A question is constantly floating around on social media: Why should the song of the Hindu poet Rabindranath Tagore be the national anthem of our country when we have the Muslim poet Kazi Nazrul Islam? What a terrible stupidity and hateful, harmful, communal mindset! Many people ask, why should the song written by a ‘non-believer’ be the national anthem of a predominantly Muslim country? Do they know how Nazrul attacked the fundamentalism of Islam? Do they know that our national poet, the rebel Kazi Nazrul Islam, married a non-Muslim? Do they know that to bridge the Hindu-Muslim divide, he named his own son Krishna Muhammad? Do they know that Nazrul Islam was a worshipper of communism? Let us stop looking at the secular poet Nazrul through a communal lens.
Our beloved poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam, brought messages of rebellion, love, equality, humanity, and liberation for the oppressed and deprived. He wrote, “Sing the song of equality, where all barriers and divisions have melted away, where Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians mingle.” Kazi Nazrul Islam, who declared, “There is nothing greater than man, nothing more majestic,” carried the sentiment, “There is no temple or Kaaba greater than this heart,” throughout his life. But what are the fundamentalist Muslims of today’s world doing? Have they learned anything from Nazrul?
There’s nothing greater than Allah/the Prophet, yet there’s no humanity there.” Or, “There’s nothing greater than mosques and temples, but humanity (especially women!!) is neglected.” Who will save these foolish, mute, deaf people? From reading Nazrul, I’ve learned that religious texts of the world should be studied like any other subject, such as science, sociology, history, geography, and mathematics. Perhaps then, sectarianism could be eradicated. If we don’t break free from the smokescreen of fundamentalist, violent, hate-spreading Islam, we’ll never understand the religious colonization of our history and present. And don’t corrupt Islam. Our forefathers didn’t teach us this fundamentalist, violent, hate-spreading Islam. Practice the spirituality of Islam through the hands of local literature and culture, as Tagore, Jasimuddin, and other poets, writers, bauls, and sages have done.
Our Lalon, Rabindranath, Nazrul, Abdul Hakim were above caste, religion, color, and society. Please don’t insult them anymore, and don’t belittle yourselves. The whole world is laughing at your darkness. And to save Islam, you must change your fundamentalist mindset.
N.B.: The term ‘bidharmi’ is disrespectful and problematic. It’s important to use this word carefully, as a person may be non-Muslim, but non-Muslims adhere to their own respective religions.
