Kazi Nazrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam (Bengali: কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম, Urdu: ur:قاضی نذر الاسلام‎; pronounced: [kadʒi nodʒrul islam]) (25 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengalipoet, writer, musician, and revolutionary, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Popularly known as Nazrul, his poetry and music espoused Indo-Islamic renaissance and intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. Nazrul's impassioned activism for political and social justice earned him the title of The Rebel Poet (Bengali: বিদ্রোহী কবি; Bidrohi Kobi). His compositions form the avant-garde genre of Nazrul Sangeet (Music of Nazrul). Accomplishing a large body of acclaimed works through his life, he is officially recognised as the National Poet of Bangladesh and is highly commemorated and revered in India, especially in West Bengal.

Born into a Bengali Muslim Quazi (Kazi) family, Nazrul received religious education and worked as a muezzin at a local mosque in his early life. He learned of poetry, drama, and literature while working with rural theatrical groups 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 tremendously inspired the Bengalis during the Bangladesh Liberation War.