Farhad Mazhar questions Shilpakala’s Lalon programme, submits eight-point demands

Poet and public intellectual Farhad Mazhar has led a group of spiritual practitioners, followers and civil society representatives in protesting two Lalon-themed programmes organised by the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, alleging that they misrepresent the philosopher’s spiritual tradition.

The delegation submitted an eight-point memorandum to the academy’s Director General, Sheikh Rezauddin Ahmed (Rezauddin Stalin), on Thursday, objecting to the academy’s “Purnima Tithir Sadhumela” and the week-long “Lalon Philosophy and Lalon Music Training Workshop”, running from June 29 to July 5.

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The signatories argued that the programmes failed to authentically represent Lalon Shah’s spiritual philosophy, the Fakiri tradition of Nadia, and the guru-disciple lineage central to his teachings.

According to the memorandum, Lalon is increasingly being presented as a symbol of folk culture or a “Baul brand”, rather than as a spiritual thinker whose philosophy is rooted in a living tradition. It also alleged that recognised spiritual leaders, residents of Lalon akhras, and followers of Nadia’s traditional “five houses” were excluded from the events.

The protesters further questioned the selection of trainers for the workshop, claiming that some participants have previously been accused of altering Lalon’s songs, melodies and philosophical interpretations.

The memorandum also criticised promotional materials for using imagery that, it said, does not accurately represent practitioners of the Lalon tradition and could mislead audiences.

Among the group’s eight demands are ensuring the participation of recognised spiritual leaders in future events, publicly disclosing trainer selection criteria, assigning national-level Lalon research and training to the Lalon Academy, consulting the spiritual community on state-funded initiatives, discontinuing what they describe as misleading representations of Lalon, and conducting an impartial investigation into alleged irregularities during the tenure of former Shilpakala Director General Liaquat Ali Lucky.

The memorandum concluded that distorting Lalon’s philosophy amounts to distorting Bengal’s spiritual heritage and urged the academy to take immediate corrective action.