Kazi Nazrul Islam (Bengali: [kad͡ʒi nod͡ʒɾul islam] ; 24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, short story writer, journalist, lyricist, and musician. He was later honoured with the title of national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul produced a large body of poetry, music, messages, novels, and stories with themes that included equality, justice, anti-imperialism, humanity, rebellion against oppression and religious devotion. Nazrul Islam's activism for political and social justice as well as writing a poem titled "Bidrohī", meaning "the rebel" in Bengali, earned him the title of "Bidrohī Kôbi" (Rebel Poet). His compositions form the avant-garde music genre of Nazrul Gīti (Music of Nazrul).
Born in the British Raj period into a Bengali Muslim Kazi family from Churulia in Asansol, then in the Burdwan district in the Bengal Presidency (now in West Bengal, India), 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 Leṭor Dôl, Leṭo being a folk song genre of West Bengal usually performed by the people from the Muslim community of the region. He joined the British Indian Army in 1917 and was posted in Karachi. Nazrul Islam established himself as a journalist in Calcutta after the war ended. He criticised the British Raj and called for revolution through his famous poetic works, such as "Bidrohī" ('The Rebel') and "Bhangar Gan" ('The Song of Destruction'), as well as in his publication Dhūmketu ('The Comet'). His nationalist activism in the Indian independence movement led to his frequent imprisonment by the colonial British authorities. While in prison, Nazrul Islam wrote the "Rajbôndīr Jôbanbôndī" ('Deposition of a Political Prisoner'). His writings greatly inspired Bengalis of East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Nazrul Islam'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. Nazrul wrote short stories, novels, and essays but is best known for his songs and poems. He introduced the ghazal songs in the Bengali language and is also known for his extensive use of Arabic- and Persian-influenced Bengali words in his works.
Nazrul Islam wrote and composed nearly 4,000 songs—many recorded by the Gramophone Company of India—collectively known as 'Nazrul Gīti'. In 1942, at the age of 43, he began to be affected by an unknown disease, losing his voice and memory. A medical team in Vienna diagnosed the disease as Pick's disease, a rare incurable neurodegenerative disease.
The ailing poet was taken to Bangladesh with the consent of the government of India on 24 May 1972, at the invitation of the government of Bangladesh. His family accompanied him and relocated to Dhaka. Later, on 18 February 1976, the citizenship of Bangladesh was conferred upon him. He died on 29 August 1976.
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. Through his work and experiences, Nazrul Islam began studying Bengali and Sanskrit literature, as well as Hindu scriptures such as the Puranas. Nazrul Islam 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').
In 1910, Nazrul Islam 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 Kumud Ranjan Mullick. Unable to continue paying his school fees, Nazrul Islam left the school and joined a group of kaviyals. Later he took jobs as a cook at Wahid Confectionery, a well-known bakery of the region, and at a tea stall in the town of Asansol. In 1914, Nazrul Islam studied at the Darirampur School (now Govt. Nazrul Academy) in Trishal, Mymensingh District. Amongst other subjects, Nazrul Islam studied Bengali, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian literature and Hindustani classical music under teachers who were impressed by his dedication and skill.
Nazrul Islam 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. 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.
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. His first collection of poems, which included "Bodhan", "Shat-il-Arab", "Kheya-parer Tarani", and "Badal Prater Sharab", received critical acclaim.
Nazrul Islam grew close to other young Muslim writers, while working at the Bengali Muslim Literary Society, including Mohammad Mozammel Haq, Kazi Abdul Wadud, and Muhammad Shahidullah. Nazrul Islam and Muhammad Shahidullah remained close throughout their lives. He was a regular at the social clubs for Calcutta's writers, poets, and intellectuals such as the Gajendar Adda and the Bharatiya Adda. Nazrul did not have the formal education of Rabindranath and as a result his poems did not follow the literary practices established by Rabindranath. Due to this he faced criticism from followers of Rabindranath. Despite their differences, Nazrul looked to Rabindranath Tagore as a mentor. In 1921, Nazrul Islam was engaged to Nargis, the niece of a well-known Muslim publisher, Ali Akbar Khan, in Daulatpur, Comilla. 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.