Kazi Nazrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam Biography

Kazi Nazrul Islam was a Bengali poet, musician and revolutionary who lived in the 19^th century. He along with Sukanta Bhattacharya and Rabindranath Tagore are regarded as the key figures of modern Bengali poetry. Nazrul is officially recognised as the national poet of Bangladesh. He composed the Bangladesh military march "The Song of Youth", now known as "Chal Chal Chal". His poetic works have intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression.

He was born into a Bengali Muslim Quazi (Kazi) family on 24 May 1899. Nazrul's father Kazi Faqeer Ahmed was the imam and caretaker of the local mosque and mausoleum. He received religious education and worked as a muezzin at a local mosque. Later he accumulated experience in poetry, drama, and literature while working with theatrical groups. For a short time he served for British Indian Army. Then he became an established journalist of Bengal and through his writings, he criticized British rule. His poetic works, "Bidrohi" and "Bhangar Gaan" as well as his publication "Dhumketu" are the best instances.

Nazrul started a bi-weekly magazine, publishing the first "Dhumketu" on 12 August 1922 earning the name of rebel poet. He was imprisoned by British and during this time, he wrote "Rajbandir Jabanbandi". Bidrohi published in 1922 still remains his best work which coincided with the Non-cooperation movement against British. On 14 April 1923 he was transferred from the jail in Alipore to Hooghly in Kolkata where he started a 40 day fast. Thus he was eventually released from prison in December 1923. Kazi Nazrul Islam became a critic of the Khilafat struggle. He also criticized the Indian National Congress for not embracing outright political independence from the British Empire.

During his visit to Comilla in 1921, he fell in love with a Hindu woman Pramila Devi, and member of Brahma samaj and got married. They married on 25 April 1924. When they faced criticism on inter-caste marriage, Nazrul criticized the opponents. Even after this incident, Nazrul gained popularity as a rebel poet. With his wife and young son Bulbul, Nazrul settled in Krishnanagar in 1926. But later they lost this son and two more sons. Nazrul remained shaken and aggrieved for a long time. He continued with his writings. In 1933, Nazrul published a collection of essays titled "Modern World Literature". He was shaken by the death of Tagore. Within months, Nazrul himself fell seriously ill and gradually began losing his power of speech. Later it was diagnosed as Pick's disease, an incurable disease. On 24 May 1972, the newly independent nation Bangladesh brought Nazrul to live in Dhaka with consent of the Government of India.

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Updated: February 15, 2014