Kazi Nazrul Islam (25 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, writer, musician, and revolutionary, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Popularly known as Nazrul, he produced a large body of poetry and music that used themes of Islamic renaissance and marked the beginning of the spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. Nazrul's activism for political and social justice earned him the title of the "Rebel Poet" (Bengali: Bidrohi Kobi). His compositions form the avant-garde genre of Nazrul Sangeet (Music of Nazrul).
In addition to being revered in Bangladesh, he is also commemorated and revered in India, especially in West Bengal and Tripura. Born into a Bengali Muslim Quazi (Kazi) family, Nazrul 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 Letor Dal. After serving in the British Indian Army in the Middle East during World War I, Nazrul established himself as a journalist in Calcutta.
He assailed the British Raj in India and preached revolution through his poetic works, such as Bidrohi (The Rebel) and Bhangar Gaan (The Song of Destruction), as well as his publication Dhumketu (The Comet). His nationalist activism in the Indian independence movement often led to his imprisonment by British authorities. While in prison, Nazrul wrote the Rajbandir Jabanbandi (Deposition of a Political Prisoner). Exploring the life and conditions of the downtrodden masses of the Indian subcontinent, Nazrul worked for their emancipation. His writings greatly inspired the Bengalis during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
O poverty, thou hast made me greatThou hast made me honored like Christ
With his crown of thorns. Thou hast given me
Courage to reveal all. To thee I owe
My insolent, naked eyes and sharp tongue.
Thy curse has turned my violin to a sword...
O proud saint, thy terrible fire
Has rendered my heaven barren.
O my child, my darling one
I could not give thee even a drop of milk
No right have I to rejoice.
Poverty weeps within my doors forever
As my spouse and my child.
Who will play the flute?
Kazi Nazrul Islam was born in the village of Churulia in the Asansol subdivision, Burdwan District of the Bengal Presidency (now in West Bengal, India) on 25 May 1899. He was born into a Muslim Taluqdar family and was the second of three sons and a daughter. Nazrul's father Kazi Faqeer Ahmed was the imam and caretaker of the local mosque and mausoleum. Nazrul's mother was Zahida Khatun. Nazrul had two brothers, Kazi Sahib Jaan and Kazi Ali Hussain, and a sister, Umme Kulsum. He was nicknamed Dukhu Mia literally, "the one with grief", or "Mr. Sad Man"). Nazrul studied at a make tab and madrasa run by a mosque and a dargah, respectively, where he studied the Quran, Hadith, Islamic philosophy, and theology. His family was devastated by the death of his father in 1908. At the young age of ten, Nazrul took his father's place as a caretaker of the mosque to support his family, as well as assisting teachers in school. He later had to work as the muezzin at the mosque.
Nazrul studied up to grade 10 but did not appear for the matriculation pre-test examination; instead, he enlisted in the British Indian Army in 1917 at the age of eighteen. He had two primary motivations for joining the British Indian Army: first, a youthful desire for adventure and, second, an interest in the politics of the time. Attached to the 49th Bengal Regiment, he was posted to the cantonment in Karachi, where he wrote his first prose and poetry. Although he never saw active fighting, he rose in rank from corporal to havildar (sergeant) and served as quartermaster for his battalion.
I am the unutterable grief,
I am the trembling first touch of the virgin,
I am the throbbing tenderness of her first stolen kiss.
I am the fleeting glance of the veiled beloved,
I am her constant surreptitious gaze...
I am the burning volcano in the bosom of the earth,
I am the wildfire of the woods,
I am Hell's mad terrific sea of wrath!
I ride on the wings of lightning with joy and profundity,
I scatter misery and fear all around,
I bring earthquakes on this world! "(8th stanza)"
I am the rebel eternal,
I raise my head beyond this world,
High, ever erect and alone!
I am the trembling first touch of the virgin,
I am the throbbing tenderness of her first stolen kiss.
I am the fleeting glance of the veiled beloved,
I am her constant surreptitious gaze...
I am the burning volcano in the bosom of the earth,
I am the wildfire of the woods,
I am Hell's mad terrific sea of wrath!
I ride on the wings of lightning with joy and profundity,
I scatter misery and fear all around,
I bring earthquakes on this world! "(8th stanza)"
I am the rebel eternal,
I raise my head beyond this world,
High, ever erect and alone!
— Translation by Kabir Choudhary
During this period, Nazrul read extensively and was deeply influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, as well as the Persian poets Hafez, Rumi and Omar Khayyam. He learned Persian poetry from the regiment's Punjabi moulvi, practiced music, and pursued his literary interests. His first prose work, "Baunduler Atmakahini" ("Life of a Vagabond"), was published in May 1919. His poem "Mukti" ("Freedom") was published by the "Bengali Muslim Literary Journal" in July 1919.
On 30 June 1962 his wife Pramila died, and Nazrul remained in intensive medical care. On 24 May 1972, the newly independent nation of Bangladesh brought Nazrul to live in Dhaka with the consent of the Government of India. In January 1976, he was accorded the citizenship of Bangladesh. Despite receiving treatment and attention, Nazrul's physical and mental health did not improve. In 1974 his youngest son, Kazi Aniruddha, a guitarist, died, and Nazrul soon succumbed to his long-standing ailments on 29 August 1976. In accordance with a wish he had expressed in one of his poems, he was buried beside a mosque on the campus of the University of Dhaka. Tens of thousands of people attended his funeral; Bangladesh observed two days of national mourning, and the parliament of India observed a minute of silence in his honor.