Baul-Less Bangladesh: Will The Ektara Survive Rising Religious Fundamentalism? | World News

Cultural Threat in Bangladesh: At first glance, Baul seems to be nothing more than a wandering musician devoted to song, melody, and a life lived outside society. Music, singing and detachment from material life seem to define their world. Anyone who pauses to understand Baul’s lifestyle soon realizes that the music is just the surface. Traveling mystical bards are not only performers. Their songs carry a purpose based on the search for meaning, freedom of thought and spiritual inquiry. Music is the path they walk.

This pathway is currently facing increasing pressure in Bangladesh. The current unrest traces back to a government decision that initially promised progress. Authorities announced that music teachers will be appointed to schools in order to support the holistic development of children. The move triggered immediate opposition from religious groups affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh.

Bowing to the pressure, the interim government led by Yunus reversed its decision and completely removed music education from schools.

The return sparked protests. This time, the streets were filled with Baul practitioners, students, and people who identified themselves as independent and free-thinking. As demonstrations broke out in universities in Dhaka, Baul singers took to the roads. Reports of harassment and assault on Baul musicians began to surface.

Many observers see echoes of developments elsewhere. When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US forces, schools and colleges were closed to girls and women’s presence in public life diminished. The course of recent decisions in Bangladesh has led to similar concerns among artists and intellectuals.

Bauls have long resisted narrow definitions. Their lives revolve around the quest to find, lose, and rediscover a purpose. Music is their tool, not their goal.

Discomfort is widely felt among Baul practitioners and fans in Bangladesh. One of them is Baul singer and writer Abdel Mannan, who has written dozens of books on Baul music and philosophy. He says the current situation is part of a long and painful process.

“The persecution of the Baul poor (wandering Sufis and bards) is nothing new. This has been happening since the British era,” he said.

History supports his claim. Long before India’s freedom struggle gained momentum, colonial authorities tightened control over the Baul poor who encouraged independent thought. Resistance to this oppression eventually contributed to the Sannyasi Rebellion in eastern India.

In the 18th century, uprisings against the British East India Company spread across undivided Bengal and reached parts of Bihar. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s ‘Anandamath’ documents this movement and describes how a secret network of Hindu Bauls and Muslim poor, side by side, posed serious challenges to the British rule.

Recalling this legacy, Mannan says: “Lalon Faqir came later, but the Baul poor faced these situations before him. The British used religious extremists to suppress the poor. Many Bauls were killed and their villages were burned. Nothing actually changed after independence. Be it the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), Sheikh Hasina or now Yunus, the Bauls have faced attacks at all times. In this interim government, the extremists were given free rein. Under Yunus rule “American influence and extremists are running the business on the ground. They don’t want the Baul poor to exist here.”

Recent arrests have reinforced these fears. A Baul singer was detained even though the lyrics mention Allah and reflect teachings in the Quran, as supporters point out. Despite this, he was arrested.

Many see this as part of a broader attempt to suppress independent voices, with Wahhabi groups being used as tools of oppression.

Asked about the future, Mannan sounds worried but determined. “We have always encountered such situations. Bauls have survived. No matter how many attacks there are, Baul’s existence will not end. This government could not and will not erase us. We are in unity. We will fight for our right to exist, from the streets to the courts,” he says.

It’s not just the Bauls who are affected. Writers and filmmakers also faced persecution. Writer Taslima Nesrin continues to live with the pain of exile. “Politics ultimately means using religion. I criticized Islam and Muslim fundamentalists opposed me. Fatwas kept coming, the government remained silent and I had to leave Bangladesh,” he said last year.

Commenting on the country’s present state, she said, “The situation is very bad. Sheikh Hasina promoted fundamentalists because she wanted to stay in power. She sidelined the BNP, held elections on her terms, expanded the role of religion, elevated madrasa degrees to the level of college education and created a group of extremists within the Awami League. These preachers speak against women, Hindus and society itself.”

Groups such as Jamaat and Hefazat-e-Islam oppose music education in schools. Their demands led to the cancellation of recruitment plans for music and physical education teachers in primary schools. While independent thinkers opposed this move, Community-related organizations supported it. Protests by music lovers were met with violence and many Baul poor people were attacked.

During this period, famous Baul singer Abdul Sarkar was arrested while performing in a music show in Madaripur. Accusations of inciting unrest, spreading violence and hurting religious sentiments were made after a local imam (cleric) complained against his performance.

Pro-Baul rallies in Dhaka were followed by attacks by groups operating under the Tawhidi Janata banner. Free thinkers fear these restrictions will soon extend beyond music, affecting theatre, sports and cinema. Women’s freedoms are already under pressure.

Baul music represents much more than a genre. Lalon Faqir’s songs conveyed the vision of a secular and humane society. Abbas Ahmed brought Baul elements such as Bhatiyali, Marfati and Murshidi into modern folk music. His songs remain popular in Bengal and Bangladesh.

Baul is often described as a philosophy rather than music. This tradition, passed down through a guru-shishya tradition, flourished with people like Lalon Faqir, who is believed to have composed thousands of songs that his disciples still preserve. These compositions explore humanity, mysticism, yoga and philosophy.

Bauls from Vaishnav traditions are known simply as Bauls, while those from Sufi backgrounds are called faqirs. Both focus on inner exploration, rejecting social divisions, illusions, and rigid belief systems.

The Lalon Faqir fair in Kushtia attracts Bauls from across the region every year. Many people consider this place to be Lalon’s birthplace. His akhara in Cheuriya village remains a spiritual center.

This tradition blends Vaishnav and Sufi thought, using symbolism and metaphors to explain the meaning of human existence. It defies religious boundaries and continues the journey of ideas that began centuries ago. In the 19th century, Baul songs gained popularity along with devotional literature about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

The Jaydev Baul Mela in Birbhum in West Bengal attracts thousands of people, including visitors from Bangladesh. Contemporaries like Purna Das Baul, often called the King of Baul, have brought this music to global stages. Artists such as Parvathy Baul and Pabna Das Baul continue the tradition, while fusion bands such as Khayapa, Bolpur Bluez and Kartik Das Baul perform throughout Europe and the United States, blending Baul’s roots with rock and electronic sounds.

This legacy will only survive where free thought is allowed to breathe. If the pressure on the ektara (the traditional single-stringed folk instrument central to Baul music) increases, its string can break. Still, there is hope in the Bauls’ words.