Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976)
The National Poet of Bangladesh, Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976) was simultaneously a poet, philosopher, novelist, lyricist, composer, short story writer, film maker, dramatist, journalist, social activist and a freedom fighter. He wrote mostly in Bengali (Bangla) and created one of the most invaluable anthologies on human rights, religious tolerance, spiritual pursuit, global peace and harmony. His indelible legacy crossed the boundaries of language, geography and time, and touched people of the world as evidenced by the following comments:
“I want the world to know that this human being is not only a great poet, but that his poetry speaks to us today, and in profound ways-ways which reflect an intellectual, aesthetic, moral, social, and political sophistication that we cannot afford to overlook” . “Nazrul is one of the most remarkable poets of all time and, likewise, one of the world’s most morally provoking artists of the twentieth century. Additionally, he is perhaps the most prolific composer the world has come to know”. Prof. Winston E. Langley, Ph. D., Prof. of International Relations & Political Science and Vice Chancellor of academic affairs, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, USA.
“Interested in a humanism that extended well beyond the perimeters of race, class, and gender, Nazrul was a visionary social justice artist. And, his activism is apparent in his reputation as “the rebel poet.” Such a sensibility and subjectivity was forged through Nazrul’s journalistic and poetic work, which boldly criticized British colonial policies, the British Raj, and sectarianism. Nonetheless, Kazi Nazrul Islam was not bound by traditional nation-state affiliations, a sense evident in his assertion that he and his work “belong[ed] to the world”.
Cathy Schulnd-Vials, Prof. of English and Director of Asian American Studies Institute, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
