Celebrated singer and Assamese cultural icon Zubeen Garg has passed away after a tragic scuba-diving incident in Singapore. He was 52. Reports indicate that local authorities pulled him out of the sea and rushed him to a hospital, where he was admitted to intensive care. Despite doctors’ best efforts, they were unable to revive him.

Zubeen had travelled to Singapore to participate in the North East Festival, where he was scheduled to perform today. News of his sudden demise has left fans devastated and sent shockwaves through the Assamese community as well as the wider Indian music industry.

Over his decades-long career, Garg recorded thousands of songs across multiple languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Hindi and Tamil. While he gained nationwide fame with the haunting Bollywood track Ya Ali from the film Gangster (2006), his artistic influence was far deeper in Assam, where he was regarded as a symbol of regional pride and a driving force in promoting local music and cinema.

His versatility extended beyond playback singing — he was also a composer, actor, and philanthropist, actively involved in youth and social causes. For many in the Northeast, Garg was more than an entertainer; he was a unifying cultural voice whose songs captured both the joys and struggles of the region.

Tributes have been pouring in from across Assam, the Northeast and beyond, as colleagues, admirers and political leaders remember him not just as a singer but as a cultural phenomenon. His death is being described as an irreparable loss to the world of music and to the identity of Assam, where he was considered a voice of the people.

In the hours following the news, fans flooded social media with his songs, live concert clips and personal tributes, expressing disbelief and grief.