The 116th birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam has been celebrated across the country on Monday.
The celebration of the day started with placing wreaths at the poet’s grave on Dhaka University campus in the morning.
The government and various socio-cultural and political organisations arranged elaborate programmes to observe the day.
Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor paid tributes to the memory of National Poet by placing floral wreaths at the poet’s grave around 7am.
Nazrul was the source of inspiration of movements and struggles of the Bengali nation and the government is working to spread the works of Nazrul over all worlds, the minister told reporters at the grave.
Comilla district administration arranged a three-day celebration at Comilla Town Hall ground to mark the birth anniversary of Nazrul.
The Shilpakala Academy and the Nazrul Institute will also organize cultural programmes in the capital to celebrate the day.
Born on May 25 in 1899 at Churulia village in Burdwan district of West Bengal in India, Nazrul through his fiery poems had inspired the people to fight against injustice and repression of the colonial rule.
The fearless voice of the poet earned him the wrath of the British rulers who had jailed him several times for igniting people’s desire for independence through his poems.
The government of Bangladesh brought Nazrul and his family to the country on 24 May 1972.
In January 1976, the government granted him citizenship of Bangladesh.
The poet breathed his last in August 29, 1976 at the then Institute of Post Graduate Medicine and Research (now BSMMU) in Dhaka.- UNB
