Native nameকাজী নজরুল ইসলামBorn24 May 1899[1]
Churulia village, Asansol, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day West Bengal, India)Died29 August 1976 (aged 77)
Dhaka, BangladeshResting placeCentral Mosque at University of DhakaNicknameBengali: দুখুমিঞা, romanized: DukhumiyanOccupation
flutist
Poet
short-story writer
song composer
playwright
novelist
essayist
literary translator
soldier
film actor
political activist
Language
NationalityBritish Empire (1899–1947)
Indian (1947–1976)
Bangladeshi (1972–1976)Period1922–1942Literary movementBengali RenaissanceNotable works
Agniveena
Bandhan Hara
Notable awards
Padma Bhushan (1960)
Ekushey Padak (1976)
Independence Day Award (1977)
SpousePramila DeviChildren4 sons
SignatureMilitary careerAllegiance British EmpireService/branch British Indian ArmyYears of service1917–1920RankHavildar (Sergeant)Unit49th Bengal RegimentBattles/warsFirst World War
Born in a Bengali Muslim Kazi family, Nazrul Islam 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. He joined the British Indian Army in 1917. After serving in the British Indian Army in the Middle East (Mesopotamian campaign) during World War I,[10] Nazrul established himself as a journalist in Calcutta. He criticised the British Raj and called for revolution through his poetic works, such as "Bidrohi" ("বিদ্রোহী", 'The Rebel') and "Bhangar Gaan" ("ভাঙার গান", 'The Song of Destruction'),[11] as well as in his publication Dhumketu ('The Comet'). His nationalist activism in Indian independence movement led to his frequent imprisonment by the colonial British authorities. While in prison, Nazrul wrote the "Rajbandir Jabanbandi" ("রাজবন্দীর জবানবন্দী", 'Deposition of a Political Prisoner').[12] His writings greatly inspired Bengalis of East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Nazrul's writings explored themes such as freedom, humanity, love, and revolution. He opposed all forms of bigotry and fundamentalism, including religious, caste-based and gender-based.[13] Nazrul wrote short stories, novels, and essays but is best known for his songs and poems. He profusely enriched ghazals in the Bengali language.[14][15][16] He is also known for his extensive use of Arabic and Persian words in his works.[17][18][19]
Nazrul wrote and composed music for nearly 4,000 songs (many recorded on HMV and gramophone records),[20] collectively known as Nazrul Geeti. In 1942 at the age of 43, he began to suffer from an unknown disease, losing his voice and memory. A medical team in Vienna diagnosed the disease as Pick's disease,[21] a rare incurable neurodegenerative disease. It caused Nazrul's health to decline steadily and forced him to live in isolation in India. He was also admitted in Ranchi (Jharkhand) psychiatric hospital for many years. At the invitation of the Government of Bangladesh, Nazrul's family took him to Bangladesh and moved to Dhaka in 1972.They were awarded citizenship of Ganaprajatantri Bangladesh. He died four years later on 29 August 1976 in Bangladesh.[16]
Early lifeEdit
Nazrul at his early age.
Nazrul in his British Indian Army uniform.
Nazrul was born on Wednesday 24 May 1899[22][23] in the village of Churulia, Asansol Sadar, Paschim Bardhaman district of the Bengal Presidency (now in West Bengal, India). He was born into a Bengali 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 Pirpukur mosque and mausoleum of Haji Pahlawan.[24] Nazrul's mother was Zahida Khatun. Nazrul had two brothers, Kazi Saahibjaan and Kazi Ali Hussain, and a sister, Umme Kulsum. He was nicknamed Dukhu Miañ (দুখু মিঞা literally, 'the one with grief', or 'Mr. Sad Man'). Nazrul studied at a maktab and madrasa, run by a mosque and a dargah respectively, where he studied the Quran, Hadith, Islamic philosophy, and theology. His father died in 1908 and at the age of ten, Nazrul 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.[1][25]
Attracted to folk theatre, Nazrul 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.[22] Through his work and experiences, Nazrul began studying Bengali and Sanskrit literature, as well as Hindu scriptures such as the Puranas. Nazrul composed folk plays for the group, which included Chāshār Shōng ('the drama of a peasant'), and plays about characters from the Mahabharata including Shokunībōdh ('the Killing of Shakuni), Rājā Judhisthirer Shōng ('the drama of King Yudhishthira), Dātā Kōrno ('the philanthropic Karna'), Ākbōr Bādshāh ('Akbar the emperor'), Kobi Kālidās ('poet Kalidas'), Bidyan Hutum ('the learned owl'), and Rājputrer Shōng ('the prince's sorrow').[1]
In 1910, Nazrul left the troupe and enrolled at the Searsole Raj High School in Raniganj. In school, he was influenced by his teacher, a Jugantar activist, Nibaran Chandra Ghatak, and began a lifelong friendship with fellow author Sailajananda Mukhopadhyay, who was his classmate. He later transferred to the Mathrun High English School, studying under the headmaster and poet Kumudranjan Mallik. Unable to continue paying his school fees, Nazrul left the school and joined a group of kaviyals. Later he took jobs as a cook at Wahid's, a well-known bakery of the region, and at a tea stall in the town of Asansol. In 1914, Nazrul studied in the Darirampur School (now Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University) in Trishal, Mymensingh District. Amongst other subjects, Nazrul studied Bengali, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian literature and Hindustani classical music under teachers who were impressed by his dedication and skill.[1][26][27]
Nazrul studied up to grade 10 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.[28] 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.[29]
During this period, Nazrul read extensively the works of Rabindranath Tagore and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, as well as the Persian poets Hafez, Omar Khayyam, and Rumi.[30][31] He learned 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
A rebel