The mausoleum of Kazi Nazrul Islam is a mausoleum located in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It marks the grave of Kazi Nazrul Islam, the 20th-century writer, musician, and the national poet of Bangladesh. He died on 29 August 1976 and was buried here in the same year. Later, his grave was converted into a mausoleum. The mausoleum, designed by Mazharul Islam, was inaugurated in 2009. In addition to the grave of Islam, the mausoleum complex also contains the graves of personalities from the University of Dhaka and other national figures of Bangladesh.
Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam wrote a poem with the line "Mosjideri Pashe Amay Kobor Diyo Bhai, Jeno Gore Thekeo Moazziner Azan Shunte Pai" (lit.'Bury me next to the mosque, brother, so that I can hear the call to adhan from the muezzin')[1] which was published as Nazrul Geeti in 1940.[2]
Bangladesh became independent on 16 December 1971. Then on 24 May 1972, after getting permission from the Indian government, Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman brought Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and his family from Kolkata to Dhaka.[3] Then the poet started living in Bangladesh with his family. He was admitted to Dhaka's PG Hospital on 23 July 1975. After getting citizenship on 18 February 1976, his physical condition started to deteriorate. After his death on 29 August 1976, Islam was buried next to a mosque established in 1966, which was the central mosque of University of Dhaka, as per the wishes of the song.[4][5]
Construction
The foundation stone of the project to convert Kazi Nazrul Islam's tomb area into a mausoleum was laid on 25 May 1999[6] and the mausoleum was inaugurated on 27 August 2009, after ten years, by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.[7] On 16 February 2011, two persons named Jaynath Nandi and Debashish Bhattacharya from the Indian state West Bengal traveled to Bangladesh on a bicycle with soil from the grave of Kazi Nazrul Islam's wife Pramila Kazi located in Churulia. On 28 February, they placed that soil on the grave of Islam.[8] The mausoleum complex, designed by Muzharul Islam, was constructed encompassing the graves of several other notable individuals besides him located in the area.[9]
Osman Hadi being buried beside the grave of Kazi Nazrul Islam.
On 25 May 1999, the plaque on the grave of Islam bearing his written wish to be buried beside a mosque after his death was demolished. The newly installed plaque did not include that line.[10]
Within the mausoleum complex, a terracotta memorial featuring several lines from Islam's poem Bidrohi has been installed. One word of the poem engraved on this memorial was misspelled.[11]
In 2025, political activist Osman Hadi was buried at the mausoleum complex. However, the "Kazi family" described the choice of this site for Hadi's burial as unethical. They expressed concern that, in the future, Islam's grave might no longer remain there.[12]
Gallery
Grave of Kazi Nazrul Islam
Grave of Abdul Motin Chowdhury
Grave of Mohammad Mortoza
Grave of Quamrul Hassan
Grave of Zainul Abedin
Graves of the intellectuals killed in 1971
References
↑Shah Matin Tipu (27 August 2014). 'মসজিদেরই পাশে আমার কবর দিও ভাই'['Bury me next to the mosque brother']. Risingbd.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
↑প্রতিবেদক, নিজস্ব (27 August 2019). ফুলে ফুলে ভরে গেল কবির সমাধি[The tomb of the poet was filled with flowers]. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
↑Zaman, Bipul (24 May 2022). ঢাকায় নজরুল, নজরুলের ঢাকা[Nazrul in Dhaka, Nazrul's Dhaka]. Sarabangla.net (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
↑"কবি নজরুলের জন্ম শতবার্ষিকী: জাতীয় কবির অসাম্প্রদায়িক চেতনাবোধে উজ্জীবিত হয়ে মৌলবাদী শক্তির বিরুদ্ধে লড়াইয়ের অঙ্গীকার". Janakantha (in Bengali). 26 May 1999. p.1, 12.
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