Zubeen Garg: Iconic singer who unified Assam in death

Story by ATV | Posted by Aasha Khosa | Date 22-09-2025

The carriage with Zubeen Garg's body

Ariful Islam/Guwahati

In life, Zubeen Garg made people of Assam proud as they grooved to and hummed his tunes; in death, the youth icon proved his power of unifying people of Assam.

The 52-year old Zubeen Garg died in Singapore in a freak accident during scuba diving. He has sung more than 38,000 songs in 40 languages, including Assamese, Bengali, and Hindi. His major hit in Bollywood was Ya Ali…. For Gangster which became a cult song.

Cutting across the lines of caste, creed, religion, linguistic, and ideological differences, people of Assam have been remembering his name in every prayer since Friday when the terrible news poured in.

It's no exaggeration to say that life in Assam has virtually come to a grinding halt since the news of the singer-composer-lyricist-musician-filmmaker-actor's death due to a seizure attack while swimming in the sea in Singapore on Friday afternoon.

Hostel inmates of Burah Masjid Hostel marching in memory of Zubeen Garg

The grief of losing a bright star in his youth was spontaneous; everything went out of gear. Thousands of Jubeen Da's fans thronged temples and mosques to pray for his soul. His songs rent the air in every corner of the state.

The historic Burah Jame Masjid in Guwahati was no exception.

In a deviation from ‘aayats and sures (verses of the Quran)’, a customary practice, Zubeen’s super hit number ‘Mayabini ratir bukut …’ echoed from the Burah Masjid premises on Saturday evening to pay homage to the beloved legend.

Apart from holding a prayer meet by the mosque management as well as residents of the mosque’s charity hostel, the hostellers also took out a candle light march, chanting the Gen Z’s popular slogan ‘Jai Zubeenda’, ‘Zubeenda Amar Ho’ etc, to the banks of Dighalipukhuri in the heart of the city to pay tributes to the popular artiste on Saturday evening.

Zubeen Garg is credited with popularising Azan Pir’s most popular zikir (devotional song) 'Mor Mant Bhed Bhai Nai O Allah … (There is no sense of difference in my mind O God …)' among the younger generation.

Sunny, a hostel resident, said: "Our beloved Zubeen Garg is no longer with us. We, the residents of Burah Jame Masjid Hostel, took out a candlelight march from the mosque premises to Dighalipukhuri. Zubeen Garg's death is a great loss for our Assam and Assamese society. We are all saddened by the sudden passing away of Zubeen Da, and we pray to Allah for the eternal peace of the departed soul.”

Nizamul Haque, the secretary of the mosque management committee, said, "Zubeen Garg was an institution. Today, he passed away. He is in the heart of every Assamese. He is dear to everyone regardless of caste, religion, race, or language. Zubeen Garg is a member of every family in Assam. But Zubeen’s death has raised doubts in the minds of the people of Assam about how and why this death occurred. There should be a proper investigation into this. We demand a thorough investigation into the mystery of Zubeen’s death.

"Let the CBI investigate. And, if Zubeen’s death involves any foul play, then those responsible should not be spared. I wish peace for Zubeen’s soul. We have prayed for it at the Burah Jame Masjid. I also express my gratitude to the residents of our hostel. They have paid such a beautiful tribute to Zubeen.”