- Concert by popular Bangladeshi singer James was cancelled in Bangladesh after mob attacked venue
- Attackers tried to enter venue, threw bricks and stones, forcing cancellation by authorities
- Author Taslima Nasreen condemned attacks on cultural centres
Popular singer James' concert was cancelled in Faridpur, around 120 kilometres away from Dhaka, amid attacks on artists, performers, and cultural institutions in Bangladesh.
According to local reports, the concert was scheduled to take place at 9:00 pm on Friday to commemorate a local school's anniversary. A group of attackers tried to force entry at the venue and threw bricks and stones at the crowd. Locals said the students resisted the attackers, but eventually the concert had to be cancelled following instructions from local authorities.
Over 25 people have been reportedly injured in the incident.
Author Taslima Nasreen highlighted the incident and slammed the pattern developing in Bangladesh. In a post on social media platform X, she said, "The cultural center Chhayanaut has been burned to ashes. Udichi-the organization that was built to foster a secular and progressive consciousness through the promotion of music, theater, dance, recitation, and folk culture-has also been burned to ashes. Today, jihadists did not allow the renowned singer James to perform at an event."
"A few days ago, Siraj Ali Khan had come to Dhaka. He is the grandson of Ali Akbar Khan, the son of the world-famous maestro Ustad Allauddin Khan. Siraj Ali Khan himself is a distinguished artist of the Maihar gharana. He returned to India without performing any program in Dhaka, saying that he would not come to Bangladesh again until artists, music, and cultural institutions are safe," Nasreen added.
The exiled author said, "Two days ago, Ustad Rashid Khan's son Arman Khan also declined Dhaka's invitation. He too made it clear that he does not wish to set foot in a Bangladesh inhabited by music-hating jihadists."
James is a Bangladeshi singer-songwriter, guitarist, and composer.
He is the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the rock band 'Nagar Baul'. He has performed several hit Hindi film songs, such as 'Bheegi Bheegi' from the film 'Gangster' and 'Alvida' from the film 'Life In A Metro'. He is very popular in Bangladesh, and the attack on his concert is an indication of how emboldened radical elements have become in Bangladesh.
In recent times, as hardline, Islamic radical mobs have taken over the streets in Bangladesh with the state turning a blind eye, cultural institutions like Chhayanaut, Udichi, artists, journalists, and newspaper offices have come under attack. The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government had failed to control mobs, and critics of the interim government allege that these incidents of violence and arson are being orchestrated to create a law-and-order situation so that elections scheduled in February are postponed.
