Kangal Harinath

Harinath Majumdar (22 July 1833 – 16 April 1896), better known as Kangal Harinath, was a Bengali journalist, poet and Baul singer.[2]

Kangal Harinath
কাঙ্গাল হরিনাথ
Born
Harinath Majumdar

(1833-07-22)22 July 1833[1]
Kumarkhali village, Kushtia District, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died16 April 1896(1896-04-16) (aged 62)
Other namesKangal Fikir Chand, Fikir Chand Baul

Early life and career

Harinath was born in Kumarkhali village, Kushtia District, now in Bangladesh.[3] He took up journalism to promote the cause of the poor and oppressed.[4] He started writing in the Sangbad Prabhakar and in 1863 started publishing a journal, Gram Barta Prokashika. The journal was funded by Swarnakumari Devi.[2] In 1873 Harinath set up a printing press for printing this journal.

He was a disciple of Lalon Shah. He established a Baul group named Kangal Fakir Chander Dal (Group of the Penniless Fakir Chand) in 1880. His songs had a profound influence on many thinkers of the day, including Rabindranath Tagore and Akshay Kumar Maitreya.

On his death, the Indian Mirror commented "The district of Nuddea has lost one of its great men".[5]

Notable works

Harinath wrote 18 books. Some of his works are:

  • Bijoy Basanta (1859)
  • Charu-Charitro (1863)
  • Kavita Kaomudi (1866)
  • Okkrur Sangbad (1873)
  • Chittachapala (1876)
  • Kangal-Fakir Chand Fakirer Gitabali (1293-1300 Bengali Year)

References
  1. Aman, Amanur (22 July 2010). "Kangal Harinath birth anniversary commemorated in Kushtia". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  2. Shipra Dastider (2012). "Harinath, Kangal". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  3. Amanur Aman (21 April 2015). "Death anniversary of Kangal Harinath". The Daily Star. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  4. Raha, B. (26 November 2013). "Harinath Majumdar and the Bengal Peasantry". Indian Historical Review. 40 (2): 331–353. doi:10.1177/0376983613499683.
  5. Rajib Kanti Roy. "A Selfless Reformer, Kangal Harinath Majumdar". The Daily Sun. Retrieved 28 May 2016.


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