258 Citizens Demand Release of Baul Singer Abul Sarkar and Other Detained Folk Artistes

A surge of concern has arisen across Bangladesh following the arrest of Baul singer Abul Sarkar in Manikganj on allegations of “religious defamation”. Soon after his detention, several of his followers and admirers reportedly came under attack—an incident that echoes a series of assaults on Baul artistes in recent months. In response, 258 prominent citizens have issued a strongly worded statement calling for the immediate release of all arrested folk performers and condemning the growing climate of intolerance.

In their statement, the signatories note with “deep alarm” that the period following the July uprising has witnessed a sharp rise in religious extremism. According to them, an organised group appears to have assumed the self‐appointed role of “sole guardian” of Islam, launching what resembles a nationwide “purification campaign”. This has manifested in more than two hundred shrines being damaged, individuals being publicly labelled as apostates, corpses exhumed and burnt, Bauls and fakirs having their hair forcibly cut, women being harassed for their dress and movement, and cultural events—from music and theatre to sports and village fairs—being disrupted. The group’s objective, the citizens argue, is the systematic marginalisation of anyone who expresses alternative beliefs or lifestyles.

The statement warns that these actions have created a suffocating social environment in which everyday life, cultural expression, spiritual practice and personal freedoms are under threat. The repeated weaponisation of “religious defamation” has, they claim, become a convenient tool to stifle dissent.

Despite the July movement’s promise of an inclusive democratic state, the signatories allege that law-enforcement authorities have failed to counter mob violence and have instead remained silent or trivialised the incidents by referring to perpetrators as mere “pressure groups”. In some cases, victims themselves have been detained in fabricated cases. The arrest of Baul Abul Sarkar, they say, is the latest example of this disturbing trend.

More than eighteen months after the uprising, the signatories contend that the government’s tolerance of religious fascism threatens democratic aspirations and risks enabling the resurgence of previously defeated extremist forces. Such a situation, they caution, could present Bangladesh internationally as a country vulnerable to religious radicalism.

The statement ends with an urgent call on the government to take meaningful action to protect cultural diversity, safeguard marginalised communities, and ensure the unconditional release of Abul Sarkar and all others targeted under similar accusations.

(Full list of signatories includes university professors, writers, researchers, artists, activists, journalists, lawyers, cultural organisers, and numerous Baul and Sufi practitioners.)