''Dhumketu'' ( ''dhūmkētu'', "

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

") was a bi-weekly magazine edited by

Kazi Nazrul Islam , pseudonym = bn, ধূমকেতু, Dhūmketu , image = Nazrul.jpg , image_size = , caption = Nazrul in Chittagong, 1926 , birth_date = 11 ''Joiṣṭhyô'', 1306 '' Bônggabdô ...

which was first published on 11 August 1922. The magazine was started with a four-page format, later elaborated to eight pages. The last issue of the magazine was published in March 1923. Many of the popular poems of Nazrul including ''Anandamoyeer Agamane, Dhumketu ''etc.'' ''were published in this magazine.

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, alternatively spelt as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee ( bn, শরৎচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়; 15 September 1876 or ৩১ শে ভাদ্র ১২৮৩ বঙ্গাব্দ � ...

also contributed to the magazine.

Editorial Board

Kazi Nazrul Islam edited several special issues of the magazine including the ''Muharram'' issue in August 1922, the ''Agamani'' issue on 26 September 1922, ''Puja'' Issue on 22 September 1922, the ''Diwali ''issue on 20 October 1922 and the ''Congress'' issue on 27 December 1922. While Nazrul was in jail, Biren Sen Gupta and Amaresh Kanji Lal edited the magazine.

Anti-British publication

In the ''Puja'' Issue of the ''Dhumketu'' magazine published on 22 September 1922, Nazrul wrote an

anti-British Anti-British sentiment is prejudice, persecution, discrimination, fear or hatred against the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government, British people, or the Culture of the United Kingdom, culture of the United Kingdom. Argen ...

political poem named ''Anandamoyeer Agamane'' (English:''The Advent of the Delightful Mother''). On 23 January 1923, Nazrul was arrested by the police of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

on charge of sedition for his statements in the poem. Nazrul demanded complete freedom from the British government in the poem. Following the arrest, the 27 January 1923 issue of the paper was named as the ''Nazrul'' issue. After this issue, the publication was temporarily suspended. Later, it appeared again under Biren Sen Gupta and Amaresh Kanji Lal as the editors. After the arrest, Nazrul was transferred to Hooghly Jail from Presidency Jail. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment by the government. While in jail, Nazrul and his co-prisoners started an indefinite fast as a protest against the Bengal Police administration's atrocities and oppression that lasted for 39 days.

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

sent a telegram to Nazrul and requested him to give up his fast, saying, "Give up hunger strike. Our literature claims you". Nazrul was released from jail on 15 December 1923.

Fate

The revolutionary fervor of the magazine decreased after the arrest of Nazrul, and its circulation declined as a result. Publication became irregular, and completely stopped by March 1923.

References

{{Kazi Nazrul Islam Kazi Nazrul Islam Bengali-language literature Bengali-language newspapers published in India Defunct newspapers published in India