Abhijeet Bhattacharya says, “Mahatma Gandhi was the father of nation for Pakistan, not India”

Playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya has once again courted controversy, this time for his comments on Mahatma Gandhi. In a recent podcast with Shubhankar Mishra, the singer compared music legend R. D. Burman to Gandhi, stating that Burman was “the father of the nation in the world of music.”

The controversy escalated when Bhattacharya went on to claim that Gandhi was “the father of the nation for Pakistan, not India.” He argued, “India already existed, Pakistan was carved out of India later. Gandhi has been mistakenly called the father of the nation for India. He was the one responsible for the existence of Pakistan.”
Link to R. D. Burman and Career Highlights
Abhijeet Bhattacharya also spoke about his deep respect for R. D. Burman, who played a pivotal role in launching his career. “R. D. Burman was bigger than Mahatma Gandhi,” he remarked, highlighting the composer’s influence on his life and the world of music.

The singer began his journey in music under Burman’s mentorship, debuting with a duet alongside Asha Bhosle in a Bengali film. Over the years, Bhattacharya became a prominent voice in Bollywood, delivering hits like ‘Waada Raha Sanam’ and ‘Khud Ko Kya Samajhti Hai’ in the film Khiladi (1992). He has sung for numerous actors, including Shah Rukh Khan.

In the same interview, Abhijeet also recalled his fallout with Shah Rukh Khan. He said, “I’m older than him, he could come and hug me. I wasn’t expecting an apology, but he could come and say, ‘Ho gaya yaar, chal yaar (come on), we’ll play together again’. But people choose to ignore me. I wasn’t feeling anger; I was hurt.”

Also Read: Abhijeet Bhattacharya reveals Shah Rukh Khan’s contemporaries mocked him behind his back: “A few stars told me, ‘You are singing for the stammerer’”