DEMOCRACY is considered as the foundation of modern civilistion. The more democratic the country is, the more civilised the nation is. People of a true democratic country enjoy their fundamental rights through personal liberty and freedom. The most dangerous threat to democracy and human civilisation is class exploitation and autocracy. It was the beginning of nineteenth century when the spirit of freedom was seeking ways from colonial imprisonment in undivided British India. A young Bengali poet had appeared with his youthful spirit, rebellious writings and fearless heart to revolt against subjugation of the British power.
He is no one but Kazi Nazrul Islam, one of the most famous poets of Bengali literature. He had conveyed a vibrant message, through his powerful patriotic feelings, for the young revolutionaries to protest against oppression and injustice of British rule. Thus he had inspired the younger generation through his enthusiastic writings, songs and poems to come forward for the liberation of their mother land. He showed the strength and courage to overcome all impediments to human liberty.
He was the voice of common people. He could understand that unity is the strength of a nation and he repeatedly asked people to be united. He was contemporary as well as international in his realisation. The poet believed that freedom meant the eradication of all forms of injustice, exploitation and inequality from the society. The most social humiliation for mankind is to be deprived of his fundamental rights. Nazrul believed that men and women are equated by the creator himself and are equally responsible to protect human civilisation and world peace. He worked for the advancement of human civilisation despite assertion and contradiction towards the final goal based on unity in diversity.
He dreamt of a sovereign country that will ensure a harmonious coexistence and collective participation for all irrespective of gender, race, social status and religion. Nazrul was always vociferous for equal rights of women. Nazrul worked for the uplifting of women with freedom, equality and liberty. He paid respect towards the contribution of women as a mother, a sister, a wife as well as a stakeholder of social development who is equally adept in running the household and in administering the country. He represented women as the symbol of love, beauty and inspiration.
Nazrul believed that ultimate freedom will remain unreachable as long as women are not properly empowered. According to him, men and women are equal in their rights and contributions. Nazrul advocated for women`s social and legal rights. He had denoted the exploitation of women by men as the worst social attitude. He could realise that a society can make progress only with the participation of all its members. He urged for an inclusive nation where men and women should complement each other to uphold humanity. Nazrul wrote: "I don`t see any difference/between a man and a woman/.Whatever great or benevolent achievements/there are in this world/ half of that was by woman/the other half by man." (Women - Translated by Sajed Kamal).
His revolt was against the oppression, injustice and exploitation of women all over the world. Before him no one could equalise the legitimate rights and contribution of women in a society so clearly. But the irony is that the women of our country are still facing inequality and social oppression in many cases.
Nazrul is the most contemporary humanist and secular personality. He placed humanity above all. Born in a traditional Muslim family he married a Hindu woman and strived for unity and friendship of all religions throughout his life. He uttered explicitly to embrace one another by leaving religious dogma for a collective entity. He aspired for justice, freedom and love for all under global perspective. He believed that human heart is the source of all wisdom and the place where remain prophets of all religions. He tried to make people understand that unity is the only weapon to combat religious violence and social imbalance. His poems expressed his believe:
"Man brought hunger, women brought honey --- Out of their union/Is born the great child of humanity." (Woman -- Translated by Sajed Kamal).
Nazrul`s life was spent in grinding poverty and domestic misery. But the difficulty of his personal life could not destroy his creative genius. Nazrul was a multitalented personality. His creative dynamism has been commended through his writings. The uniqueness of his creation was that, it worked as a plural conscious being of the entire society rather than a singular entity or an individual. His struggle was his inspiration of expression. He is undoubtedly one of the great voices of Bengali literature. He became the voice for democracy and freedom of all mankind. He wrote on contemporary issues and brought the Bengali poetry closer to life. He believed that the inherent potentiality of human being is the supreme power. His signature poem 'Bidrohi' is a proclamation of that power and popularly strike to his name as The Rebel. Nazrul believed in inherent potentiality of human race.
He had symbolised the unity of a nation representing the diversity of the culture in an intricate manner. He used many new words, phrases and idioms from other languages to make his writings more expressive and beautifully harmonised those with tradition. He wrote a vast number of prose and poetry but it is his songs that have given us his best. The versatility of his songs with ample variety of tunes has created a new garland of human emotion and feeling. Gazal (Persian mystic love song) is an innovation of Nazrul in Bengali music world. He also translated Rubaiyat of Hafiz in Bangla. Nazrul is being translated into world languages like English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi and many other languages of the subcontinent; but more such works are necessary to make him familiar on global perspective.
The liberation war of Bangladesh and the emergence of sovereign nation were greatly influenced by Nazrul. Our fight was for the establishment of a democratic country of our own where equal rights, religious harmony and peaceful coexistence should be ensured for all citizens. After liberation war, Nazrul has been crowned as the National Poet of the independent Bangladesh. The most unfortunate thing is that, even after a long forty-two years of our independence, we remain far away from our desire.
Fanaticism, bigotry, violence and cruelty still reign extensively all over the country. Tolerance and accommodation seem to be two words abolished from our society. To change this situation we would have to establish Nazrul; not only as a theoretical national poet but also as a poet who remains to be reinterpreted now in the newer perspective of the present situation among our young generations aiming to ensure humanity, social justice and religious harmony which in turn will establish democracy in thought and action with the spirit to protect our hard-earned independence.
The writer is a teacher, a Rabindra Sangeet artiste and a cultural activist. She can be reached at [email protected]
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