Bangladesh National Awami Party (NAP) has urged the interim government to officially declare Kazi Nazrul Islam as the national poet of Bangladesh and to immediately issue a gazette notification.
In a statement to the media on Monday, marking the 48th death anniversary of Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh NAP Chairman Jebel Rahman Ghaani and General Secretary M Golam Mostafa Bhuiyan made this demand.
"Although Kazi Nazrul Islam is widely recognized as the national poet of Bangladesh, it is unfortunate that no official government documents formally declare him as such,” said the statement.
It criticized the ruling authorities for failing to issue a gazette declaring Kazi Nazrul Islam as the national poet, even 53 years after independence.
NAP said there is no official government notification or document from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the Bangladesh National Archives, the Kabi Nazrul Institute, or the Bangla Academy that formally declares him as the national poet.
This is a matter of great national shame, the statement adds.
The leaders further stated that such undeclared recognition could fade over time, and future generations may not even know that Kazi Nazrul Islam is the national poet of Bangladesh.
