The government has issued a gazette notification officially recognizing Kazi Nazrul Islam as Bangladesh's national poet.  

The cultural ministry made the announcement, formalising a recognition that was considered long overdue.

The decision came on December 24, after an advisory council meeting on December 5 approved a proposal to retroactively put into effect the national poet status from May 4, 1972.

Kazi Nazrul Islam, widely revered as the "Rebel Poet", was brought to Dhaka from Kolkata with his family on May 24, 1972. The government allocated him a house at 330-B, Road 28 (Old), Dhanmondi, to honour his contributions.

He was granted Bangladeshi citizenship on February 18, 1976 and was also awarded the prestigious Ekushey Padak that same year.

The Kazi Nazrul Islam Institute Act of 2018 officially addressed him as the national poet. However, no official gazette was issued until recently.

Nazrul has been recognised as a central cultural figure since December 10, 1929, when he was honoured as the national poet and national helmsman at the Albert Hall in Kolkata.

The event was attended by luminaries such as Subhas Chandra Bose, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, S Wazed Ali, and Dinesh Chandra Das, representing the collective admiration of the Bengali community towards him.

Since Bangladesh's independence, successive presidents, prime ministers, and chief advisers have referred to Nazrul as the national poet in official statements during celebrations of his birth and death anniversaries. Despite widespread acceptance of his status, a formal declaration had long been absent.

In June 2022, Supreme Court lawyer Asad Uddin and nine others filed a petition seeking the publication of a gazette that officially recognises Nazrul as the national poet.

In response, the High Court issued a rule asking why the Nazrul should not be recognised as the national poet, and directed the cultural affairs secretary, director-general of Bangla Academy, and executive director of Nazrul Institute to respond within four weeks.

This gazette notification marks a historic moment, solidifying Kazi Nazrul Islam's role as a beacon of cultural identity and resistance for the nation.