Zubeen Garg Laid to Rest with State Honors Following Tragic Accident

Farewell to a Musical Legend

On Tuesday, Assamese music icon Zubeen Garg was cremated with full state honors, including a 21-gun salute, in Kamarkuchi village, located approximately 20 kilometers from Guwahati.

The 52-year-old artist tragically passed away on September 19 due to a scuba diving incident in Singapore.

Garg was in Singapore to take part in the North East Festival, a three-day celebration that was set to commence on the same day he died.

A death certificate from Singaporean officials, issued on September 20, confirmed that drowning was the cause of his death.

His remains were returned to Guwahati on Sunday, where an immense crowd gathered to pay their respects as the ambulance made its way from the airport to his home in Kahilipara. The typical one-hour journey extended to nearly seven hours due to the overwhelming turnout.

Farewell Zubeen! There will never be another you.

We will forever keep you alive through your songs and thoughts.

Have always been, will always be a Zubeen fan.

Om Shanti 🕉️ pic.twitter.com/YYZUzZ9RU1

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) September 23, 2025

His body was displayed at the Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex for over 48 hours, allowing thousands to pay their final tributes.

On the day of the cremation, thousands lined the streets to bid farewell, with many gathering at the cremation site to mourn his loss.

Actor and filmmaker Kenny Basumatary remarked, “The crowds that we've seen were completely earned by Zubeen himself. All those lakhs of people came entirely on their own. This kind of love can’t be bought or faked.”

Born in 1972 in Meghalaya, Garg made significant contributions to the Assamese, Bengali, and Hindi film and music industries. He was known for singing in over 40 languages and dialects.

His 2006 hit song Ya Ali from the film Gangster catapulted him to national fame. Other notable Hindi tracks include Subah Subah and Kya Raaz Hai.