Pride Month, Painful Timing: Diljit Dosanjh's 'Aroma' Called Out For Anti-Trans Slur

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The song had been out for over a month. Then Pride Month began, and everything changed.

Diljit Dosanjh's track 'Aroma', a collaboration with Raj Ranjodh and Tru-Skool, was released on 23 April. But the controversy around it only gained traction on 1 June, the first day of Pride Month, when listeners began questioning the singer over what they called derogatory remarks in the lyrics. Within hours, the backlash had spread across Instagram, X, and YouTube comment sections, a slow burn turning into a sudden flame.

Photo Credit: Instagram: @diljitdosanjh

The Lyric That Started It All

At the heart of the controversy is a specific verse that celebrates traditional notions of masculinity. The translated lines read: "There are talks of men, not of weaklings. This is the talk of courage and grit, not of 'chakke'. To clash head-on and enjoy the challenge, that is the game of warriors."

The word "chakka" is widely recognised as a slur used against transgender individuals. Critics argue that the lyric not only employs offensive language but also reinforces outdated ideas about masculinity by contrasting strength and bravery with gender-nonconforming identities.

The implication was clear to those in the queer community: to be transgender was to be the opposite of brave. That framing, many said, was the problem.

"Did Nobody Question This Before Its Release?"

The backlash was not limited to anonymous social media users. Actor Manish Poonam criticised Dosanjh directly in an Instagram story, writing: "Courage and men doesn't go along each other. Hoping this move would make you more of a man. Shame."

One Instagram user captured a frustration shared by many in the industry: "He is working in the entertainment industry, which is built, shaped and sustained by countless queer people. I am so confused - why did nobody question it before its release? Did no one stop to think about the message it sends?"

Another commenter put it plainly: "It's a shame that they have to be reminded constantly how much influence they have on millions of fans."

Why Timing Made It Worse

Photo Credit: Canva

The song's release in late April passed without major incident. It was the arrival of June, Pride Month, that brought the lyric into sharp relief. For a community already navigating a fraught legal and social landscape in India, seeing the word casually used in a hit track by one of the country's most beloved artists felt like a particular kind of blow.

The point about influence matters. Diljit Dosanjh is not a peripheral figure. He is among India's most globally visible artists, a singer who has sold out international arenas, appeared on American television, and built a fanbase that spans continents. When someone of that reach uses a slur, even embedded in a Punjabi verse, it does not stay local.

A Pattern Worth Noting

As of writing, Dosanjh has not issued a public response to the Aroma backlash. His team has also remained silent.

The absence of comment stands in contrast to other recent controversies involving the singer, where he has addressed criticism publicly, though always in his own time and on his own terms. Whether a response is forthcoming on the 'chakka' row remains to be seen.

What the episode does make visible is a persistent tension within Punjabi pop: a genre celebrated for its energy and bravado, but one that has long leaned on hypermasculine tropes, sometimes at the expense of those outside that narrow ideal.

Bottomline

Words in songs do not disappear when the track ends. They travel, into school corridors, car rides, and earphones worn by teenagers still working out who they are. Diljit Dosanjh has spent years building a reputation as an artist who stands for his people. The question now, put to him by members of the queer community on the first day of Pride Month, is simple: which people does that include?