President Abdul Hamid yesterday (19 April) said national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam had realised that communalism is the biggest problem in the Indian subcontinent.
“The goal of his creations was to break this manmade artificial wall [of communalism]. So, he [Nazrul] always struggled against communalism,” Hamid said.
The president, also chancellor of Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University (JKKNIU), said this while addressing the first convocation of JKKNIU on its campus in Trishal.
No non-communal and humanitarian poet like Nazrul emerged in the history of Bangla literature in the last thousand years, he said.
About the sense of humanity of the rebel poet, the president said Nazrul was strongly vocal against imperialism, colonialism, feudalism, fanaticism, communalism and repression.
Hamid also stressed the need for stopping commercialisation of education in the country since it hampers its quality. “Commercialisation of education affects its quality. Most of the time, it impedes the flourishing of students’ merit. That’s why commercialisation of education must be stopped.”
Although JKKNIU is a public university, Hamid said, it should conduct research on Nazrul’s overall literary works including poetry, lyrics and dramas.
These days, he said, tourists and researchers are coming to the JKKNIU from many countries, but there will be a time when Trishal, a memorable place of Nazrul, will be popular across the world as a holy place of poetry like the birthplaces of British playwright Shakespeare and Persian poets Hafiz and Sheikh Saadi.
The president stressed the need for signing a memorandum of understanding between JKKNIU and Kabi Kazi Nazrul University of West Bengal in India to facilitate joint research by teachers and students of both the universities.
He advised all students to keep in mind that a student’s main objective is to gain proper education, not only to attain a certificate that merely recognises a student’s educational qualification.
Professor Emeritus Dr Rafiqul Islam addressed the event as convocation speaker. Chairman of University Grants Commission Prof Abdul Mannan and JKKNIU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohit Ul Alam were also present among others.
