Sunburn Festival In Rishikesh Cancelled After Right-wing Protests | Dehradun News – Times of India

DEHRADUN: The Sunburn music festival, scheduled for Sept 28-29 at a resort near the Ganga in Rishikesh‘s Muni Ki Reti area under Tehri Garhwal district, has been cancelled after protests from right-wing organisations, who argued that holding the event would “hurt religious sentiments and lead to inappropriate behaviour” in the spiritual town. Bookmyshow, the platform handling ticket sales, cancelled the bookings on Friday evening and began issuing refunds.Nearly 1,000 tickets, priced at Rs 1,200 each, had already been sold.
The local administration granted permission for the festival on Sept 19 under specific conditions, including a ban on music after 10pm and ensuring no drugs were consumed on-site. However, on Sept 22, following social media outcry and reports from the police’s local intelligence unit, the permission was revoked. Authorities cited growing concerns from right-wing groups and residents about the potential disturbances the event could cause if it were attended by a large youth crowd from Delhi, Haryana, and surrounding areas.
Chandrabhushan Sharma, president of Nagrik Parishad, which was involved in the campaign to stop the festival, said the event would have “corrupted the environment in town”. He said, “It would have been a blatant disrespect to our religious sentiments, and we had to ensure that the event was stopped.”
TOI has reviewed copies of both the initial permission order and the subsequent cancellation notice issued by sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Narendranagar, Devendra Singh Negi, highlighting that “demonstrations and protests near the venue could disturb the peace,” leading to the decision to cancel the festival.
Divyanshu Negi, another member of Nagrik Parishad, said, “We made the organisers aware of the religious sentiments involved, but they didn’t take us seriously.” He added, “We request the authorities to ensure that any future events respect the cultural and religious sensibilities of the area.”
Tehri Garhwal district magistrate, Mayur Dixit, said the local administration grants permissions based on police reports. He added, “We’ve instructed officials to be vigilant when approving events in future to avoid any conflicts or disturbances.”
Sunburn, which has been held in India since 2009 and is regarded as ‘Asia’s biggest music festival’, was going to take place in Rishikesh for the first time. Although the festival is most closely associated with its Goa edition, it was previously held in Dehradun in 2017. This year’s Rishikesh line-up included performances by ProBros, Julia Bliss, Ravetek, and others.
The festival has faced opposition before, though outright cancellations have been rare. In 2014, Sunburn nearly faced a ban in Goa due to concerns about “drug use, safety, and its impact on local culture”. In 2017, similar opposition occurred in Pune, where right-wing groups and local communities raised concerns about obscenity and drug use. Despite the pushback, the event went ahead after changing venues. In 2019, the Goa govt withdrew its official support for Sunburn due to environmental concerns and growing criticism over the festival’s impact on the local community.