Baktash Kamran is a lead singer in his own band, Kamran Music Group, famous amongst young Afghans.
Baktash Kamran is the son of the popular Afghan comedian, Haji Mohammad Kamran.
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In this interview Baktash Kamran speaks about his experiences with music prohibition during the Taliban period, 1996-2001. He was arrested and beaten up by the Taliban's OPVPV (Office for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice) four times, and eventually immigrated to Pakistan.
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Video interview duration: 2:11 minutes.
The interview was prepared and edited by Samay Hamed in Kabul in Afghanistan in 2006-2008. Post-editing by Mik Aidt/Freemuse. Signature music: Safdar Tawakoli.
Transcription of the video interview
“I am Baktash Kamran, son of the Afghan artist Haji Mohammad Kamran. I want to speak about the music censorship which happens in Afghanistan.
In the Taliban's period (1996-2001), I started singing, and I have been beaten up four times - badly beaten up! In the Taliban's period, no one could have access to music, and no one was allowed to sing – or even to listen to music. Since I was very interested in music, I was singing at that time.
The first time I was arrested (by the Taliban) happened in 3rd Macrorian Crossroad. They caught me carrying a keyboard. They beat me, and forced me to break the keyboard into pieces.
The second time I was caught, was in 3rd Section of Khair Khana. I borrowed a keyboard from a friend's house. When I came out from his house, the Taliban spotted that I had something, and when they found out it was a keyboard, the beat me again. They beat me... I escaped... But they caught me again, and beat me more. As I was running, they threw a stone, and it hit me on the shoulder. Then, I got on to a car. The car was a 'women's car'... At that time there was different cars for men and for women. Then they tore me out from the 'woman's car' and beat me again. I really got badly beaten! They took me to the house where I had borrowed the keyboard and asked: 'What more is here? Bring them all out!' I swore that there was nothing else except that keyboard in the house. They beat me again, and finally, since they couldn't find anything else, they released me.
The third time I was arrested was in Torkham when I was transferring a harmonium to Pakistan. In Torkham they caught me... I had opened the harmonium and made it look like a box. They took the harmonium, broke it, beat me again, and I left for Pakistan.”
This interview is a part of the Freemuse Special Report, 'The cage is singing'
Freemuse Special Report, 'The cage is singing', is an in-depth report with ten video interviews and a book about music censorship in Afghanistan - past and present
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Video interview with the lead singer in Kamran Music Group. He speaks about his experiences with music prohibition during the Taliban period in 1996-2001
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