Bengali poet, writer and musician (1899–1976)
Kazi Nazrul Islam (, ; 24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, short story writer, journalist, lyricist and musician. He is the 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 as "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 into a Bengali Muslim Kazi family hailing from Churulia in Burdwan district in 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 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 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 music for nearly 4,000 songs (many recorded on Gramophone Company India gramophone records), 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. It caused Nazrul Islam's health to decline steadily and forced him to live in isolation. He was also admitted in Ranchi (Jharkhand) psychiatric hospital for many years. 
The ailing Indian 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.
Early life.
Nazrul Islam was born on Wednesday 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" (দুখু মিঞা) 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 in 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 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 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 Sahitya Samiti") in July 1919.
Career.
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Quote_box/styles.css" / ;
Bidrohi (The Rebel)
 ;poem ;I am the unutterable grief,
I am the trembling first touch of the virgin,
I am the throbbing tenderness of her first stolen kiss.
I am the fleeting glance of the veiled beloved,
I am her constant surreptitious gaze...
I am the burning volcano in the bosom of the earth,
I am the wildfire of the woods,
I am Hell's mad terrific sea of wrath!
I ride on the wings of lightning with joy and profundity,
I scatter misery and fear all around,
I bring earthquakes on this world! 
I am the rebel eternal,
I raise my head beyond this world,
High, ever erect and alone! ;/poem ;
 – Translation by Kabir Choudhary
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.
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 Movement – the first mass nationalist campaign of civil disobedience against British rule. Nazrul Islam explores the different forces at work in a rebel, the destroyer, and the preserver who is able to express rage as well as beauty and sensitivity. He followed up by writing "Pralayollas" ('Destructive Euphoria'), and his first anthology of poems, the "Agni-veena" ("অগ্নি-বীণা", 'Lyre of Fire') in 1922, which enjoyed commercial and critical success. He also published a volume of short stories, the "Byathar Dan" "ব্যথার দান" ('Gift of Sorrow'), 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. He presented a long argument in the court, an excerpt of what he said:
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;I have been accused of sedition... To plead for me, the king of all kings, the judge of all judges, the eternal truth the living God... I am a poet; I have been sent by God to express the unexpressed, to portray the unportrayed. It is God who is heard through the voice of the poet... I am an instrument of God. The instrument is not unbreakable, but who is there to break God?
On 14 April 1923, he was moved from Alipore Jail to Hooghly Jail in Hooghly. He began a 40-day fast to protest mistreatment by the British jail superintendent, breaking his fast more than a month later and eventually being released from prison in December 1923. Nazrul Islam composed numerous poems and songs during his period of imprisonment. In the 1920s, the British Indian government banned many of his writings. Rabindranath Tagore dedicated his play "Basanta" to Nazrul Islam in 1923. Nazrul Islam wrote the poem "Aj Srishti Shukher Ullashe" to thank Tagore. 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". His rebellious expression extended to rigid orthodoxy in the name of religion and politics. 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. Along with Muzaffar Ahmed, Nazrul also helped organise the Sramik Praja Swaraj Dal (Workers and Peasants Party), a socialist political party committed to national independence and the service of the working class. On 16 December 1925, Nazrul began publishing the "Langal" ('Plough'), a weekly, and served as its chief editor.
During his visit to Comilla in 1921, Nazrul Islam met a young Bengali Hindu woman, Pramila Devi, with whom he fell in love, and they married on 25 April 1924. Brahmo Samaj criticised Pramila, a member