(BSS) – Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today emphasised establishing the rule of law and changing the political culture to build a safe and humane state and society.

“To establish a safe and humane state and society, we must establish the rule of law in the country and bring changes in political culture,” he said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a three-day grand national programme titled “Tobu Amare Debo Na Bhulite” at the Nazrul Mancha in Trishal here this afternoon, marking the 127th birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.

“It is also necessary to revive the country’s long-standing religious, social, and cultural values in our national life. In this context, the life and works of Kabi Nazrul are relevant,” added Tarique Rahman, also ruling BNP chairman.

Noting that Bangladesh and Kazi Nazrul Islam are an inseparable entity, he said, “He (Kabi Nazrul) is a true representative of our national identity and a symbol of our national consciousness. He is a pioneer of our nationalism.”

“On the birth anniversary of the National Poet, we should remove the burden of injustice, oppression, hunger, poverty and division. We should embrace ‘Bangladesh First’. I am declaring the inauguration of this three-day festival with a pledge to dedicate ourselves to a prosperous, self-reliant and democratic Bangladesh,” the premier added.

Recalling the participation of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman in the poet`s funeral prayer in 1976 and the poet`s birth anniversary in 1979, he said, “Many of the this generation may not know that in 1976, after the National Poet’s funeral prayer at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka, one of those who carried his bier was Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman.”

On May 25 in 1979, the Prime Minister said, Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman participated in a rally from Farmgate to Dhaka University to mark the National Poet’s birth anniversary.

Tarique Rahman also noted that former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia established the National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam University in Trishal, saying the highest respect and honor shown to the national poet has proven that respect for others does not diminish one’s own dignity rather elevates it through humility.

“I think that the current decline in values in our society is due to the move-away from these timeless ideals,” he said.

The premier said, “Kazi Nazrul Islam is an unforgettable name in our national history. His emergence was like a beacon of light in a colonized and oppressed nation. Our hopes, struggles, literature, culture, and heritage are beautifully reflected in his works.”

Describing Nazrul as a “new dawn in Bangla literature,” he said, “Kazi Nazrul is our pure expression in every field in revolutionary or war music, Islamic Tahjeeb Tamaddun or songs of Islamic values, or Bhajan-Kirtan or Shyama Sangeet, love of nature or human values and the joy of adolescence or the madness of youth.”

Kabi Nazrul introduced the roar of revolution in poetry and raised the voice of independence in both spiritual and national life, the Prime Minister said, adding, Kabi Nazrul was a champion of women’s rights, the welfare of working people, and non-communal human values.

“This great poet remains a living symbol of the eternal youth of the cultural heritage of Bangladesh, and will remain alive in our hearts,” he said.

Referring to the previous fascist regime, Tarique Rahman said the long-standing fascist regime not only plundered the rights of the people of the country and its financial resources, but also destroyed all the institutions of the country, including the judiciary.

He said, “The greatest damage that has taken place, especially during the time of the ousted fascist regime, is that humanity, compassion, and the country’s long-standing religious and social values have been completely destroyed. The death (killing) of an innocent girl (Ramisa) at Mirpur in Dhaka has proved the complete moral degradation of human values.”

Calling for wider spread of the life and work of Kabi Nazrul in the court of world literature, the Prime Minister said his (Kabi Nazrul) sense of life, his philosophy of life, must be passed on from generation to generation.

As part of that effort, he urged the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism to explore the possibility of declaring Trishal as a “Nazrul City” through feasibility studies.

Highlighting the return of national-level celebrations in Trishal after nearly two decades, Tarique Rahman said, “Nazrul Jayanti has not been celebrated at the national level in Trishal, where the immortal memory of the national poet is intertwined, since 2006. The government feels proud to resume state-level Nazrul birth anniversary celebrations here after almost two decades.”

On the occasion, he remembered Daroga Rafiz Ullah, who had given young Nazrul shelter at his home in Kazir Shimla village in Trishal in 1914.

Paying tribute to the National Poet ahead of his 127th birth anniversary on May 25, the Prime Minister said, “I offer deep respect and love to his everlasting memory and pray for his eternal peace.”

The three-day programme is being held at the Nazrul Academy ground at Darirampur in Trishal here, where the poet`s childhood memories are intertwined, to mark the birth anniversary of the national poet. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs is organizing the event.

Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury presided over the inaugural function while State Minister for Cultural Affairs Ali Newaz Mahmood Khyom, State Minister for Jute and Textiles Md Shariful Alam, local lawmaker Mahbubur Rahman Liton, Secretary of Cultural Affairs Ministry Kaniz Moula, Mymensingh Zila Parishad Administrator Syed Emran Saleh Prince, Executive Director of the Kabi Nazrul Institute Md Latiful Islam Shibli, the poet`s granddaughter and Chairperson of the Trustee Board of the Kabi Nazrul Institute Khilkhil Kazi, Professor Tarikh Monjur of Dhaka University’s Bangla Department and Mymensingh Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md. Saifur Rahman also spoke on the occasion.