BTS or Bangtan Boys is a South Korean boy band formed in the year 2010. The members of the band are J-Hope, Jin, Suga, Jimin, V, Jung Kook and RM. BTS debuted in the year 2013 with the release of a music album, 2 Cool 4 Skool, followed by Dark & Wild and Wake Up in 2014. In the year 2017, BTS received a Gold Certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
BTS is the most successful band in the history of South Korea, with a record of more than 40 million albums sold. The band has featured on Time Magazine cover and also appeared in the Time’s list of 25 most influential people on the internet from 2017 to 2019. BTS commands a huge following on a global level. Diehard fans of the band call themselves BTS Army and are highly active on various social media channels.
Has Government of India banned BTS?
BTS has a crazy fan following in India, especially among the Gen Z. The BTS Army in India is quite strong and the music albums released by the band are widely watched and shared by fans in the country. Thus, when a rumour was circulated via the internet that the Government of India has banned BTS, there was a lot of frenzy among the BTS fans in the country, with many taking to social media to express their dismay and concern.
The origin of the rumour of BTS being in India was a social media post on X platform, posted in February 2022. The post read “The Government of India has banned the famous South Korean band ‘BTS’, stating that their influence is a threat to Indian youth. The Government also requested YouTube to restrict all the videos from the BTS band to be viewed in India. This is a very shocking decision.” Even though the post cited no credible sources, it was enough to get the rumour mills grinding on an overdrive.
Truth is that BTS has not been banned in India. There was never any official confirmation from the Government of India regarding any kind of ban on the band’s content. Claims of BTS ban in India have been debunked by multiple news outlets and credible YouTube channels. BTS content is easily available for Indian users on multiple platforms like YouTube and Spotify.
Rumours of a ban on BTS in India persist because the band has never organised a concert in the country.