Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says the songs and poems of Kazi Nazrul Islam were both the inspiration and the weapons of the Bangla Language Movement and the Liberation War.
She made the remarks at the Kazi Nazrul University in West Bengal’s Asansol during a special convocation on Saturday.
“From the Language Movement to the Liberation Movement the songs and poems of Nazrul have acted as both inspiration and arms,” Sheikh Hasina said.
“His songs and poems have inspired and encouraged the people of East Bengal to protest for justice and revolution – not just against the tyranny of British rule, but also against that of Pakistan.”
The Bangalee people have been blessed by the greatness of poets such as Nazrul and Rabindranath, the Bangladesh prime minister said.
Not only have they contributed to our language, our literature and our culture, they have also had a positive impact on our value and lifestyle, she said.
The mixture of tenderness and rebellion in the hearts of the Bangalee people were nurtured by these two poets, she added.
West Bengal is celebrating the 119th birthday of poet Kazi Nazrul Islam on Saturday. Bangladesh celebrated the birth of its national poet on Friday.
Sheikh Hasina was presented with an honourary D Lit degree by Kazi Nazrul University at the event on Saturday.
“Today is especially significant for me because I have been able to visit the great poet’s place of birth on his birthday and have received an honourary ‘Doctor of Literature’ degree from the university named after him,” she said.
“I believe this honour is not for me alone, but for all the people of Bangladesh.”
She dedicated the degree to ‘all Bangalee people’.
The prime minister is on a two-day trip to India during which she also attended the convocation at Visva-Bharati University and inaugurated the university’s Bangladesh Building.
Funded by the Bangladesh government, the building has a 450-seat theatre, the largest at the university.
The building also houses a library of books on Bangladesh and its relations with India as well as a collection of historical and cultural artefacts of Bangladesh.
The two sides of the building’s entrance have murals of Bangabandhu and Tagore.
The inauguration event was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two Prime Ministers met for bilateral meetings following the building’s inauguration.
From the Visva-Bharati, Sheikh Hasina travelled to Kolkata, where she visited Rabindranath’s birthplace, the Thakur Bari, at Jorasanko and met business leaders of Kolkata at the Taj Bengal hotel, where she is staying during the two-day trip.
She also joined a dinner hosted by West Bengal Governor Tripathi.
On Saturday morning, Sheikh Hasina travelled by plane from Kolkata to Durgapur and then travelled by road to Asansol.
The Kazi Nazrul University’s special convocation was attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bangladesh Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Bangladesh Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, Hasina’s advisers HT Imam, Gowher Rizvi and Tawfiq-e-Elahi as well as other education, cultural and political officials.
Sheikh Hasina compared the coming of Nazrul, the rebel poet, to a comet blazing through the sky of Bangla literature. He has left behind a golden legacy, she said.
She described Nazrul as a man of prodigious talents.
“His ideals of anti-communalism and humanity were reflected both in his words and actions,” she said.
“He wrote Islamic poems and music and brought the teachings of Islam to the common people in simple words. And, on the other hand, he also composed Shyama music and Vaishnava lyrics to bring the words of Hinduism to the people.”
In 1972, Kazi Nazrul Islam was granted Bangladeshi citizenship and declared the national poet of Bangladesh. The poet was laid to rest on the Dhaka University campus after his death in 1976.
Though he was born in Charulia, Nazrul travelled all across Bengal, Hasina said. He spent a portion of his childhood in Mymensingh and also lived in Cumilla, Chattogram, Sirajganj and Faridpur, among other places, she added.
Sheikh Hasina spoke of Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University in Mymensingh and the study and research of his work undertaken by the Bangla Academy and at various universities in Bangladesh, bdnews24 reported.
Following the convocation, the Prime Minister is scheduled to return to Kolkata from Asansol, visit the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Museum and meet with local MPs at a courtesy meeting before returning to Dhaka on Saturday night.
