Nazrul Islam: The Rebel Poet of
Bengal
Quazi
Nazrul Islam emerged as a major writer in Bengal as soon as he stepped into
Bengali literary field in 1919. He was fondly called as “Bidrohi Kabi” or the
rebel poet in both parts of Bengal ie West Bengal in India and East Bengal,
which is now a sovereign country known as Bangladesh. His poems, songs, plays, novels, stories and
essays written within a short span of twenty odd years ushered in a
unprecedented enthusiasm among people, hitherto indifferent to literature. The passion with which he wrote brought a
tidal wave of patriotism across the country. Through his writings he voiced the
unimaginable sufferings of common people perpetrated by the British rulers and
their cohorts, the local Zamindars,
money lenders etc. on the one hand and the fanatics from Hindu, Muslim and
Christian community on the other.
Nazrul, in
his masterpiece, “The Rebel” wrote:
“The
eternal rebel, that I am,
Weary of many a battle,
Shall rest in peace
Only when the anguished cry of the
oppressed
No longer reverberate in the sky and
air:
Tyrants’ blood smeared sword
No longer rattles in the
battlefield.”
Nazrul’s
writing distinguishes him from other contemporary writers due to its directness
of communication with his readers. He was strong and steadfast in his approach
towards religion, be it Hinduism or Islam. He upheld the message of equality
inherent in Muslim tradition and opposed the dogmatic preachers, who
interpreted the cannons of Islam to their own advantage. He was vociferous
against the message of hatred spread by the priests against people of other
religions and those, who divided the society by terming a section as lower
caste. He wrote:
“......Someone
is asking you, Boatman,
Who are the
people you are fighting for?
Are they
Hindu or Muslim?
My skipper!
Tell them:
Human life
is in peril;
We are
children of same mother.”
The poems
and songs of Nazrul have a distinct appeal to strive for perfection in the
society and creating a better world for human being trough organic integrity
and universality disregarding gender, caste and creed. He himself acknowledged
the influence of Whitman in the context of one of his poems ‘Agrapathik’. Similarly,
he reminds his readers about the writings of Nazim Hikmet and Nikos Kazantzakis
in their quest for unravelling the mysteries of life and at the same time
raising their voice against oppression and exploitation. In one of his poem
written ninety years ago he raised his voice against discrimination against
women:
“Men
imprisoned women within four walls of Purdah
Though he
was cared and breastfed by them.
Listen, oh
denizens of earth!
The more
you oppress them
You prove
your impotency as much.”
During this
crucial period in the history of human civilization, when fundamentalists in
almost every religion are raising their ugly heads and eating up the essence of
humanity the relevance of poets like Nazrul is required to be emphasised more and
more to remind the mankind about compassion, kindness and tolerance. In his
poem “Forgive us, Oh Prophet!” he cried out in anguish:
You never
uttered ‘hate’ towards non-believers.
You served
all who came your way
And opened
the door to those who sought.
.....Brave
one! You never asked anyone
To demolish
abodes of God, be it in any form.
But, we are
unforgiving to even slightest diversion.
