Bangladeshi singer's concert cancelled as bricks, stones hurled at crowd

A concert by popular Bangladeshi singer James was cancelled in Faridpur, around 120 kilometres from Dhaka, amid a spate of attacks on artists, performers and cultural institutions in Bangladesh.

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According to local reports, the concert was scheduled to begin at 9.00 pm on Friday (December 26) to mark the anniversary of a local school.

Bricks hurled

A group of attackers allegedly attempted to force their way into the venue and hurled bricks and stones at the crowd.

Local residents said students at the venue initially resisted the attackers, but the concert was eventually called off following directions from local authorities.

Author Taslima Nasreen drew attention to the incident and criticised what she described as a disturbing pattern emerging in Bangladesh.

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In a post on social media platform X, she wrote, "The cultural centre Chhayanaut has been burned to ashes. Udichi — an organisation built to nurture a secular and progressive consciousness through music, theatre, dance, recitation and folk culture — has also been reduced to ashes. Today, jihadists did not allow the renowned singer James to perform at an event."

Singer's Bollywood connection

James is a Bangladeshi singer-songwriter, guitarist and composer, and is also known for his work as a playback singer. He is the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the rock band Nagar Baul.

He has also sung several popular Hindi film songs, including Bheegi Bheegi from Gangster and Alvida from Life in a… Metro.

Widely popular in Bangladesh, the disruption of his concert is being seen as a sign of how emboldened radical elements have become in the country.

Artists and cultural institutions targeted

Nasreen further said that Siraj Ali Khan, the grandson of legendary musician Ali Akbar Khan and son of the world-renowned maestro Ustad Allauddin Khan, had recently visited Dhaka but returned to India without performing.

"Siraj Ali Khan, himself a distinguished artist of the Maihar gharana, said he would not return to Bangladesh until artists, music and cultural institutions are safe," she added.

Nasreen also said that Ustad Rashid Khan’s son, Arman Khan, declined an invitation to perform in Dhaka two days ago. “He, too, made it clear that he does not wish to set foot in a Bangladesh inhabited by music-hating jihadists,” she wrote.

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In recent months, hardline Islamic radical groups have increasingly taken to the streets of Bangladesh with little apparent intervention by the state, while cultural institutions such as Chhayanaut and Udichi, along with artists, journalists and newspaper offices, have come under attack.

Critics have accused the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of failing to rein in the mobs, alleging that the violence and incidents of arson are being orchestrated to create a law-and-order crisis that could delay elections scheduled for February.