Download Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976): A Symbol of Interfaith Harmony

Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976):
A Symbol of Interfaith Harmony
Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976), the National Poet of Bangladesh, was born in a
society that was torn apart by class division, religious separatism and communal
hostility during British India. And yet he played a vital role in promoting
communal harmony in Bengal and his thoughts and ideas became popular
throughout the sub-continent. He evolved himself through a long trek of differing
thoughts and ideologies and when he reflected, as an enlightened person, upon the
backwardness and obscurantism of the society, he felt embittered and mortified.
At last he came to the realisation that for the true emancipation of India and the
fulfilment of humanistic ideals, communalism must be eradicated and amity
between Hindus and Muslims has to be established. Accordingly he went on
composing and singing inspiring songs of Hindu-Muslim unity. Not only this, he
virtually waged a war against communalism and always remained an ardent and
vocal campaigner in pursuit of his ideals. His non-communal and humanistic
consciousness was a moving force in his literary activity from the beginning.
Nazrul consciously upheld this non-communalism throughout his life, in words
and deeds. For a good reason today artists of Bangladesh and India sing–
‘Rabindranath is in everyone’s heart, and in consciousness there is Nazrul’.
In his quest for truth Nazrul attached more importance to humanistic values than
to visits to mosques and temples. He believed that unless man could be uplifted by
the higher ideals of humanism, mere visits to shrines and worshipping there would
be of no use. ‘Man is above everything, nothing is above man’– this universal
humanism of the medieval poet Chandidas found a stronger expression in Nazrul’s
works.
Hence his bold assertion: “No prophet has said, ‘I have come for Hindus, I have
come for Muslims, I have come for Christians’. They said ‘that they came for
humanity, for everyone. But the devotees of Krishna say, ‘Krishna is for the
Hindus’. The followers of Muhammad (pbuh) say, ‘Muhammad (pbuh) is for the
Muslims’. The disciples of Christ say, ‘Christ is for the Christians’. KrishnaMuhammad-Christ have become national property.” He said repeatedly that this
proprietorship of religion is at the root of all trouble. With extreme pain in his
heart Nazrul mentioned that men do not quarrel for light but they quarrel over
cattle.
In his celebrated Ognivina (Fire and Lute) Nazrul asserted that he was not a Hindu
or a Muslim, he was for all men, all religions. In his writings Hindu and Muslim
traditions have been so completely harmonised that it is difficult to extricate one
from the other. It was Nazrul’s aim to remove the religious separatism and
yawning gulf between man and man and uphold the greatness of man. Religion is
created for man and is intended to advance the wellbeing of man. Let man
embrace this religion and let love of man be held supreme – this was Nazrul’s
utmost desire. That is why he sang fervidly –
I sing of equality–
There’s nothing greater than a human being, nothing nobler!
Caste, creed, religion– there’s no difference.
Throughout all ages, all places, we’re all a manifestation
Of our common humanity.
– Manush (Human Being)
The contemporary Hindu-Muslim enmity provoked him to write:
Who are they– hating human beings?
Yet kissing the Quran, the Vedas, the Bible?
Snatch away those books from them.
The hypocrites pretend to worship those books
By killing human beings who, in fact,
Brought those books into existence.
Listen, you ignorant: Human beings
Brought the books,
No book ever brought human beings!
– Manush (Human Being)
Therefore, to uphold the glory of God in the bosom of humanity Nazrul wrote:
The whole creation looks at you,
While your own eyes are shut,
You search for the Creator.
Instead of searching for your self,
O self-inflicted blind– open your eyes,
Look at yourself in the mirror.
You’ll see– His shadow falls on your body.
– Iswar (God)
Many from both the Hindu & Muslim communities turned bitterly resentful
towards him. Under the British policy of ‘divide and rule’ when these two
communities were thus feuding the differences of their scriptures turned into
communal hostility. In this violent state of intolerance Nazrul heralded the ideals
of equality. He wanted to transcend not only the religious bounds but also the
social and economic barriers, and he dreamt of the day when all inequality
between man and man shall cease to be. This was bitterly resented by orthodox
quarters of both the communities.
Nazrul saw the image of the Creator in every human being. He vanquished
ignorance leading to the victory of knowledge. He was inspired by the immortal
message of the Quaran ––‘ O my Sustainer, extend the orbit of my knowledge. Let
me not despire the Beautiful, or grow a contempt for man.’ Nazrul’s poetry is
animated by a powerful heroic energy. His rejection of all pettiness and
communalism finds exquisite expression in the poem Samyabadi (the Socialist)
where Nazrul asked :
Who are you?– A Parsee? A Jain? A Jew?
A Santal, a Bheel or a Garo?
A Confucian? A disciple of Charvak?
Go on– tell me what else are you.
Whoever you are, my friend,
Whatever holy books or scriptures
You stomach or carry on your shoulder
Or stuff your brains with– the Quran, the Puranas,
The Vedas, the Bible, the Tripitaka, the Zend-Avesta,
The Grantha Saheb– why do you waste your labour?
Why inject all this into your brain?
Why all this– like petty bargaining in a shop
When the roads are adorned with blossoming flowers?
Open your heart– within you lie
All the scriptures,
All the wisdom of all ages.
Within you lie all the religions,
All the prophets– your heart
Is the universal temple
Of all the gods and goddesses.
-Samyabadi (the Socialist)
A great lover of mankind Nazrul continued:
This heart is Neelachal, Kashi, Mathura,
Brindaban, Budh-Gaya, Jerusalem, Medina, Ka’aba.
This heart is the mosque, the temple, the church.
This is where Jesus and Moses found the truth.
– Samyabadi (the Socialist)
In the poem Mora Dui Sahodor Bhai (We are two Brothers of the Same Mother)
Nazrul said:
Hindu-Muslim, we are brothers
Two flowers from the same stem.
And Bharat is our motherland.
In another song he sang:
We are two flowers on the same stem– Hindu-Mussulman!
Muslim its pearl of the eye, Hindu its life!!
In the backdrop of Hindu-Muslim riots Nazrul composed his famous ‘Kandari
Hushiar’ (Be aware Captain). He urged the younger generation to rise above the
Hindu-Muslim question by understanding the high values of Humanism. In this
poem he again said:
.
‘Hindu or Muslim?’ who asks this question?
Captain, say: ‘drowning fellows are
The children of my mother’.
– Kandari Hushiar (Be Aware Captain)
He visualised a day when Hindus and Muslims shall hug each other in warmest
embrace as though they were each other’s kin. That would indeed be a much
awaited emotive moment for him. He fondly hope that this unity shall show the
way to permanent unity between Hindus and Muslims which will foster the
development of unalloyed humanism. It is with this noble goal in view that Nazrul
came out with the proclamation: ‘Let a Hindu remain Hindu, a Muslim remain
Muslim. Let them all come together under the infinite sky and pronounce the
pristine words of creation – that I am a human being, my religion is the religion of
humanity’.
Nazrul’s ideal of Hindu-Muslim unity has served as a powerful impetus for the
attainment of universal brotherhood. This is one of the main reasons why the
Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and the Department of World
Religions and Culture of Dhaka University have been celebrating the 25th May, the
Birth Day of this great poet as the Universal Interfaith Harmony Day.
Prepared and circulated by
Professor Dr. Kazi Nurul Islam
Director
Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue
Dhaka University, Bangladesh