Kazi Nazrul Islam (Bengali: কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম Kazī Nazrul Islām (24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976).
Bidrohi Kobi (Rebel Poet), known popularly as Nazrul, was a Bengali poet, musician and revolutionary who pioneered poetic works espousing intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. His poetry and nationalist activism earned him the popular title of "বিদ্রোহী কবি" Bidrohī Kobi (Rebel Poet). Accomplishing a large body of acclaimed works through his life, Nazrul is officially recognised as the national poet of Bangladesh and highly commemorated in India. He also composed the Bangladesh military march "The Song of Youth", now known as "Chal Chal Chal".Born into a Bengali Muslim Quazi (Kazi) family,
Nazrul received religious education and worked as a muezzin at a local mosque. He learned of poetry, drama, and literature while working with theatrical groups. After serving in the British Indian Army, 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 impassioned activism in
the Indian independence movement
often led to his imprisonment by British authorities. While in prison,
Nazrul wrote the "Rajbandir Jabanbandi" "রাজবন্দীর জবানবন্দী"
("Deposition of a Political Prisoner"). Exploring the life and
conditions of the downtrodden masses of India, Nazrul worked for their
emancipation.
Nazrul's writings explore themes such as love, freedom, and
revolution; he opposed all bigotry, including religious and gender.
Throughout his career, Nazrul wrote short stories, novels, and essays
but is best known for his poems, in which he pioneered new forms such as
Bengali ghazals. Nazrul wrote and composed music for his nearly 4,000 songs (including gramophone records),[4] collectively known as Nazrul geeti
(Nazrul songs), which are widely popular today. In 1942 at the age of
43 he began suffering from an unknown disease, losing his voice and
memory. It is often said, the reason was slow poisoning by British
Government but later a medical team in Vienna diagnosed the disease as Morbus Pick,[5] a rare incurable neurodegenerative disease. It caused Nazrul's health to decline steadily and forced him to live in isolation for many years. Invited by the Government of Bangladesh, Nazrul and his family moved to Dhaka in 1972, where he died four years later.
