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declared the next one year, from May 25, 2026 to May 25, 2027, as “Nazrul Year” at a programme in Mymensingh’s Trishal, marking the poet’s birth anniversary.

On this occasion, President Mohammed Shahabuddin yesterday paid a rich tribute to Nazrul, saying that the poet’s ideals of equality, humanity, rebellion, and love would continue to inspire people through generations, BSS reports.

In a message, the president described the poet as one of the brightest stars of Bangla literature and culture.

“Nazrul made outstanding contributions to Bangla language and literature through his multifaceted creative works as a poet, musician, novelist, playwright, essayist, and journalist as well.”

The president said Nazrul was the herald of national awakening and a bold voice against exploitation, deprivation, and injustice.

His fiery poems and inspirational songs inspired different democratic movements and struggles of the country, including the anti-British movement, the Mass Uprising of 1969, the 1971 Liberation War, and the July mass uprising in 2024, he added.

President Shahabuddin hopes that the nation will be able to build an equitable, just, and humane Bangladesh imbued with Nazrul’s ideals, patriotism, honesty, and dedication.

In another BSS report, the PM said Nazrul is an unforgettable name in national history, as his advent in the dark age of a subjugated and oppressed nation was like a beacon of light, like a guiding lighthouse.

At a time when the dying nation desperately needed an overwhelming talent to awaken, inspire, and empower it towards self-reliance, Nazrul was that long-awaited and much-desired genius, the premier said in a message on the eve of the birth anniversary.

“The entire life of Kazi Nazrul Islam seemed like a declaration of war, a unique, and extraordinary rebellion.”

He said Nazrul’s rebellion was against colonial rule, subjugation, oppression, exploitation, inequality, discrimination, superstition, religious fanaticism, communalism, and all forms of injustice, tyranny, and ugliness.

Nazrul was the first poet, journalist and political figure to demand complete independence of the subcontinent from the colonial rule, he said.

Tarique said Nazrul’s poems and songs served as a powerful source of inspiration during the Liberation War and the July mass uprising.

Born in 1899 in Churulia, West Bengal, Nazrul joined the British Indian Army and later went on to become a journalist, composer, and filmmaker. His newspaper Dhumketu was banned by the British rulers, and he was jailed for his poem Anandamoyeer Agomoney.

Nazrul passed away on August 29, 1976, and was laid to rest next to Dhaka University’s central mosque, as per his wishes.