Amandeep Singh, 37, is an artist from England who, under the name ‘Inkquisitive’, creates artworks reflecting cultural, religious, pop culture and political views.
One such piece, titled ‘Panjab’ and published on his Instagram page in March, stirred a debate and was widely shared on social media platforms. It depicted a map of India with some states nearly blurred out.
Six months later, on 21 September, Mr Singh reposted an edited version of the artwork on the same platform, with added outlines showing the northwestern and eastern states of India, accompanied by a explaining it.
Artist Amandeep Singh at his exhibition. Credit: Amandeep Singh
It isn't unusual for an artist to explain their artwork for their audience to understand it better, but the justification Inkquisitive felt necessary to give shouldn't be a norm. Artists shouldn't be made threatened in any way whatsoever.Daman Singh
‘Panjab’
In late March, the north Indian state of Punjab — home to 30 million inhabitants — was affected by an internet blackout imposed as part of a manhunt for a Sikh separatist leader.
Mr Singh explained on Instagram that the artwork was intended “to highlight the ‘blackout in Panjab’ and just that. Showcasing a policeman taking the switch out of Panjab of the Panjab region (due to the blackout).”
Some netizens criticised the artwork for leaving out the northeastern part of the Indian map.
On Instagram, @thegurpartapsingh commented, “the Indian map itself is wrong, or deliberately painted this way, where is J&K and northeast?”
Another user, @sukoon_chaudhry_ wrote, “where is Jammu-Kashmir? Where are the seven sisters? I think you could have drawn them and decided not to intentionally."
Seven sisters is a sobriquet given to India's northeastern states of Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Tripura.
In his statement, Mr Singh said that “unintentionally to offend, parts of the north side of the map was shown to be faded/missing. My focus was to highlight this area to be intentionally dark and ‘not lit' due to the blackout.”
Mr Singh also spells the name Punjab in a way that is different from its official spelling.
The state was spelt 'Panjab' by the British when they ruled India. But its use was gradually discontinued after India became independent in 1947 and the state was partitioned between India and the newly-created Pakistan.
When the state was further divided in independent India to carve out modern-day Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh in 1966, the old spelling ceased to be in usage.
The old spelling of Punjab often leads to a debate on social media between the supporters and opponents of Khalistan, a small group of people worldwide that demands the creation of a separate homeland for the Sikh community.
Statement by Inkquisitive regarding the "Panjab" painting. Credit: Amandeep Singh
‘Panjab’ shared online
The initial Instagram post of the artwork was widely shared online.
While some supported it by urging the people to “Pray for Punjab,” others criticised it as an act of “beheading and distorting the map” of India.
Mr Singh said, “within 24 hours of the artwork circulating, its narrative changed from ‘praying for Panjab’ to ‘agenda against Jammu and Kashmir’ to ‘beheading and distorting the map’ to ‘being an active Khalistani, separating states'."
Amongst the nearly 2,000 comments under the original artwork, some people found this artwork as promoting the Khalistani separatist ideology and labelled the artist as “anti-national”.
Mr Singh wrote in his statement that “since March, not a day has gone by where a death threat, to remove my artwork has not been sent.”
Revised artwork
Two versions of "Panjab" posted by Inkquisitive. Credit: Amandeep Singh
These geographical outlines were added to the revised version of the painting posted in September.
A pinned comment by Mr Singh under his original post in March states, "apologies to those living in Jammu and Kashmir or any other big or smaller state not showcased. To those who may feel offended by feeling their hometown or land is not part of India, it is not my intention, far from it."
Australian Punjabi youth and Inkquisitive
Inkquisitive is widely appreciated among Australian Punjabi youth, with many showing their appreciation by buying his art, attending his exhibitions and sharing his artwork online.
However, he has his share of critics too.
Among his fans is Jasbinder Kaur, a 30-year-old policy writer from Sydney.
Ms Kaur told SBS Punjabi, "his art conveys our thoughts and beautifully carries out sentiments as we watch the horrors unfold in the land we can’t help but feel connected to."
Inkquisitive represents all of us, the generations born outside the homeland, away from the propaganda and conforming to headlines.Jasbinder Kaur
Jashanpreet Kaur, a 21-year-old law student, echoed these sentiments.
“Through his contemporary pieces, Ink provides an escape from the world of propaganda and captures profound emotions and sentiments we all share, like he did with the Panjab artwork,” she said.
However, for Australian-Indian lawyer Yash Shah, the artwork "depicts a torn, divided India".
This indicates that whoever has created or distributed this photo is of some delusional perception that these Indian states do not belong to the Republic of India. It is factually incorrect and spreading misinformation.Yash Shah
"This photo is a juxtaposition of unity. This picture is emphasising Punjab being targeted and a push for separatist extremism," Mr Shah added.
However, some Australian Punjabi youths are playing down the politics of the artwork.
"Political propaganda is not always the underlying message of every piece of art created by a Sikh," said the 23-year-old actuarial consultant Manpreet Kaur.
Ravneet Kaur, 22, who is a check-in agent and turn-around coordinator for Air New Zealand, said the furore "is nothing but a perspective blown out of proportion".
"It's ironic considering it's a political artwork showcasing an actual event where Punjab was in a blackout, people definitely overreacted to it," she added.
Amandeep and Shubh
Punjabi singer Shubh is famous for his songs 'Baller', 'We Rollin', 'Elevated', 'No Love' and more. Credit: Supplied by: 'X'
He received similar comments from netizens as did Mr Singh.
The rapper lost his sponsorship from Indian audio accessories brand BoAt and his debut Mumbai show has also been called off.
Mr Singh stated that “much of a nation had to cancel Shubh’s tour, changed the complete narrative of my artwork and all this because of a simple ‘share’ as a means of one man wanting to express his stand for Panjab.”
Mr Singh concluded his Instagram statement by saying, “despite me adding in those regions you should revisit this post in 24 hours and see what abuse continues to get thrown. Better yet the original post is still uploaded, the comments there are far from healthy critique.”
