People and Culture
From Churulia to Dhaka: Honoring the Legacy of Kazi Nazrul Islam
The 47th death anniversary of Bangladesh’s national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam is being observed on Sunday (27 August) with deep respect and love across the country.
Born on 24 May 1899 in Churulia of West Bengal’s Bardhaman district, Nazrul passed away on 29 August 1976 at PG Hospital (now Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University) in Dhaka. Though he lived for 77 years, his creative span lasted only 23 years, during which he enriched Bengali literature with poems, songs, plays, essays, novels, and stories.
His iconic poem Bidrohi (The Rebel) ignited anti-British sentiments and spread like wildfire during the colonial period. Arrested for his political writings, Nazrul was sentenced in 1923 to one year of rigorous imprisonment in Alipore Jail, where he wrote his famous statement “Rajbandir Jabanbandi” (Deposition of a Political Prisoner). During his imprisonment, Rabindranath Tagore dedicated his book Basanta to Nazrul.
After Bangladesh’s independence, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman brought Nazrul to Dhaka in 1972, granting him the title of National Poet. He later received an honorary D. Litt degree from Dhaka University in 1974, was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 1976, and was also given Bangladeshi citizenship the same year.
On this occasion, cultural and social organizations have organized programs including floral tributes at Nazrul’s grave beside the central mosque of Dhaka University, prayers, discussions, and cultural events.
Nazrul remains a timeless symbol of rebellion, love, secularism, and equality—his works continuing to inspire generations in Bangladesh and beyond.
Two siblings drowned in a fish enclosure in Narail’s Sadar upazila on Sunday afternoon, August 24. The incident took place in Dighalia village.
The victims were Amena Khatun, 7, and her brother Nafis Molya, 6, children of local farmer Ikramul Molya. Both were first-grade students at Bi Gopalpur Government Primary School.
According to family members, their mother Rokaiya Begum was working on the bank of a nearby fish enclosure when the children went to play. At one point, they entered the water to bathe and drowned. Their bodies were later recovered from the enclosure.
Narail Sadar Police Station OC Md. Sajedul Islam confirmed the incident, saying the bodies were handed over to the family after completing legal formalities.
At least four people were killed when a lorry overturned on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Cumilla’s Paduar Bazar area on Friday (22 August). The accident occurred around 12:15 pm, crushing two private cars and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw. Among the victims were three men and a woman, though their identities are yet to be confirmed.
Moinamoti Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Iqbal Bahar Majumder said the lorry lost control while taking a U-turn and overturned, leaving four people dead on the spot. Another private car was partially damaged in the crash. Police and fire service personnel rushed to the scene and began rescue operations, which are now in their final stages.
A farmer from Hobarbaria in Valuka, Mymensingh, has crafted a royal chair as a tribute to BNP’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman. The farmer, Abdul Motaleb—popularly known as “Khejur Motaleb”—says he made the chair purely out of love and respect, with no expectation of reward.
Inspired during his years as a date farm worker in Saudi Arabia between 1998 and 2001, Motaleb introduced date cultivation in Bangladesh. His plantation drew wide attention, leading Tarique Rahman to visit his orchard on June 16, 2004. Unable to seat the BNP leader on a suitable chair during that visit, Motaleb carried the regret for years.
In 2008, he began work on a royal chair using 95 cubic feet of jackfruit wood. Assisted by a local carpenter, he also crafted another chair, a peacock throne, a bed, a dining table, and wooden fans—all of which remain preserved at his home.
Local BNP leaders have hailed the gesture as a symbol of loyalty and respect, noting that such devotion from supporters reflects the enduring bond between the party and its grassroots
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