Re-evaluation of Nazrul: <i>Need of the hour</i>

Dr. Rafiqul Islam(Inset)

On the occasion of Kazi Nazrul Islam's 31st death anniversary, Nazrul scholar Dr. Rafiqul Islam talks to Ahsan Habib of The Daily Star (TDS) on the state of research on Nazrul and his works.

TDS: What is the current state of research and other activities on Nazrul and his works?
Dr. Rafiqul Islam: In 1999, we celebrated the Nazrul centenary in Bangladesh and India. In fact it was celebrated at different places all over the world. North America Nazrul Conference celebrated the centenary in 1999 and 2000 in New York and Florida. In England, a Nazrul Centre was reopened in East London. In India all the secular political parties celebrated the centenary in New Delhi. In West Bengal, Bangla Academy, Sahitya Academy, Visva Bharati and Netaji Research Institute celebrated the centenary with due solemnity.
In Bangladesh, the centenary was celebrated in 1999 and 2000 under a national committee headed by Poet Sufia Kamal. Nazrul Institute, on this occasion published several books and anthologies. Most important of these was the reprint of Nazrul's bi-weekly publication Dhumketu and weekly Langol and Gonobani. Nazrul Institute also released CDs featuring reproductions of 400 earliest gramophone records along with notations of Nazrul Sangeet. Bangla Academy, West Bengal brought out Nazrul Rochonaboli in seven volumes. Bangla Academy, Dhaka, who had published Nazrul Rochonaboli twice before in the '70s and '90s, is republishing Nazrul Rochonaboli. Already four volumes have been published and four more are in the pipeline.
For a re-evaluation of Nazrul a well-researched and unbiased biography is a prerequisite. I published the first biography in Bangladesh titled Nazrul Jiboni in 1972 (published by Dhaka University) and waited for young researchers to take it from there. Unfortunately however, in the last three decades, no other Nazrul biography has been published. I have started rewriting the biography of Nazrul, which I plan to publish next year.
As far as evaluation of Nazrul's contribution is concerned, most of the works are done in Bangladesh and in India. Till the end of 20th century no international evaluation of Nazrul was done, but in 21st century we find an excellent evaluation titled Kazi Nazrul Islam: The Voice of Poetry and the Struggle for Human Wholeness by Winston E. Langley of Massachusetts University, USA. For the first time, a western scholar has evaluated Nazrul, considering the international situation of 21st century. He has compared Nazrul with the greatest poets, thinkers and philosophers of all times. In the conclusion of the book, Langley remarks, “The book has sought to acquaint its readers with one of the most remarkable poets of all times and likewise with one of the world's most morally provoking artists of the twentieth century. Additionally, he is perhaps the most prolific composer the world has come to know. Taken together, what I hope the eight chapters have shown, is a human being whose thinking touched on almost every major aspect of human concerns.” I think that Langley's evaluation will change the course of the academic research on Nazrul being pursued in the subcontinent and will herald a new international vision to judge Nazrul's contribution.

TDS: Why do you feel the need to rewrite Nazrul's biography?
Dr. Rafiqul Islam: I started my research on Nazrul in the late '50s. At the very outset, I went to Kolkata and interviewed people who had known Nazrul during different periods. The results of these interviews disheartened me because by then most of them had been rendered incapable of proper recollection. Meanwhile, I got a Fulbright scholarship to Cornell University for higher studies in Linguistics. Returning home I prepared an exhaustive bibliography of Nazrul's writings and compositions both chronologically and alphabetically that Bangla Academy published in 1970 as Nazrul Nirdeshona.
Then I started tracing Nazrul's life based on facts and documents rather then popular legends and hearsay. Dhaka University published the work with the title Nazrul Jiboni. On the basis of these two books, I analysed Nazrul's literary works exhaustively and submitted a thesis entitled Life and Literature of Nazrul. I was awarded a PhD for that dissertation and it was published in Dhaka and Kolkata. Till now three editions have come out. While writing the thesis and publishing it, I revised Nazrul's biographical section three times on the basis of new documents I gathered from various archives in Bangladesh, India and UK. I feel this is high time to rewrite the poet's biography and publish it not only for the general readers, but also for the new generation of researchers. I consider it to be my sacred duty to present a biography of this great poet whom I have discovered through his works and creations supported by valid documents.

How important is the re-evaluation of Nazrul and his works?
In this century, in the backdrop of globalisation, free market economy and information highway, the urgency of re-evaluating Nazrul is essential. When the existence of languages and cultures of the disadvantaged nations are at stake, life and works of nationalist revolutionary poets and thinkers like Nazrul can show us the way to uphold our heritage, traditions, values and ethnic uniqueness. From Nazrul we can learn how to combine nationalist values with international ideas. We can guard our national identity following Nazrul's way of thinking, resisting the external aggression on our culture.

Despite echoing universal sentiments, Nazrul's literary works have not received much deserved world attention. What do you think is the main reason for that?
Nazrul has not been translated widely. There have been English translations mostly by Indian and Bangladeshi translators. Though there have been attempts to translate Nazrul's work into Russian, Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Farsi, Urdu, Hindi and Tamil, Nazrul has yet to receive a proper global exposure. We have not yet been successful in motivating the few western translators who understand Bangla. Apart from that, most of our English scholars are apathetic towards Nazrul. Probably they consider him as “subaltern”, rather than a major poet of the first half of twentieth century.

What actions do you think should be taken to draw the current generation towards Nazrul's works?
We can stir their interest initially through Nazrul's music. Our electronic media features only a few artistes who repeat a limited number of songs throughout the year. Had there been a conscious effort by the artistes and the media to introduce the audience to the variety and richness of Nazrul's creations, I'm sure our young music lovers would have been more interested in Nazrul. That would eventually convince them to study others forms of Nazrul's works like poetry, novels, short stories, and essays. It is also the responsibility of the parents and the schools to motivate our young ones to read Nazrul and to sing his songs. And that would enrich their vision, broaden their outlook and make them complete human beings.