Zubeen Garg: The Life, Music, Controversies and Legacy of Assam’s Most Beloved Voice

Within hours of the news that Zubeen Garg had died in Singapore on 19 September 2025, Assam was in shock. Shops shut, roads emptied and a silence fell over the state as people gathered together. His funeral procession in Guwahati saw lakhs of people thronging the streets.

Few artists in India have been loved the way Zubeen was loved in Assam. He could sing, compose, act and direct films, and, more importantly, he was the voice of Assam to many people. He was always outspoken, unpredictable and controversial.

This article gives as accurate and complete an account as possible of his life, music, controversies, death, the legal action that followed and the reasons he mattered so much.

A note on sources: this article is based on statements by official authorities, court reports and established media. Where there are disputes, especially about his death, it sets out both sides. Legal proceedings in India were ongoing at the time of writing, and all the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Early life: a childhood full of music

Zubeen was born on 18 November 1972 in Tura, Meghalaya, into an Assamese family. His father, Mohini Mohon Borthakur, was a magistrate who also wrote lyrics and poetry under the pen name Kapil Thakur. His mother, Ily Borthakur, was a singer and his first music teacher.

He began singing at about the age of three. He went on to study tabla for 11 years under Pandit Robin Banerjee, and learned Assamese folk music from Guru Ramani Rai. Over the years he also learned to play a long list of instruments, including the dhol, dotara, guitar, harmonica, harmonium, mandolin, keyboard and drums.

He was born a Borthakur but later adopted the surname Garg, the name by which the whole of Assam came to know him.

The rise: from Anamika to “Ya Ali”

Zubeen’s debut album, Anamika, came out in 1992. Its success made him a star in Assam almost overnight. Through the 1990s he released album after album in Assamese and became the most recognisable voice in the state’s music.

In 1995, he moved to Mumbai and released Indipop albums. National fame came more than a decade later with “Ya Ali”, from the 2006 Hindi film Gangster. The song became a huge hit across India, and Zubeen won the Global Indian Film Award for Best Playback Singer and the Stardust award for New Musical Sensation.

Many expected him to stay in Mumbai and build a Bollywood career. Instead, he kept returning to Assam. He continued to sing in Assamese, work with local musicians and make films in the state. For many fans, that choice was the heart of his appeal.

A voice in many languages

Zubeen’s output was enormous. Widely reported figures credit him with between 35,000 and 40,000 songs recorded over more than three decades, in about 40 languages and dialects, including Assamese, Hindi and Bengali. These numbers have been repeated often but have never been independently audited, so they’re best read as estimates of an extraordinary output rather than exact counts.

His songs covered every mood: romantic ballads, Bihu songs, devotional music, folk, rock and protest songs. Among Assamese listeners, songs such as “Mayabini Ratir Bukut” became especially beloved.

Beyond singing: films and music direction

Zubeen also worked as an actor, director and music composer:

• He made his debut as actor and director with Tumi Mur Matho Mur (2000).
• He acted in and directed Mission China (2017), which was a major success at the Assamese box office.
• He directed Kanchanjangha (2019).
• His final film as director, Roi Roi Binale, was released in 2025.
• He won the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Music Direction in 2009 for Echoes of Silence.

Personal life and loss

Zubeen married Garima Saikia, a fashion designer, on 4 February 2002.

But February 2002 also brought deep sorrow. Zubeen’s sister, Jonkie Borthakur, who was herself a singer and actress, was killed in a road accident in Sonitpur district. Her death had a great influence on Zubeen and his music.

Highs and lows: controversies

Zubeen was never someone who played it safe in front of the media. His blunt statements and opinions led to many controversies, including these:

• 2015: using a toy gun while performing at a concert at Khanapara, Guwahati.
• 2017: being convicted in a 2013 assault case and sentenced to three months in jail and a fine.
• 2018: commenting on the diet of athlete Hima Das, which caused controversy in Assam.
• January 2019: an audio recording surfaced in which a voice mocked the posthumous Bharat Ratna given to Bhupen Hazarika. Zubeen said the voice was not his and filed a police complaint.
• 2019: remarks offensive to Brahmins, after which several cases were registered against him. He apologised soon after.
• April 2024: remarks about Lord Krishna, after which the Majuli Satra Mahasabha announced a ban on him.

He was also one of the best-known non-political faces of the 2019–2020 protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Assam. His song “Politics Nokoriba Bandhu” (“Don’t do politics, friend”) became widely associated with the protests.

His supporters saw this outspokenness as honesty. His critics saw it as recklessness. Both views are part of his story.

The final journey: death in Singapore

In September 2025, Zubeen travelled to Singapore to perform at the North East India Festival, held to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore.

On 19 September 2025, he went on a yacht outing near Lazarus Island with a group of people. He went into the sea to swim and was later pulled from the water unconscious. He was taken to Singapore General Hospital, where he was declared dead. He was 52.

Early reports described a scuba-diving accident. Singapore police later clarified that he had not been scuba diving and that the autopsy found the cause of death to be drowning.

Assam’s farewell

His body was brought back to Assam, and the response was overwhelming. Crowds lined the whole route from the airport into Guwahati, and lakhs of people came to pay homage at the Sarusajai stadium in the city. Many sang “Mayabini” as the procession passed.

Zubeen was cremated on 23 September 2025 with full state honours, including a 21-gun salute, at Kamarkuchi near Sonapur. The Assam government announced a period of state mourning. On 29 October 2025, his ashes were immersed in the Brahmaputra.

Some news outlets reported that, according to the Limca Book of Records, his funeral was the fourth-largest public gathering in the world. These reports did not quote an official statement from Limca, so this is widely reported but not independently verified. Outlook later reported that more than 1.5 million people attended.

The cremation ground at Sonapur is now a memorial known as Zubeen Kshetra.

The investigation: two countries, two conclusions

Zubeen’s death became one of the most high-profile legal cases in Assam’s history. The findings in Singapore and in India differ.

In India

• In late September 2025, the Government of Assam set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT). More than 60 FIRs were filed across the state. A second post-mortem was carried out at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, which reportedly found that he did not die from poisoning.
• A judicial commission, led by Gauhati High Court judge Soumitra Saikia, was set up to examine whether there was any negligence, conspiracy or foul play in connection with his death.
• By October 2025, seven people had been arrested: festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, manager Siddhartha Sharma, bandmates Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprabha Mahanta, Zubeen’s cousin Sandipan Garg, and two personal security officers.
• On 12 December 2025, the SIT filed a chargesheet (around 3,500 pages, according to All India Radio). Four people, the festival organiser, the manager and the two bandmates, were charged with murder. Sandipan Garg was charged with culpable homicide, and the two security officers with other offences, including conspiracy.
• Assam’s Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, described the death as murder.
• In May 2026, a fast-track court in Guwahati framed charges against all seven accused, who pleaded not guilty. The court began hearing witnesses in June 2026, and by September 2026 more than 100 witnesses had been heard.
• In August 2026, the Supreme Court rejected Shyamkanu Mahanta’s bail application.

In Singapore

• Singapore police said from the start that there was no foul play.
• The coroner’s inquiry began in January 2026. In March 2026, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda ruled that the death was an accidental drowning, with no foul play, coercion or poisoning.
• The coroner found that Zubeen had taken off an ill-fitting life jacket and refused a better-fitting one; that his blood alcohol level was 333 mg per 100 ml, more than four times Singapore’s drink-driving limit; and that his blood contained medication for hypertension and epilepsy.
• Singapore police closed their investigation on 1 April 2026.

Where things stand

As of late 2026, the murder trial in Assam has not reached a verdict. Singapore’s finding of accidental drowning still stands. The two conclusions contradict each other, and only the Indian court’s judgment will settle the question in India.

In January 2026, Zubeen’s family, including his wife Garima Saikia Garg, wrote to the Prime Minister asking for a special court and a faster trial. His sister, Palmee Borthakur, has testified in court.

Honours after his death

The recognition continued after his death:

• Cotton University awarded him a posthumous honorary degree in December 2025. He had earlier received one from the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, in 2024.
• He received the Filmfare Awards Assamese Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 2026.
• In 2026, two new species were named in his honour: a flowering plant, Osbeckia zubeengargiana, and a butterfly, Euthalia zubeengargi.
• On his first death anniversary, 19 September 2026, a three-day programme called Zubeen Divas was held at Zubeen Kshetra in Sonapur, with his songs, prayers and gamosas offered by fans.

He was honoured in his lifetime too: a 20-foot statue of him was put up in Digboi in 2022, and a bamboo bridge was named after him in 2020.

Why Zubeen Garg is special

There are many famous singers. Very few become part of how a community sees itself. Several reasons explain why Zubeen did.

He chose Assam. At the height of his national fame after “Ya Ali”, he could have spent his whole career in Mumbai. Instead, he kept coming back to sing in Assamese and to invest in Assamese film and music.

He spoke to every generation. His career spanned more than three decades. Teenagers of the 1990s grew up with his albums, and their children grew up with his later ones.

He sang for everyone. He recorded in a dozen languages and dialects of North-East India, so people from many communities felt he belonged to them too.

He had faults like anyone else. Zubeen never presented himself as a perfect role model. He argued, apologised, offended people and said things most would not. To many, that made him more human, more like family than a distant star.

His voice expressed public feeling. During the anti-CAA protests, and on many other occasions, his songs and words expressed what thousands of people in Assam felt.

Timeline at a glance

Date	Event
18 November 1972	Born in Tura, Meghalaya
1992	Debut album Anamika
1995	Moves to Mumbai
2000	Debut as actor and director, Tumi Mur Matho Mur
February 2002	Marries Garima Saikia; sister Jonkie dies in a road accident
2006	“Ya Ali” from Gangster brings national fame
2009	National Film Award for music direction, Echoes of Silence
2017	Mission China released
2019–2020	Prominent voice in anti-CAA protests in Assam
19 September 2025	Dies in Singapore, aged 52
23 September 2025	Cremated with full state honours at Kamarkuchi, Sonapur
October 2025	Seven people arrested
12 December 2025	SIT chargesheet filed; four charged with murder
25 March 2026	Singapore State Coroner rules accidental drowning
May–June 2026	Charges framed; trial begins in Guwahati
19 September 2026	First death anniversary, Zubeen Divas

Conclusion

Zubeen Garg’s life was full of music, energy, loss, controversy and love. He rose from a musical family in Tura to become the defining voice of modern Assam, reached the whole of India with “Ya Ali”, and still chose to keep his roots at home.

His death in Singapore shocked the state, and the farewell that followed showed how deeply people felt for him. The question of how and why he died is still before the courts in India, while Singapore has ruled it an accident.

Whatever the final verdict, his songs remain. For millions of people in Assam, Zubeen Garg will be remembered not only as a singer but as part of their own lives.