Baul Music Session Cancelled in Shah Abdul Karim's Derai After Objections

In Derai upazila of Sunamganj — a place steeped in the memory of Baul emperor Shah Abdul Karim — a private music session has been called off following objections from one side. Two women Baul singers were scheduled to perform on Thursday (22 October) at a girl's birthday gathering in Hatiya-Radhanagar village, but the organiser cancelled the event after a written objection.

According to police and local residents, UK expatriate Shawkat Ali of Hatiya village had arranged a small-scale music programme at his home for his daughter's birthday. Local women Baul artists Tanisha and Nila were to sing there.

Objecting to the arrangement, Atahar Ali and Kamrul Hasan submitted a written application on behalf of the villagers to the officer-in-charge (OC) of Derai police station on Wednesday. Police later spoke with Shawkat Ali, after which he cancelled the programme.

The application stated that Hatiya village has long been known for its religious values and Islamic traditions. The village has an Alim madrasa and the shrine of a saint, and many Islamic scholars live there. The applicants claimed that if a programme featuring women singers went ahead, tension and an undesirable situation could arise in the area. They requested necessary measures to protect the village's religious heritage and social harmony.

Complainant Kamrul Hasan said music programmes used to be held in their village before, but such arrangements no longer take place. The village has mosques and madrasas and holds Waz Mahfil every year. The planned programme with women artists had created discontent and fears of disorder among villagers, and many believed obscenity could occur in the name of music. For these reasons, they requested from an Islamic perspective that the programme be stopped, he said.

Organiser Shawkat Ali, on the other hand, said he had arranged a small programme at home for his daughter's birthday. As objections were raised and the police station called him, he stopped the event himself, considering social harmony.

Derai police station OC Aminul Islam said he had inquired and found it was a domestic Baul music arrangement. But after objections were raised, police spoke with the organiser, who then said himself that he would not hold the music programme. His remarks suggested police did not forcibly shut the event down.

Derai is hallowed by the memory of Shah Abdul Karim. The cancellation of a domestic session by women Baul singers in this heartland of Baul music has sparked discussion among local cultural workers. Questions have been raised in various quarters that even a small family occasion like a birthday could not proceed in the face of objections.

Derai has seen a similar obstruction before. A girls' friendly football match at the Derai upazila stadium had to be cancelled in the face of opposition from the 'Committee to Resist Anti-Islamic Activities in Derai'. The match between local Swapnachura Sporting Club and Sylhet's Jara Sporting Club was scheduled for 5 October. The incident drew widespread discussion and criticism at the time.

These successive incidents have produced mixed reactions among Derai residents over cultural and sporting events. One side speaks of religious heritage and social harmony, while the other considers obstructing domestic and lawful arrangements to be against cultural practice.

All in all, the cancellation of the birthday Baul session has added a new dimension to Derai's ongoing cultural debate. As the organiser stopped the event voluntarily, no further legal complication arose, but discussion of the matter continues in the area.