Kazi Nazrul Islam

Nazrul Islam was born during the late British Raj on 24 May, 1899 in the village of Churulia, Asansol Sadar, Paschim Bardhaman district of the Bengal Presidency (now in West Bengal, India). He was born into the Bengali Muslim Taluqdar family of Churulia and was the second of three sons and a daughter. Nazrul Islam's father Kazi Faqeer Ahmed was the imam and caretaker of the local Pirpukur mosque and mausoleum of Haji Pahlawan. Nazrul Islam's mother was Zahida Khatun; he had two brothers, Kazi Saahibjaan and Kazi Ali Hussain, and a sister, Umme Kulsum. He was nicknamed Dukhu Miañ (literally, 'the one with grief'). Nazrul Islam studied at a maktab and madrasa, run by a mosque and a dargah, respectively, where he studied the Quran, Hadith, Islamic philosophy, and theology. Following his father's death in 1908, the then 10-year-old Nazrul Islam took his father's place as a caretaker of the mosque to support his family. He also assisted teachers in the school. He later worked as the muezzin at the mosque. Attracted to folk theatre, Nazrul Islam joined a leto (travelling theatrical group) run by his uncle Fazle Karim. He worked and travelled with them, learning to act, as well as writing songs and poems for the plays and musicals. Nazrul Islam studied up to grade10 but did not appear for the matriculation pre-test examination; instead, in 1917, he joined the British Indian Army 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 Karachi Cantonment, 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. During this period, Nazrul Islam read extensively the works of Rabindranath Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, as well as the Persian poets Hafez, Omar Khayyam, and Rumi. He learnt Persian poetry from the regiment's Punjabi Moulvi, practiced music, and pursued his literary interests. His first prose work, "Life of a Vagabond" (Baunduler Atmakahini), was published in May 1919. His poem "Mukti" ("মুক্তি", 'Freedom') was published by the Bengali Muslim Literary Journal (Bangiya Mussalman Sahitya Samiti) in July 1919. == Career ==

Kazi Nazrul Islam joined the army in late 1917. Nazrul Islam left the British Indian army in 1920, when the 49th Bengal Regiment was disbanded, and settled in Calcutta. He joined the staff of the Bangiya Mussalman Sahitya Samiti ("Bengali Muslim Literary Society"). He published his first novel Bandhan-hara (বাঁধন-হারা, 'Freedom from Bondage') in 1920, on which he continued to work over the next seven years. Despite their differences, Nazrul looked to Rabindranath Tagore as a mentor. On 18 June 1921, the day of the wedding, upon public insistence by Khan that the term "Nazrul must reside in Daulatpur after marriage" be included in the marriage contract, Nazrul Islam walked away from the wedding ceremony. in Bishnupur, Bankura, 1920s Nazrul Islam reached the peak of his fame in 1922 with Bidrohi (The Rebel), which remains his most famous work, winning the admiration of India's literary society for his description of a rebel. Published in the Bijli (বিজলী, "Lightning") magazine, the rebellious language and theme were well received, coinciding with the Non-Cooperation Movementthe first mass nationalist campaign of civil disobedience against British rule. and Yugbani ("যুগবাণী"), an anthology of essays. Nazrul Islam started a bi-weekly magazine, Dhumketu ("ধূমকেতু", 'Comet') on 12 August 1922 that was critical of the British Empire. Earning the moniker of the "rebel poet", Nazrul Islam aroused the suspicion of British Raj authorities. The police raided the office of Dhumketu after it published "Anondomoyeer Agomone" ("আনন্দময়ীর আগমনে"), a political poem, in September 1922. Nazrul Islam was arrested on 23 January 1923 and charged with sedition. His book Bisher Banshi ('The Flute of Poison'), published in August 1924, was banned by the British Raj. Bisher Banshi called for rebellion in India against the British Raj. Bisher Banshi was read and distributed in secret following the ban. Nazrul Islam was a critic of the Khilafat Movement in British India which he condemned as "hollow religious fundamentalism". He also criticised the Indian National Congress for not embracing outright political independence from the British Empire. Nazrul became active in encouraging people to agitate against British rule, and joined the Bengal state unit of the Indian National Congress. With his wife and young son Bulbul, Nazrul Islam settled at Grace Cottage, Krishnanagar in Krishnanagar in 1926. His work began to transform as he wrote poetry and songs that articulated the aspirations of the working class, a sphere of his work known as "mass music". In what his contemporaries regarded as one of his greatest flairs of creativity, Nazrul Islam vastly contributed in profusely enriching ghazals in Bengali, transforming a form of poetry written mainly in Persian and Urdu. His Islamic songs are popular during Ramadan in Bangladesh. He also wrote devotional songs on the Hindu Goddess Kali. Nazrul Islam also composed a number of notable Shyamasangeet, Bhajan and Kirtan, combining Hindu devotional music. In 1928, Nazrul Islam began working as a lyricist, composer, and music director for the Gramophone Company of India. The songs written and music composed by him were broadcast on radio stations across India, including on the Indian Broadcasting Company. Nazrul Islam believed in the equality of women, a view his contemporaries considered revolutionary, as expressed in his poem Naari (women). Nazrul Islam's poems strongly emphasised the confluence of the roles of both sexes and their equal importance to life. His poem "Barangana" (Prostitute) stunned society with its depiction of prostitutes who he addresses in the poem as "mother". In the poem, Nazrul Islam accepts the prostitute as a human being first, reasoning that this person belonged to the "race of mothers and sisters"; he criticises society's negative views on prostitutes. An advocate of women rights, Nazrul Islam portrayed both traditional and nontraditional women in his work. Nazrul Islam wrote thousands of songs, known collectively as Nazrul Geeti. The exact number is uncertain. The complete text of 2,260 is known, and the first lines of 2,872 have been collected, but according to musicologist Karunamaya Goswami, it is popularly believed that the total is much higher. Goswami has written that some contemporaries put the number near 4,000. == Religious beliefs ==

Nazrul Islam was born a Muslim, but engaged in religious syncretism so often such that he was seen by laymen as only a proud pluralist. Nazrul Islam wrote an editorial in Joog Bani in 1920 about religious pluralism, In another article entitled Hindu Mussalman, published in Ganabani on 2 September 1922, he wrote that the religious quarrels were between priests and Imams and not between laymen Muslims and Hindus. He wrote that the Prophets had become property like cattle but they should instead be treated like a light that is for all men.|alt= Nazrul Islam criticised religious fanaticism, denouncing it as evil and inherently irreligious. He wrote about human equality in his writings. He also explored the philosophy of the Qur'an and Muhammad by writing about them. Nazrul Islam has been compared to William Butler Yeats by Serajul Islam Choudhury, Bengali literary critic and professor emeritus at the University of Dhaka, for being the first Muslim poet to create imagery and symbolism of Muslim historical figures such as Qasim ibn Hasan, Ali, Umar, Kamal Pasha, and Muhammad. Nazrul Islam's mother died in 1928, and his second son, Bulbul, died of smallpox the following year. His first son, Krishna Mohammad, had died prematurely. Pramila gave birth to two more sonsSabyasachi in 1928 and Aniruddha in 1931but Nazrul Islam remained grief-stricken and grieved for a long time. His works changed significantly from the rebellious exploration of society to a deeper examination of religious themes. His works in these years led Islamic devotional songs into the mainstream of Bengali folk music, exploring the Islamic practices of namaz (prayer), roza (fasting), hajj (pilgrimage), and zakat (charity). He wrote the song "O Mon Romzaner Oi Rozar Sheshe" on fasting during Ramadan. This was regarded by his contemporaries as a significant achievement, as Bengali Muslims had been strongly averse to devotional music. Nazrul Islam was not limited to Islamic devotional music but also wrote Hindu devotional music. He composed Agamanis, Bhajans, Shyama Sangeet, and kirtan. Nazrul Islam wrote over 500 Hindu devotional songs. However, a section of Muslims criticised for writing Shyama Sangeet and declared him Kafir (infidel). On the other hand, he became displeased with some Hindus for writing devotional songs about Hindu goddesses because he was a Muslim. Nazrul Islam's poetry and songs explored the philosophy of Islam and Hinduism. Nazrul Islam's poetry imbibed the passion and creativity of Shakti, which is identified as the Brahman, the personification of primordial energy. He also composed many songs of invocation to Lord Shiva and the goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati and on the love of Radha and Krishna. Although a Muslim, he named his sons with both Hindu and Muslim names: Krishna Mohammad, Arindam Khaled (Bulbul), Kazi Sabyasachi and Kazi Aniruddha. == Later life ==

In 1930, his book Pralayshikha was banned and he faced charges of sedition by the British Indian colonial government. He was sent to jail and released in 1931, after the Gandhi–Irwin Pact was signed. which made him the first Muslim director of a Bengali film. Nazrul Islam wrote songs and directed music for Sachin Sengupta's biographical epic play based on the life of Siraj-ud-Daula. He worked on the plays "Jahangir" and "Annyapurna" by Monilal Gangopadhyay. == Illness and death ==

|alt= Nazrul Islam's wife Pramila Devi fell seriously ill in 1939 and was paralysed from the waist down. To provide for his wife's medical treatment, he mortgaged the royalties of his gramophone records and literary works for 400 rupees. He returned to journalism in 1940 by working as chief editor for the daily newspaper Nabajug ('New Age'), founded by the Bengali politician A. K. Fazlul Huq. Within months, Nazrul Islam himself fell ill and gradually began losing his power of speech. His behaviour became erratic, he started spending recklessly and fell into financial difficulties. In spite of her own illness, his wife constantly cared for her husband. However, Nazrul Islam's health had seriously deteriorated and he grew increasingly depressed. He received treatment under homeopathy as well as Ayurveda, but little progress was achieved before mental dysfunction intensified and he was admitted to a mental asylum in 1942. Spending four months there without making progress, Nazrul Islam and his family began living a quiet life in India. In 1952, he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Ranchi. Through the efforts of a large group of admirers who called themselves the "Nazrul Treatment Society", Nazrul Islam and Pramila were sent to London, then to Vienna for treatment. The examining doctors said he had received poor care, and Dr. Hans Hoff, a leading neurosurgeon in Vienna, diagnosed that Nazrul Islam had Pick's disease. Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, then the Chief Minister of West Bengal, was aware of Nazrul's illness and visited Vienna to meet with Dr. Hoff. Dr. Ashok Bagchi, a neurosurgeon from Kolkata, also played a role in Nazrul's treatment while in Vienna. His condition was judged to be incurable, Nazrul Islam returned to Calcutta on 15 December 1953. Despite receiving treatment and attention, Nazrul Islam's physical and mental health did not improve; and Nazrul Islam soon died from 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. Controversy has been reported around the funeral of Nazrul Islam. Nazrul Islam's sons requested the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi to arrange for the return of their father's body to India by an aircraft so that he could be buried beside their mother's grave as per her last wishes. A space had been reserved for his burial next to her grave in the poet's native village, Churulia. When the sons arrived in Dhaka for the last rites, they found that they were completed without their attendance and that the poet had been buried in Dhaka University. Popular demand continues in West Bengal for the poet to be buried back in India. Bangladesh observed two days of national mourning, and the Parliament of India observed a minute of silence in his honour. == Criticism ==

According to literary critic Serajul Islam Choudhury, Nazrul Islam's poetry is characterised by abundant use of rhetorical devices, which he employed to convey conviction and sensuousness. He often wrote without care for organisation or polish. His works have often been criticised for egotism, but his admirers counter that they carry more a sense of self-confidence than of ego. They cite his ability to defy God, or rather orthodox conceptions of God, yet maintain an inner, humble devotion to Him. Nazrul Islam's poetry is regarded as rugged but unique in comparison to Tagore's sophisticated style. Nazrul Islam's use of Persian vocabulary was controversial, but it increased the range of his work. == Legacy ==

, Asansol, West Bengal, India which is also the birthplace of Kazi Nazrul Islam. On 24 May 1972, the newly independent nation of Bangladesh brought Nazrul Islam to live in Dhaka with the consent of the Government of India. The government of Bangladesh conferred upon him the status of national poet in 1972. However it was officially gazetted in 2024. In February 1976, during his stay in Bangladesh, he was awarded Bangladeshi citizenship. The Nazrul Endowment provides funding for research into the life and work of Kazi Nazrul Islam in U.S. Universities like California State University, Northridge and Connecticut State University. Nazrul was awarded the Jagattarini Gold Medal, the highest honour for work in Bengali literature by the University of Calcutta, in 1945 and was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award of India, in 1960. His poetry has been translated to several languages including English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The Uzbek poet Erkin Vohidov wrote an epic poem about Nazrul Islam entitled Ruhlar isyoni (The Rise of the Spirits). A major avenue is named after him in Dhaka, Bangladesh. There is a cultural institution called Nazrul Academy, which is spread throughout Bangladesh. A chair has been named after him in University of Calcutta and the Government of West Bengal has opened a Nazrul Tirtha in Rajarhat, a cultural centre with library, auditorium and movie theatre dedicated to his memory. On 25 May 2020, Google celebrated his 121st birthday with a Google Doodle. == Family tree ==

• Kazi Faqeer Ahmed, m. Zahida Khatun • Kazi Saahibjaan • Kazi Ali Hussain • Umme Kulsum • Kazi Nazrul Islam, m. Pramila Devi (d. 1962) • Krishna Mohammad • Arindam Khaled Bulbul • Kazi Sabyasachi (1928–1979), m. Uma Kazi (d. 2020) • Khilkhil Kazi • Mistee Kazi • Babul Kazi (d. 2025) • Kazi Aniruddha (d. 1974), m. Kalyani Kazi (d. 2023) • Kazi Anirban (d. 2024) • Kazi Arindam • Anindita Kazi == See also ==