Celebrated Nazrul Sangeet exponent Ferdous Ara faced an unexpected exclusion during Awami League's tenure. For the past 15 years, she was barred from performing on Bangladesh Television (BTV) and Bangladesh Betar. Recently, however, she made a long-awaited return to these two state-run platforms.
In an interview with the daily Ajker Patrika, artiste Ferdous Ara opened up about her thoughts and described her past ordeals. The artiste used to perform regularly on BTV and Bangladesh Betar, but then the invitations abruptly stopped. Initially, she thought it was a natural shift, as new talents were coming in and they deserved their moment.
She believed she would be invited back, but that day never came. "Even when my name was listed in programmes, it would be dropped at the eleventh hour," she shared. Ferdous Ara stated that she once asked the head of BTV, "I don't need to be on the show.
I just want to know who decided not to call me and why." She recalled that he responded with, "Why would you be excluded?" and deflected the question entirely. Eventually, she discovered that she wasn't sidelined for her actions, but rather because of her husband, Dr Rafiqul Mohammed, who once served as a district commissioner (DC).
She remarked that there was a perception he was sympathetic to the opposition party. "If he had indeed committed transgressions during his tenure, he should have been held accountable—not me. Why should an artiste be punished for the actions of another?" she questi.