Editor,
Kazi Nazrul Islam, the great humanitarian poet, remains an almost unknown figure in almost all states of India, barring, of course, West Bengal and Tripura. But even in West Bengal, Nazrul (the epitome of secularism and symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity) continues to remain under the dominating shadow of the literary giant Rabindranath Tagore.
Apart from his literary works on religious harmony with humanitarian lines like “Are they Hindus? Are they Muslims? Who asks questions so asinine/O Captain! Pray tell them ’tis your brothers dying, children of your Mother!” his pen also used to act as a sword while protesting against atrocities by the British, thereby earning him the epithet of a ‘rebel poet’ and also finding himself landing in prison for urging the youths (through his mighty poems) to engage in a revolution against the imperialist force.
However, almost all poets of various Indian languages remain largely unknown outside their respective provinces due to linguistic barriers and untranslated works. It is high time the authorities concerned took appropriate measures to translate the gems of great writers into English and all possible languages, so that all Indians can appreciate their work and thoughts.
In the current communally-vitiated environment in the society, it would not be out of context if we take a look at Nazrul’s opinion on religion as practiced in the society: “No prophet has said, ‘I have come for Hindus/I have come for Muslims/I have come for Christians’. They have said, ‘I have come for the humanity for everyone, like light.’ But the devotees of Krishna say Krishna is for Hindus. The followers of Muhammad say Muhammad is for the Muslims, and the disciples of Christ say Christ is for Christians. Krishna-Muhammad-Christ has become national property. This property is the root of all trouble. Men do not quarrel for light but they quarrel over cattle.” (Excerpts from Nazrul’s article titled ‘Hindu Mussalman’, published in ‘Ganabani’, dated 2.9.1922).
The matter which deserves to be noticed is that Nazrul’s comments were highly relevant then, extremely relevant now (innocents being ruthlessly murdered for their ‘sin’ of consuming beef or ‘insulting’ gomata) and will probably remain relevant in 2.9.2124 also, following the deteriorating state of affairs throughout the country and major parts of the globe.
Unless the world learns to draw inspiration from the noble humanitarian tolerant thoughts of great hearts like Nazrul, we are indeed facing very dark days. It is high time we learnt to jump into the waters and save the drowning person by seeing the human being in him/her, instead of contemplating whether he/she is a Hindu or a Muslim.
After all, at the end of the day, we are all children of that ultimate divine.
Kajal Chatterjee,
D-2/403,
Peerless Nagar,
Kolkata