July 10: Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, feels a threat of cultural invasion from Pakistan. He has imposed a ban on the yet-to-be-released audio and video cassettes of Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Indian composer, A R Rehman.

According to a newsreport in the party's mouthpiece, Dopahar Ka Saamna, the chief is upset about Khan and Rehman joining hands for the Sufi-pop album. ``I will stop this Islamic invasion,'' Thackeray roared. The main target of his wrath is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who according to Saamna made a statement in Pakistan on ``cultural invasion from India.'' Indian music has always been popular in Pakistan and its prevalence has increased thanks to satellite TV. The sin of Rehman is that he joined hands with, what Thackeray would like to describe as, the cultural ambassador of Pakistan.

A couple of months back Khan came to India to settle down, says Thackeray. He earned fame and money through Indian film industry and now he wants to spit venom against India. ``We will not tolerate this,'' Thackeray said. The reported ban on Indian musicians in Pakistan has been an issue Thackeray has been flogging for quite some time. In fact, it was Khan who had promised Thackeray he would speak to Pakistan government and help lifting so called ban on Indian artists. But those familiar with Khan's music know he is a singer of Sufi tradition which stemmed out of a movement against religious bigotry in medieval era. Some of Khan's best known numbers are the songs of Guru Nanak, Amir Khusro and other sufi poets. His experiment of moulding sufi music into pop style has earned him world acclaim. There has been a concerted effort to revive sufi tradition in India during the prolonged spell of communal tension. But the popularity Khan achieved in India has been unprecedented.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.