The High Court on Wednesday asked the government to explain in four weeks why Kazi Nazrul Islam should not be declared the national poet of Bangladesh formally by publishing a gazette notification.

A bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Ahmed Sohel issued the rule after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed by 10 lawyers of the Supreme Court.

The secretary of culture, the director general of the Bangla Academy and the executive director of Kabi Nazrul Institute were asked to reply to the rule within four weeks.

‘Though people had been calling Kazi Nazrul Islam as the national poet of Bangladesh, the state has yet to recognise him as the national poet of the country through publication of a gazette to this effect,’ argued Md Asad Uddin, one of the petitioners.

Asad Uddin said that members of Kazi Nazrul’s family and Kabi Nazrul Institute had long been demanding that the state recognise Kazi Nazrul by publishing a gazette to officially announce him as the national poet of Bangladesh.

The other petitioners are Muhammad Misbah Uddin, Md Zobaidur Rahman, Al Reza Md Amir, Md Rezaul Islam, KM Mamun-Or-Rashid, Md Asraful Islam, Shahinur Rahman Shahin, Md Rezaul Karim and Md Alauddin.