Prof. John W. Thomas, Institute Fellow Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) (Los Angeles, CA. May 26, 2002, 8th. conf.):
“Nazrul is such an important part of the world artistic heritage; I am delighted that his work is becoming available to audience of this country. I’m sure this will help give his work the wider reputation it deserves”.
Dr. Felicia Harmer Kelley, Ph. D. California Council for the Humanities, LA., California (2002):
“This is an important project and a much needed one, especially at this tumultuous times in international society”
Prof. June McDaniel, Professor Religious Studies Dept. of Philosophy & Religious Studies, College of Charleston, SC. (2006):
“What are the ideals of Kazi Nazrul Islam? In his own words, he came to argue against inequality, oppression, colonialism, tyranny, religious, moral and political hypocrisy, and religious fanaticism. He was in favor of equality, freedom, justice, love, romance, idealism, unity and peace. He was a man of his own age, but these ideals are universal ones, for people have not greatly changed today from Nazrul’s time. His words are as important today as they were in his own time”.
Neela Bhattacharya Saxena, Ph. D. Professor, English, Nassau Community College, Garden City, New York. (2006):
“On the eve of the most destructive violence perpetrated on the soil of the subcontinent, Kazi Nazrul had decided to withdraw his voice as his beloved community of both Muslims and Hindus would fail him and dance the dance of death that his soul could never accept; so the truth seer was lost to us and to our consciousness. Perhaps efforts like today’s symposium will revive that spirit which embraces all expressions of the Divine presence in the world as the plentitude, “Purnata” of the Divine fullness”.
Prof. Rachel Fell McDermott, Ph.D. Chair, the Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures Department and Specializes in South Asia, especially India. Barnard College, Columbia University, New York:
“Kazi Nazrul Islam has been claimed by India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. He belongs to all three, albeit in different ways. But he also belongs to us -- to people living outside South Asia, whether we are of South Asian descent or not -- who need to be challenged to love fully, to challenge oppression and uplift the downtrodden, to accept others, and to give of ourselves unstintingly and with generosity. He is a national poet for a world community”.
M. Omar Farooq, Ph. D. Associate Professor of Economics & Finance, Upper Iowa University (2006):
“Nazrul was an unparalleled master of rhyme and rhythm, a fact that would not be easy to appreciate without knowing Bangla language. The metrics of his poetic rhythm were captivating and often made people feel like moving and dancing. He was also a master of word-plays”.
Cathy Schulnd-Vials,Prof. of English and Director of Asian American Studies Institute, University of Connecticut:
“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”.
Gulshan Ara, Ph. D. Founding Member: Nazrul Endowment Research Studies Group California State University, Northridge & the University of Connecticut Founding Member & Ex-Chairperson (1999-2002): The North America Nazrul Conference Committee:
“I will remain eternally committed to work towards making Nazrul’s message of human rights, religious tolerance, global peace and harmony cross the boundaries of time, language and geography, reach the people of the world and enrich our gorgeous but frail planet”.
Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed, M.D. Vice Chairman, the North American Nazrul Conference committee:
“North American Nazrul conference Committee is involved for more than two decades to introduce the literary treasurer and philosophy of the great poet and humanist Kazi Nazrul Islam to North Americans. Let people of all languages and all times come together and listen to his music of one great unity. Today the works and legacy of Kazi Nazrul Islam is slowly being recognized in North America due to hard and passionate work of individuals and collective effort by many. The mission will continue until the beauty of his spirit is disseminated through out the world”.
The Taranga of USA:
“Kazi Nazrul Islam was a 20th century phenomenon, a Bengali poet, and a songwriter whose extraordinary creativity inspired millions with his epic writing. He was also a humanist, composer, musician and a philosopher who came to us like a beam of light with a new direction. He was committed heart and soul to the cause of liberating those who were shackled and imprisoned by a false and decadent social system. To those who he aroused by the cadence of his words and music, he is still a presence, evergreen and immortal”.
Mr. Kazi M. Belal, Founding member California State University and U-CONN Nazrul Endowment Chief Coordinator: the 2nd, & the 8th North America Nazrul Conference & 2006 Nazrul Symposium Founding Member: The North America Nazrul Conference Committee :
It is my profound belief that Nazrul’s legacy and his message will continue to shine on us and show us a harmonious way to live together for generations to come, and, that is why part of my life is dedicated to o promoting Nazrul’s unparalleled legacy & contributions to the people of the world.
Dr. Winston E. Langley, Ph. D. Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Professor of Political Science University of Massachusetts, Boston, MASS. USA:
Poets and their poetry, throughout the history of human beings, have had important impacts-negative and affirmative-on human life. One has only to think of Shakespeare, Goethe, Pushkin, Dante, Tagore, Marti, Szymborska, Homer and Ikhnaton, to mention a few. Those important impacts have varied in the range of their geographic and intellectual reach as well as in the nature of scope of their social, spiritual, and, more broadly, cultural meaning. Even in instances where the general and even the culturally letteredpublic has been little aware of some poets, their influence have continued to reflect and inspire the spiritual terrain over which the journey of human experience has taken place. One of the modern poets who has had a significant effect on the twentieth century—and I dare say, who will have an even wider and more profound effect on the twenty-first-is KaziNazrul Islam. He is not widely known in the West, and even, in some instances, in the East and the Global South or North, in general. Yet his views on politics, aesthetics, Ethics, religion, human liberation and development, Globalism, the nature of citizenship, and, in general, human nature and possibilities, bear directly on some of the most important themes that have become the defining attributes of where we as human beings (especially after September 11, 2001) are tending and the collective ends we are seeking.
Cathy J. Schlund-Vials, Ph.D. Director, Asian and Asian American Studies Institute & Professor of English University of Connecticut:
"Even though I was born in this country (Bengal), in this society, I belong to the world"Bengali Poet KaziNazrul Islam “To clarify and expand, Nazrul’s work – as we all know--skillfully traversed a number of genre boundaries. From poetry to drama, from music to philosophy, the National Poet of Bangladesh was a pioneering artist, committed to exploring new forms, seeking out marginal voices, and using arts as a vehicle for anti-colonial action. Known for his life-long dedication to social justice and liberation in the face of orthodoxy and oppression, KaziNazrul Islam opposed bigotry in all its form, a belief made clear in the major themes that undergird his artistic work: revolution, respect, freedom, love, and equality. Interested ina 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, KaziNazrul 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.”