New Delhi on November 17. The concert was supposed to be part of a two-day music festival, jointly organised by the AAI and the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Cultue Amongst Youth (SPIC-MACAY).
Though AAI cited 'some exigencies of work' as the reason for abruptly calling off the event, it is alleged that the decision was a result of trolls accusing AAI of supporting an 'anti-India' musician. The trolls hit out at the government body for using public funds to sponsor Krishna who was an 'urban Naxal' and a 'converted bigot' who sang about 'Jesus and Allah'. The trolls had also tagged Union ministers Piyush Goel and Suresh Prabhu in their tweets.
#AAI cordially invites you to a Carnatic vocal performance by @tmkrishna who will be accompanied by R.K. Shriramkumar on violin, Praveen Sparsh on Mridangam & Anirudh Athreya on Kanjira - on 17th November in the 2nd edition of 'Dance & Music in the Park' at Nehru Park, Delhi. pic.twitter.com/8ZiUd4n2xC
— Airports Authority of India (@AAI_Official) November 10, 2018
We would like to inform that due to some urgent engagements, 'Dance and Music in the Park' programme jointly organized by #AAI and @spicmacay, scheduled for 17th & 18th November, 2018 has been postponed and new dates would be shared shortly. Inconvenience caused is regretted.
— Airports Authority of India (@AAI_Official) November 14, 2018
The Carnatic musician has been on the receiving end of much flak and trolls for openly taking a stand against extreme 'Hindutva', and even caste prejudices. Earlier, when Krishna, a Magsaysay award winner, was targetted by Hindu outfits for singing Christian hymns, he had responded by saying he would release a Carnatic song in praise of Jesus and Allah every month. A week after this protest, a prominent temple in the United States, too, cancelled the musician's concert.
