How Diljit Dosanjh's Satluj made Sidhu Moose Wala's song from 2022 trend again
Late Sidhu Moose Wala's 2022 song Scapegoat is back in the news after the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj was banned soon after OTT release. Read on to know why.
A song that Punjabi rapper-singer Sidhu Moose Wala released less than two months before he was assassinated in 2022 is back in the news following the ongoing controversy around the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer film, Satluj.
Moose Wala released the song, Scapegoat, on April 11, 2022. It is at the same time a reactionary number and an angry protest anthem aimed at ruling politicians as well as the people of Punjab. There are lyrics in the song where he even suggests the people are traitors, given their political choices during the polls.
WHY SIDHU MOOSE WAALA SANG SCAPEGOAT
A bit of backgrounder first, on what led Moose Wala to write, sing and produce Scapegoat.
About a month before Scapegoat dropped, the singer had lost an election from the Mansa Assembly seat on a Congress ticket, by a margin of 63,323 votes.
Amid criticism, primarily for his choice of party to contest the polls, Moose Wala opted to react through his music. The outcome was the song, Scapegoat.
In a nutshell, through Scapegoat Sidhu Moose Wala accuses voters of betraying honest politicians and ignoring their efforts for the state.
SONG MENTIONS JASWANT KHALRA'S WIDOW
This is where the Satluj connection comes in.
We know Honey Trehan's Satluj casts Diljit Dosanjh as Jaswant Singh Khalra, the human rights activist who was abducted from outside his residence in Amritsar on September 6, 1995. It is said Khalra's body was allegedly flown in the Satluj river after he was gunned down by the Punjab police. Incidentally, Khalra is said to have been killed because of his probe that laid bare illegal abductions, killings and mass burials of numerous people by the state police.
Khalra's death became a landmark case and his wife Paramajit Kaur Khalra, also an activist, continued his crusade for human rights. Founder of Khalra Mission, she fought elections twice and lost. In 1999, she unsuccessfully contested for the Tarn Taran Lok Sabha constituency on a Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD) ticket. In 2019, Paramjit Khalra ran for the lower house of Parliament again, this time from the Khadoor Sahib seat as a candidate for the Punjab Ekta Party but lost again.
This is where Scapegoat mentions Paranjit Kaur Khalra.
In the song, Moose Wala says that the people of Punjab were hypocrites to defeat "Bibi Khalda", referring to Paramjit Kaur Khalra, who is widely known as Bibi Khalra. The singer also mentions Simranjit Singh Mann, the former police officer of Punjab and president of the Shiromani Akali dal Party (Amritsar). Mann, who is also an agriculturist and activist, lost elections in 2024.
Sample the portion of the song that mentions Jaswant Singh Khalra's widow as well as Mann.
Lokan bahut sach aa ki gor ni lawaayi
Ainna dogleya Bibi Khalda haraayi
Jihde naal turre si kisaan nu haraaya
Ainna ne Simarjit Maan nu haraaya
(People never choose the right candidate
These two-faced people defeated Bibi Khalra
They defeated the farmer too, who they had backed
People also defeated Simarnjit Maan)
PEOPLE ARE TRAITORS: MOOSE WALA'S SONG
Moose Wala's Scapegoat further questions if people themselves aren't traitors for letting down honest contestants at the elections. He also mentions the late farmer movement activist Navreet Sidhu and the late Punjabi actor, activist and lawyer Deep Sidhu as he sings:
Deke shradhanjali’an phirde aa khulle
Eh taan Navreet, Deep Sidhu nu vi bhulle
Kehnde ehe sagey pariwar dasso kaun?
Hunn mainu lokon ae gaddar dasso kaun?
(After paying tribute, they roam freely
People forgot Navreet Sidhu and Deep Sidhu, too
Who do people owe allegiance to, pray tell me?
Tell me people, who’s the traitor?)
ABOUT SIDHU MOOSE WALA'S SCAPEGOAT
Released in April 2022, Scapegoat has music by Mxrci on Moose Wala's lyrics. The song was released under the label 'Sidhu Moose Wala' and has 67,966,373 views at the time of publishing.
ABOUT THE FILM SATLUJ
Starring Diljit Dosanjh, Satluj was dropped directly to OTT on Zee5 on July 3, 2026, but was withdrawn reportedly after government orders within 48 hours. The film was subsequently removed by ZEE5 across its international platforms, too.
Directed by Honey Trehan, the biographical drama has seen several hurdles over the past few years, starting with title issues. The film was originally sent for censorship for a theatrical release with the title Ghallughara (meaning genocide or massacre). The censors reportedly demanded a title change to Punjab 95 (also referred to as Panjab 95), besides 127 cuts. Finally, the film was released on Zee5 as Satluj.
While Dosanjh plays Jaswant Singh Khalra, the cast of Satluj also includes Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh and Suvinder Vicky. The film is scripted by director Trehan along with Niren Bhatt and Utsav Maitra.
Geetika Vidya Ohlyan plays the role of Bibi Khalra in the film.
A song that Punjabi rapper-singer Sidhu Moose Wala released less than two months before he was assassinated in 2022 is back in the news following the ongoing controversy around the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer film, Satluj.
Moose Wala released the song, Scapegoat, on April 11, 2022. It is at the same time a reactionary number and an angry protest anthem aimed at ruling politicians as well as the people of Punjab. There are lyrics in the song where he even suggests the people are traitors, given their political choices during the polls.
WHY SIDHU MOOSE WAALA SANG SCAPEGOAT
A bit of backgrounder first, on what led Moose Wala to write, sing and produce Scapegoat.
About a month before Scapegoat dropped, the singer had lost an election from the Mansa Assembly seat on a Congress ticket, by a margin of 63,323 votes.
Amid criticism, primarily for his choice of party to contest the polls, Moose Wala opted to react through his music. The outcome was the song, Scapegoat.
In a nutshell, through Scapegoat Sidhu Moose Wala accuses voters of betraying honest politicians and ignoring their efforts for the state.
SONG MENTIONS JASWANT KHALRA'S WIDOW
This is where the Satluj connection comes in.
We know Honey Trehan's Satluj casts Diljit Dosanjh as Jaswant Singh Khalra, the human rights activist who was abducted from outside his residence in Amritsar on September 6, 1995. It is said Khalra's body was allegedly flown in the Satluj river after he was gunned down by the Punjab police. Incidentally, Khalra is said to have been killed because of his probe that laid bare illegal abductions, killings and mass burials of numerous people by the state police.
Khalra's death became a landmark case and his wife Paramajit Kaur Khalra, also an activist, continued his crusade for human rights. Founder of Khalra Mission, she fought elections twice and lost. In 1999, she unsuccessfully contested for the Tarn Taran Lok Sabha constituency on a Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD) ticket. In 2019, Paramjit Khalra ran for the lower house of Parliament again, this time from the Khadoor Sahib seat as a candidate for the Punjab Ekta Party but lost again.
This is where Scapegoat mentions Paranjit Kaur Khalra.
In the song, Moose Wala says that the people of Punjab were hypocrites to defeat "Bibi Khalda", referring to Paramjit Kaur Khalra, who is widely known as Bibi Khalra. The singer also mentions Simranjit Singh Mann, the former police officer of Punjab and president of the Shiromani Akali dal Party (Amritsar). Mann, who is also an agriculturist and activist, lost elections in 2024.
Sample the portion of the song that mentions Jaswant Singh Khalra's widow as well as Mann.
Lokan bahut sach aa ki gor ni lawaayi
Ainna dogleya Bibi Khalda haraayi
Jihde naal turre si kisaan nu haraaya
Ainna ne Simarjit Maan nu haraaya
(People never choose the right candidate
These two-faced people defeated Bibi Khalra
They defeated the farmer too, who they had backed
People also defeated Simarnjit Maan)
PEOPLE ARE TRAITORS: MOOSE WALA'S SONG
Moose Wala's Scapegoat further questions if people themselves aren't traitors for letting down honest contestants at the elections. He also mentions the late farmer movement activist Navreet Sidhu and the late Punjabi actor, activist and lawyer Deep Sidhu as he sings:
Deke shradhanjali’an phirde aa khulle
Eh taan Navreet, Deep Sidhu nu vi bhulle
Kehnde ehe sagey pariwar dasso kaun?
Hunn mainu lokon ae gaddar dasso kaun?
(After paying tribute, they roam freely
People forgot Navreet Sidhu and Deep Sidhu, too
Who do people owe allegiance to, pray tell me?
Tell me people, who’s the traitor?)
ABOUT SIDHU MOOSE WALA'S SCAPEGOAT
Released in April 2022, Scapegoat has music by Mxrci on Moose Wala's lyrics. The song was released under the label 'Sidhu Moose Wala' and has 67,966,373 views at the time of publishing.
ABOUT THE FILM SATLUJ
Starring Diljit Dosanjh, Satluj was dropped directly to OTT on Zee5 on July 3, 2026, but was withdrawn reportedly after government orders within 48 hours. The film was subsequently removed by ZEE5 across its international platforms, too.
Directed by Honey Trehan, the biographical drama has seen several hurdles over the past few years, starting with title issues. The film was originally sent for censorship for a theatrical release with the title Ghallughara (meaning genocide or massacre). The censors reportedly demanded a title change to Punjab 95 (also referred to as Panjab 95), besides 127 cuts. Finally, the film was released on Zee5 as Satluj.
While Dosanjh plays Jaswant Singh Khalra, the cast of Satluj also includes Arjun Rampal, Kanwaljit Singh and Suvinder Vicky. The film is scripted by director Trehan along with Niren Bhatt and Utsav Maitra.
Geetika Vidya Ohlyan plays the role of Bibi Khalra in the film.
