Jack, that's interesting. Thank you for sharing your experience...it's a view of the musical world that was previously unknown to me as well.

After reading your OP I find myself wondering, is there anything in Great Britain's history that might have paralleled that ud/tanbur divide? For example in some era past, was a certain type of pipes or whistle or concertina originally played only by people from a certain culture, and was that also connected to political views/control? Or did those instruments get absorbed widely quickly? If that much detail is even known.

CH.