PM Tarique Rahman inaugurates 'Nazrul Year' nationwide

Prime Minister (PM) Tarique Rahman on Thursday (July 2) formally inaugurated "Nazrul Year 2026-27," launching a year-long nationwide programme simultaneously across all 64 districts and 74 selected upazilas.

The inauguration ceremony was held at the Secretariat, marking the official rollout of celebrations commemorating national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.

Addressing the event, the prime minister said that although Nazrul was not born on Bangladeshi soil, Bangladesh remained at the heart of the poet throughout his life, just as the people of Bangladesh had loved him deeply in return.

He recalled that Nazrul first visited Trishal in Mymensingh as a teenager in 1914, and said authorities had been directed to assess the feasibility of declaring Trishal a "Nazrul City" in recognition of that historic connection.

The prime minister said the period from May 25, 2026 to May 25, 2027 had been declared "Nazrul Year," describing Kazi Nazrul Islam as a poet of rebellion, love, equality, humanity and youth, and a singular figure in Bengali literature and culture whose work remains as relevant today in the struggle against injustice as it was in his own time.

He added that Nazrul's poetry and songs had served as a source of courage and inspiration through the Liberation War and various other movements and struggles across the country's history. The year-long observance, he said, was aimed at introducing the national poet's life, philosophy and body of work more widely to present and future generations.

The declaration of "Nazrul Year" was first announced by the prime minister on May 25 at a programme in Trishal, Mymensingh, marking the poet's 127th birth anniversary.