Nazrul Islam: From Child Laborer to Philanthropist

Nazrul was born in a daily-wage earner's house in Ramna Basantapur, a small village in the interiors of Murshidabad district in West Bengal. Eldest among nine siblings, Nazrul had to begin working as a farm hand very early in life to supplement the meager earnings of his family.

Nazrul Islam's is an inspiring tale. It mimics the flow of a Bollywood movie in which a poor boy fights against all odds to be successful in his life.

In between working in the fields, he attended classes and sailed through school. College was an hour's bus ride from the small town of Domkal; itself an hour's walk from Ramna Basantapur and things became tough. Since Nazrul was still required to help keep the home fires burning, he had to forego his honors degree and went back to work in the fields.

He soon managed to get a clerical job at Writers' Building. With a steadier source of income, he began studying again and passed the state civil service exams. He stopped@nothing and a year later, he successfully appeared for the Union Public Service Commission exams and became an IPS officer.

Today, Nazrul is the deputy commissioner of police in Calcutta. As a law enforcer, he is tough and uncompromising and was upfront in arresting a ruling party MLA in the very first month of his service for he found him breaking the laws of the country. But behind the toughness lies a humble soul. Nazrul cooks his own meals at home, not leaving the job to his orderly and chooses to walk from Domkal to the village as he once used to.

Also, he is one of the best known names in literary circles, author of 12 critically acclaimed books and winner of the state's highest literary award, the Ananda Purashkar, for his thoughtful writings on Hindu-Muslim relationships.

Nazrul is a hero in his village. In his good fortune, Nazrul has not forgotten his roots. His mission now is to ensure literacy in the backward village. Pooling the Rs 1 lakh he got as the cash component of the Ananda Purashkar and royalties from his other publications, Nazrul bought land and constructed a lime-and-brick structure to set up a primary school -- Ramna Basantapur's first ever.

To many in Ramna Basantapur, Nazrul is a hero. But Nazrul is uncomfortable with the idea of being a hero. He prefers to remain what he is -- a common man with an uncommon outlook on life.