Under attack from extremists, Bangladesh’s cultural activists fight back with music

NEW DELHI – Bengali poets Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam are beloved figures in Bangladesh, with photos of them adorning walls in many homes and offices. While the former, a celebrated Nobel laureate, penned its national anthem, the latter, known for his rebellious poetry, enjoys the status of a “national poet”.

But in images that have shocked many, photos of these venerated icons lay vandalised, part of the detritus from arson attacks on the offices of two iconic Bangladeshi cultural organisations – Chhayanaut and Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi – in Dhaka between Dec 18 and 19.

The mob assault on these two organisations, founded before Bangladesh’s independence and instrumental in promoting Bengali music and culture during the country’s liberation struggle, has yet again accentuated the longstanding tension between the South Asian nation’s Islamic and Bengali identities.

Muslim-majority Bangladesh, where Bengali is the most widely spoken language, gained its independence from Urdu-speaking Pakistan in 1971 after a bloody struggle against Pakistani oppression that was rooted in not just political and economic marginalisation, but also linguistic and cultural discrimination against Bengalis.

The recent attacks also targeted the offices of two of Bangladesh’s largest media houses as well as a member of the country’s Hindu minority, who was lynched, raising concerns that Bangladesh may be shifting towards a more radical form of Islam as it prepares for national elections in February, the first since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a student-led revolt in August 2024.

Dhaka and several other Bangladeshi cities were engulfed in a wave of violent protests on Dec 18 and 19, 2025,

following the killing of Mr Sharif Osman Hadi

, a prominent leader of the 2024 student uprising and an outspoken critic of India. It is not entirely known who was behind the attack on the two cultural institutions, but many believe the perpetrators belong to radical Islamic groups.

Prior to the attacks, Mr Mostafizur Rahman, a leader from the student wing of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist political party in the country and a key contender in the upcoming elections, identified the two cultural organisations as part of certain institutions and groups that he said had to be “crushed” in order for Bangladesh to gain “true independence”.

Mr Rahman clarified later that he was referring to a narrative struggle and not any “physical destruction”, but he did so only after the attacks on Chhayanaut and the two media houses.

Meanwhile, the authorities’ failure to protect these institutions, particularly following calls for violence against them, has prompted criticism of the interim government’s ability to maintain law and order.

Mr Amit Ranjan Dey, Udichi’s general secretary, told The Straits Times that the attack on his organisation was part of a wider assault by forces that have long sought to undermine the Bengali language and culture in Bangladesh, and replace it with a radical Islamic identity.

“The ones behind these attacks are the very same forces who want to suppress our Bengali identity and leave behind the core ideology and aspirations that guided our struggle for independence,” said Mr Dey.

Both Udichi and Chhayanaut were founded in the 1960s and have built a rich legacy of promoting Bengali culture and heritage, including during Bangladesh’s freedom struggle, when their work contributed to the emergence of a distinct Bangladeshi national identity. They are today among the country’s largest cultural organisations. While Udichi has around 15,000 members across Bangladesh, Chhayanaut runs a music school in Dhaka with over 4,000 students.

Chhayanaut’s president, Dr Sarwar Ali, said his organisation’s work has made it a target for those opposed to Bangladesh’s Bengali identity.

In April 2001, a bomb attack blamed on Islamist fundamentalist group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami targeted Chhayanaut’s Bengali New Year celebrations in Dhaka, killing 10 people and injuring dozens.

Udichi has also been similarly targeted by religious extremists. In March 1999, two bombs went off at its cultural event in Jessore, claiming the lives of 10 people. Another attack outside its office in Netrokona in 2005, attributed to terrorist organisation Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, led to the death of eight people.

“These forces have become more visible now,” said Dr Ali. “They do not see Bengali songs as compatible with religion... They believe that propagation of Bengali music and culture is in conflict with Islam.”

The recent attacks on media and cultural institutions followed other assaults on Bengali culture in Bangladesh in recent months, which have also been attributed to radical Islamic groups.

Most notable among them have been the recurring attacks on Baul singers, popular folk performers who represent the country’s rich tradition of syncretic Islam that blends elements of Sufism and Hinduism, among other influences.

In November, the interim government also cancelled its plans to hire music teachers for primary schools following opposition from Islamist groups in the country.

Mr Faiz Sobhan, senior research director at Dhaka-based think-tank Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, told ST that the situation in Bangladesh has been volatile since Hasina’s ouster, with the interim government still reconstituting the police force that has yet to function at its full potential, a setting that may have emboldened Islamist groups.

“Some of them feel that by attacking minorities or institutions they deem ‘un-Islamic’, they can consolidate their voter base ahead of the elections,” said Mr Sobhan.

“The radical actions of such groups or individuals need to be checked and not permitted to tarnish the country’s secular credentials, which are still enshrined in Bangladesh’s Constitution.”

The material devastation from the attacks on Chhayanaut and Udichi has been extensive, with the former alone estimating its financial losses at around 24 million taka (S$252,000). Photos from the vandalised institutions, which went viral, show damaged instruments and furniture, along with burnt books.

But not all damage can be assessed in monetary terms, including the artistic community’s weakened resolve following the assaults. Udichi’s Mr Dey noted that many artistes in the country are now fearful of further attacks. “A big chunk of them have retreated into their homes, which I think is dangerous and represents our biggest loss,” he said.

Yet many representatives of these two organisations have refused to be cowed. On Dec 20, a day after the attack, Udichi’s representatives and supporters sang in defiance outside their vandalised office in Dhaka, and they have been organising protests across the country.

“We have no other way,” added Mr Dey. “When one’s back is to the wall, it leaves us no further space to retreat. We have no choice now but to move ahead.”

Udichi has said it will rebuild its office in Dhaka with donations drawn entirely from the public. Support has also poured in for Chhayanaut.

On Dec 23, over 2,000 people gathered outside Chhayanaut’s office and sang, videos of which have gone viral. In one such clip, the crowd sang Ekla Cholo Re, one of Tagore’s classics that calls on listeners to move forward despite adversity.

Chhayanaut will resume regular music lessons at its premises from Jan 3. “The public support has been enormous... This is what gives us courage,” said Dr Ali.

Despite the rising threat of religious extremism

ahead of elections on Feb 12

, many Bangladeshis hope the future government will uphold the country’s founding secular ideals.

After his return from exile in London,

prime minister hopeful Tarique Rahman,

who leads the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, told his supporters in a speech in Dhaka on Dec 25 that the country “belongs to people of the hills and the plains, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians”.

Come what may, the likes of Udichi and Chhayanaut intend to keep their struggle going. “We will continue to strive towards a Bangladesh that our freedom fighters fought for – one that is secular, discrimination-free and democratic,” said Mr Dey.

Chhayanaut’s Dr Ali added that he and his colleagues also seek to build a Bangladesh where they are guaranteed the “freedom to sing without fear... one where people are free to listen to the songs they wish, draw pictures as they wish, and where people can stage dramas as they wish”.