The Jatiya Kabi Nazrul Institute is Bangladesh's national institute, established in February 1985. Its headquarters are located in Kabi Bhaban in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It fulfills a number of roles; promoting the literary work of the poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, recognising excellence in literature research by conferring awards, and public engagement. In January 2025, it changed its name to Jatiya Kabi Nazrul Institute from Kabi Nazrul Institute.
Structure and governance The institute is headed by an executive director who has a trustee board to advise them. The first executive director of the institute was Mohammad Mahfuzullah and the first chairman of the trustee board was Mohammad Nasiruddin.
Functions and activities According to the Nazrul Institute Ordinance of 12 June 1984, the functions and objectives of the institute regarding the poet are: Conduct study and research on the writings Compile, preserve, edit and publish poems and songs Organise discussion meetings, lectures, seminars, conferences Run a library containing books on the poet's life, literature, music, records of his songs, tapes, films Prepare musical notations and make gramophone records, tape records, films Impart training in singing and reciting songs Confer awards to scholars for outstanding research
The institute has preserved around 1,500 authentic Nazrul Geeti songs.
Awards Since 1985, the institute has been conferring two awards each year to dedicated Nazrul artistes and researchers.
Nazrul-Smriti Padak (1985–1988) 1985 – Zulfikar Haidar and Ataur Rahman 1986 – Rafiqul Islam 1987 – Karunamaya Goswami 1988 – Mohammad Nasiruddin
Nazrul Padak (1998–2006) 1998 – Firoza Begum 1999 – Sohrab Hossain and Sudhin Das 2000 – Khalid Hossain and Abdul Mannan Syed 2002 – Julhas Uddin Ahmed 2003 – Nilufar Yasmin 2004 – Ferdausi Rahman and Mohammad Mahfuzullah 2005 – Mohammad Rafikul Islam and Asadul Hoque 2006 – Rawshan Ara Mustafiz and Abdus Sattar
Nazrul Award (2007–present) 2007 – Ismat Ara and Mohammad Abdul Quayum 2008 – Nurjahan Begum and S. M. Ahsan Murshed 2009 – Razia Sultana and Shaheen Samad 2010 – Kabir Chowdhury and Nilima Das 2011 – Bedaruddin Ahmad and Jahangir Tareque 2012 – Anupam Hayat and MA Mannan 2013 – Khilkhil Kazi and Nashid Kamal 2014 – Serajul Islam Choudhury and Shabnam Mustari 2015 – Sadya Afreen Mallick and Abu Hena Abdul Awal 2016 – Fatema Tuz Zohra, Ferdous Ara and Leena Taposh Khan 2017 – Khairul Anam Shakil and Rashidun Nabi 2018 – Selina Hossain and Joseph Komol Rodrigues 2019 – Sayeda Motahera Banu and Dalia Nausheen 2020 – Gulshan Ara Kazi and Yakub Ali Khan 2021 – Kazi Mozammel Hossain and Yasmin Mustari 2022 – Idris Ali and Salahuddin Ahmed
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