Kazi Nazrul Islam

"Nazrul" and "Nazrul Islam" redirect here. For other persons with the same name, see Nazrul Islam (disambiguation). For other uses, see Kazi Nazrul Islam (disambiguation).

Rebel Poet
National Poet
Kazi Nazrul Islam
কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম
Kazi Nazrul Islam in 1926, Chittagong
Pronunciation[kad͡ʒi nod͡ʒɾul islam]
Born
Churulia, Bengal, British India
Died29 August 1976(1976-08-29) (aged 77)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Resting placeMausoleum of Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh
23°44′06″N 90°23′42″E / 23.7351°N 90.3950°E / 23.7351; 90.3950
Other namesDukhu Mia
Citizenship
Occupations
  • Poet
  • short-story writer
  • novelist
  • essayist
  • playwright
  • journalist
  • editor
  • translator
  • songwriter
  • composer
  • singer
  • actor
  • soldier
  • activist
Years active1920–1942
Works
Political partyWorkers and Peasants Party[4][5][6]
MovementBengali Renaissance
Criminal chargesSedition
Criminal penalty3-month imprisonment
Spouses
Nargis Asar Khanum
​
​
(m. 1921; div. 1937)​
Pramila Devi
​
​
(m. 1924; died 1962)​
[a]
Children
Parents
  • Kazi Faqeer Ahmed (father)
  • Zahida Khatun (mother)
Awards
Writing career
Pen nameDhūmketu
NicknameDukhumian, Tarakkhyapa
Language
PeriodModern
Genre
Subject
Notable works
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
DiscographyFull list
Labels
Formerly ofLeto group
Military career
Allegiance British Empire
Service / branch British Indian Army
Years of service1917–1920
Rank Havildar (Sergeant)
Unit49th Bengalee Regiment[7]
Battles / warsWorld War I
Signature

Kazi Nazrul Islam (Bengali: কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম, pronounced [kad͡ʒi ˈnod͡ʒɾul islam] ⓘ; 24 May 1899[b] – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, short story writer, journalist, lyricist and musician.[8] He is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul produced a large body of poetry, music, messages, novels, and stories with themes, that included equality, justice, anti-imperialism, humanity, rebellion against oppression and religious devotion.[9] Nazrul Islam's activism for political and social justice as well as writing a poem titled as "Bidrohī", meaning "the rebel" in Bengali, earned him the title of "Bidrohī Kôbi" (Rebel Poet).[10] His compositions form the avant-garde music genre of Nazrul Gīti (Music of Nazrul).[11][12][13][14]

Born into a Bengali Muslim Kazi family hailing from Churulia in Burdwan district in Bengal Presidency (now in West Bengal, India),[2] Nazrul Islam received religious education and as a young man worked as a muezzin at a local mosque. He learned about poetry, drama, and literature while working with the rural theatrical group Leṭor Dôl, Leṭo being a folk song genre of West Bengal[15] usually performed by the people from Muslim community of the region. He joined the British Indian Army in 1917 and was posted in Karachi. Nazrul Islam established himself as a journalist in Calcutta after the war ended. He criticised the British Raj and called for revolution through his famous poetic works, such as "Bidrohī" ('The Rebel') and "Bhangar Gan" ('The Song of Destruction'),[16] as well as in his publication Dhūmketu ('The Comet'). His nationalist activism in Indian independence movement led to his frequent imprisonment by the colonial British authorities. While in prison, Nazrul Islam wrote the "Rajbôndīr Jôbanbôndī" ('Deposition of a Political Prisoner').[17] His writings greatly inspired Bengalis of East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Nazrul Islam's writings explored themes such as freedom, humanity, love, and revolution. He opposed all forms of bigotry and fundamentalism, including religious, caste-based and gender-based.[18] Nazrul wrote short stories, novels, and essays but is best known for his songs and poems. He introduced the ghazal songs in the Bengali language[19][20][21][22] and is also known for his extensive use of Arabic and Persian influenced Bengali words in his works.[23][24][25]

Nazrul Islam wrote and composed music for nearly 4,000 songs (many recorded on HMV gramophone records),[26] collectively known as Nazrul Gīti. In 1942 at the age of 43, he began to be affected by an unknown disease, losing his voice and memory. A medical team in Vienna diagnosed the disease as Pick's disease,[27] a rare incurable neurodegenerative disease. It caused Nazrul Islam's health to decline steadily and forced him to live in isolation. He was also admitted in Ranchi (Jharkhand) psychiatric hospital for many years. The ailing Indian poet was taken to Bangladesh with the consent of the Government of India on 24 May 1972, at the invitation of the Government of Bangladesh.[28] His family accompanied him and relocated to Dhaka. Later, on February 18, 1976, the citizenship of Bangladesh was conferred upon him.[29] He died on 29 August 1976.[21]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Banglapedia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Chakravarty, Basudha (1968). Kazi Nazrul Islam. National Biography Series. New Delhi: National Book Trust, India. p. 1. OCLC 837539518. Kazi Nazrul Islam was born on Jaistha 11 of the Bengali year 1306, corresponding to May 24, 1899 at village Churulia in Burdwan district of what is now West Bengal.
  3. ^ Talukdar, Rezaul (1994). Nazrul, The Gift of The Century. Manan. p. 121. ISBN 978-9848156001. On February 18, 1976 Nazrul was awarded the citizenship of Bangladesh.
  4. ^ Banerjee, Prathama (4 January 2021). Elementary Aspects of the Political: Histories from the Global South. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-1-4780-1244-3.
  5. ^ Bairathi, Shashi (1987). Communism and Nationalism in India: A Study in Inter-relationship, 1919–1947. Anamika Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-85150-00-0.
  6. ^ Murshid, Ghulam (25 January 2018). Bengali Culture Over a Thousand Years. Niyogi Books. ISBN 978-93-86906-12-0.
  7. ^ Huq, Muhammad Lutful (2012). "Bangali Paltan". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  8. ^ Langley, Winston (2007). Kazi Nazrul Islam: The Voice of Poetry and the Struggle for Human Wholeness. University of Minnesota. p. 5.
  9. ^ Hemal, Mahmudul (28 May 2015). "Nazrul's humanist vision". Dhaka Courier. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017.
  10. ^ Mitra, Priti K. (1 May 1993). "The Rebel Poet and the Mahatma: Kazi Nazrul Islam's Critique of Gandhi's Politics in the 1920s". South Asia Research. 13 (1): 46–55. doi:10.1177/026272809301300103. ISSN 0262-7280. S2CID 144847702.
  11. ^ Sheik Hasina. "India-Bangladesh Joint Celebration, 113th birth anniversary of Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and 90th year of his poem 'Rebel'" (PDF). Prime Minister's Office, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  12. ^ Chakraborti, Suman (26 May 2015). "West Bengal government celebrates Kazi Nazrul Islam's birth anniversary". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Nazrul Jayanti celebrated across Silchar". The Sentinel. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  14. ^ Menon, Anoop (26 April 2017). "List of public holidays in May 2017 to plan out your vacations". Travel India. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018. Tripura will be celebrating Nazrul Jayanti on 26 May
  15. ^ Bhattacharya, Ashutosh (1977). Bangiya Lok-Sangeet Ratnakar, Vol. 4 (An Encyclopaedia of Bengali Folk-song) (in Bengali). Calcutta: A. Mukherjee & Co. Pvt. Ltd. p. 1802. পশ্চিম বাংলার এক শ্রেণীর জনপ্রিয় লোক-সঙ্গীত লেটো গান, ইহাকে লাটু গান, লোট্যার গানও বলে৷
  16. ^ Alam, Abu Yusuf (2005). Muslims and Bengal Politics (1912–24). Raktakarabee. p. 256.
  17. ^ Hāldār, Gopāl (1973). Kazi Nazrul Islam. Sahitya Akademi. p. 41.
  18. ^ Kazi, Ankan (14 June 2017). "Diminishing A Poet". The Indian Express. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  19. ^ Hussain, Azfar (3 April 2012). "Rereading Kazi Nazrul Islam" (Video lecture). Retrieved 15 July 2016 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ Ali, Sarwat (21 September 2014). "A taste of Bengal". The News International. The News on Sunday. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018. Firoza Begum too sang these Bengali ghazals of Nazrul Islam
  21. ^ a b Shafiqul Islam, Mohammad (25 May 2007). "Nazrul: An ardent lover of humanity". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018. He is best known for his songs, in which he pioneered new forms such as Bengali ghazals
  22. ^ Feature article (15 September 2016). "Remembering the rebel poet". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  23. ^ Shams, Ahmed Tahsin (24 May 2018). "The rebel icon of Bengal: Kazi Nazrul Islam". The Bangladesh Post. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  24. ^ Rashid, Md Mumit Al; Nur, Tanjina Binte (24 November 2017). "Persian Words Used in Kazi Nazrul Islam's Poetry". Language Art. 2 (4): 117–128. doi:10.22046/LA.2017.23. ISSN 2538-2713.
  25. ^ Ahmed, Dr. Forqan Uddin (27 August 2018). "Kazi Nazrul Islam : Classic and romantic". The New Nation. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  26. ^ Hossain, Quazi Motahar (2000). "Nazrul Islam, the Singer and Writer of Songs". In Mohammad Nurul Huda (ed.). Nazrul: An Evaluation. Dhaka: Nazrul Institute. p. 55. ISBN 978-984-555-167-0.
  27. ^ Farooq, Mohammad Omar. "Kazi Nazrul Islam: Illness and Treatment". nazrul.org. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  28. ^ https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Islam,_Kazi_Nazrul
  29. ^ Talukdar, Rezaul (1994). Nazrul, The Gift of The Century. Manan. p. 121. ISBN 978-9848156001. On February 18, 1976 Nazrul was awarded the citizenship of Bangladesh.


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