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    Newsmakers of the Week                                                 MARCH 13, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 30

                             NEWSMAKERS OF THE WEEK

                       Selected stories about Indian diaspora from our website www.theindianeye.com

                                     PAUL KAPUR                                                         KARAN AUJLA

                       India and US working for                                       Singer kicks off India Tour 2026

                             secure Indo-Pacific                                                          in Delhi

                  aul Kapur, US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia, under-  he wait was worth it for fans in the national capital as Punjabi singer
                  lined the importance of building a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific   Karan Aujla began his P-POP CULTURE India Tour 2026 with a grand
            Pregion for the people of India and America.                        Tshow in New Delhi.
                He made the remarks while speaking at Princeton University’s 2026   Aujla opened his India tour with a high-energy performance at Jawaharlal
            Global India Conference.                                            Nehru Stadium, where more than 75,000 fans gathered to watch him live. The
                Sharing snippets on X the official account of State Department’s Bureau   singer made a dramatic entry by zip-lining above the crowd while performing
            of South and Central Asian Affairs said, “Pleasure to speak at Princeton Uni-  his song “On Top.”
            versity’s 2026 Global India Conference re: U.S. national security imperatives   Throughout the concert, Aujla performed several of his popular tracks,
            and our partnership with India. We are working together to build a more se-  keeping the crowd on their feet. Fans sang along and cheered as the singer
            cure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region for the people of America and India.   delivered a power-packed set to kick off his India tour.
            -SPK”                                                                   After the show, Aujla also took to his Instagram account to share glimps-
                Earlier in February, Paul Kapur, called India an important ally in Amer-  es of the concert with fans. Along with the pictures, the ‘Winning Speech’
            ica’s moves against China and underlined that a strong India not only keeps   hitmaker wrote a caption that read, “Does this look sold out to you? DELHI
            China out of the Indo-Pacific region but also prevents it or any single hege-  SHUTDOWN.”
            mon from taking over or imposing coercive leverage on the region.       Ahead of the concert, Karan Aujla also met Delhi Chief Minister Rekha
                He made the remarks on Wednesday while testifying to the subcommit-  Gupta. Sharing a video from their meeting on Instagram, the Chief Minister
            tee on South and Central Asia’s hearing to examine America’s foreign policy   spoke about the singer’s influence and Delhi’s growing cultural scene.
            across South-Central Asia.                                              “Met Karan Aujla! Artists like him don’t just perform they move genera-
                When asked his assessment of how India is going to support the Ameri-  tions. And Delhi? We’re not just part of the culture. We’re shaping its future.
            can efforts across the Indo-Pacific region to counter an increasingly aggressive   The capital is stepping into its next cultural chapter,” she wrote.
            China, Kapur said that a strong India not only keeps China out but also pre-  The New Delhi concert was organised and promoted by Team Innova-
            vents any single hegemon from taking over the region.               tion. The P-POP CULTURE tour is part of Aujla’s global tour, which started
                He said, “An India that can be independent and stand up for itself and   in Abu Dhabi in late 2025. The tour also includes shows in the United States,
            preserve its freedom of action works to our strategic advantage and promotes   Europe, Canada, and the United Kingdom before returning to India.
            our strategic interests because what we’re trying to do fundamentally is not   The India leg of the tour will continue from February to April 2026. After
            to keep China out of the region but to prevent China or any single hegemon   New Delhi, Karan Aujla will perform in Mumbai and Pune on March 3, with
            from taking over or imposing coercive leverage on the region. So an India   special Holi-themed shows planned. The tour will then move to Ahmedabad
            that is able to be independent, stand up for itself, and preserve its freedom of   on March 7, Chandigarh on March 14, Indore on March 21, and Bengaluru
            action takes a huge swath of the Indo-Pacific off of China’s plate and almost   on March 29.
            by definition prevents it from becoming the dominant power in the region.”  In April, the singer is set to perform in Kolkata on April 3, Jaipur on April
                Kapur further emphasised the need for an independent India, especially   5, Lucknow on April 10, and Ludhiana on April 12. The India tour will cover
            in the spheres of economy and military, so as to prevent dependence on China.  a total of 11 cities across the country.  Continued on next page... >>

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