Zubeen’s voice to be digitally preserved to prevent tampering, unauthorised use
Guwahati, Sep 22 (PTI): As Assam mourns the death of its ‘heartthrob’ Zubeen Garg, people close to the singer have begun work to digitally preserve his voice to prevent unauthorised use or tampering in the future.
Singer-composer Manas Robin, a long-time associate of Garg, said such digital preservation will ensure that his voice is not distorted or misused through AI-enabled or other technologies.
"With technology making massive strides, especially with AI-generated software, it is very much possible that Zubeen’s voice samples taken from the internet could be used by other singers/ performers as their own in the future," Robin told PTI at Sarusajai stadium as he joined lakhs in paying homage to Garg on Monday.
"We will work on preserving Zubeen’s voice digitally and creating such a ‘digital signature’ that the moment his vocals are played, its origin can be detected," he said.
ALSO READ: Thousands of fans bid adieu to Zubeen at Guwahati stadium
Garg (52) had died while swimming in the sea in Singapore on Friday.
His mortal remains had reached Guwahati on Sunday. His last rites will be performed with state honours on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday.
Explaining the concept behind it, he said, "If a person’s face is super-imposed on the body of another person digitally, it can be detected. Similarly, systems are being developed where the origin of a voice can be traced to its digitally preserved version of the original person or singer."
Robin, who is also a director and known for his folk songs, especially Bihu numbers, said Garg’s songs have already been archived, with the singer himself inaugurating one such archive days before his death.
"Digital preservation of Zubeen’s work is already underway through his YouTube channel and other internet platforms. We also want to put a ‘digital signature’ to his voice so that no one can pass it off as their own in today’s world of AI-generated audios and videos," he said.
"It will also ensure that no one can tamper with Zubeen’s voice," he added.
Robin said the death of Garg has led people to ‘rediscover’ his songs and creations, not just in the state but globally.
"This outpouring of spontaneous grief, this gathering of lakhs of people to pay their respects has made the world sit up and take note of what Zubeen Garg meant for Assam and why," he said.
The comfort with which Garg sang in high octave can be matched by only a few singers worldwide, Robin maintained.
“Singers sing in high octave, but the pressure it puts on their voice can be detected. But with Zubeen, it came naturally," he added.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
