Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna

Urdu language poem

Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna
CountryIndia
LanguageUrdu
Subject(s)Dedicated to the freedom fighters of India
Genre(s)Ghazal
PublisherSabah (Urdu journal from Delhi)
Publication date1922
Lines22 (11 couplets)

Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna is an Urdu patriotic poem written by Bismil Azimabadi as a dedication to young freedom fighters of the Indian independence movement.[1] This poem was popularized by Ram Prasad Bismil. When Ram Prasad Bismil was put on the gallows, the opening lines of this ghazal were on his lips.[2]

Composition & publication

In 1921 Bismil wrote this poem,[3][4][5] following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and other atrocities by the British colonialists.[6] It was first published in journal "Sabah", published from Delhi.[7][8] The ghazal has 11 couplets.[9] Khuda Bakhsh Library has preserved the original copy and page of his diary containing this poem written by him and the corrections done by his mentor Shad Azimabadi.[10]

War-cry of independence movement

The poem was immortalised by Ram Prasad Bismil, an Indian freedom fighter, as a war cry during the British Raj period in India.[11][12][13] It has also been associated with the younger generation of inter-war freedom fighters such as Ashfaqullah Khan, Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad.[3]

The Song

[14]

Transliteration

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai

Karta nahin kyun doosra kuch baat-cheet
Dekhta hun main jise woh chup teri mehfil mein hai
Aye shaheed-e-mulk-o-millat main tere oopar nisaar
Ab teri himmat ka charcha ghair ki mehfil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Waqt aanay dey bata denge tujhe aye aasman
Hum abhi se kya batayen kya hamare dil mein hai
Khainch kar layee hai sab ko qatl hone ki ummeed
Aashiqon ka aaj jumghat koocha-e-qaatil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Hai liye hathiyaar dushman taak mein baitha udhar
Aur hum taiyyaar hain seena liye apna idhar
Khoon se khelenge holi gar vatan muskhil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se
Sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se
Aur bhadkega jo shola-sa humaare dil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Hum to ghar se nikle hi the baandhkar sar pe kafan
Jaan hatheli par liye lo barh chale hain ye qadam
Zindagi to apni mehmaan maut ki mehfil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Yuun khadaa maqtal mein qaatil kah rahaa hai baar baar
Kya tamannaa-e-shahaadat bhi kisee ke dil mein hai
Dil mein tuufaanon ki toli aur nason mein inqilaab
Hosh dushman ke udaa denge humein roko na aaj
Duur reh paaye jo humse dam kahaan manzil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Wo jism bhi kya jism hai jismein na ho khoon-e-junoon
Kya lade toofaanon se jo kashti-e-saahil mein hai

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazuay qaatil mein hai.

English translation

The desire for revolution is in our hearts
Let us see what strength there is in the arms of our executioner

O nation, why no one else says anything?
Everyone I see in this party has their lips sealed…
O martyr of country, of nation, I bow to thee
As even the enemy now speaks of thy courage
The desire for revolution is in our hearts…

We shall show thee when the time comes, O heaven
For why should we speak now of what lurks in our hearts?
The hope of blood and sacrifice, binds us all and brings us here
The streets of the enemy now overflows with the lovers of the nation
The desire for revolution is in our hearts…

Armed does the enemy sit, waiting to open fire
And ready we are, to take it head-on
Play with blood we shall, if the nation is in trouble
The desire for revolution is in our hearts…

No sword can sever the hands that have the passion within
No threat can bow heads that have risen once for all…
It will but rise, the flame that has lit in our hearts,
and the desire for revolution is in our hearts…

Set we out from our homes, our heads shrouded with cloth,
Taking our lives in our hands, do we march so…
In our assembly of death, life is now but a guest
The desire for revolution is in our hearts…

Stands the enemy in the gallows thus, asking,
Does anyone wish to bear testimony?…
With a host of storms in our heart, and with revolution in our breath,
We shall knock the enemy cold, and no one shall stop us…
Those who stay away from us, where is the courage in their destination?
The desire for revolution is in our hearts…

What is that body that does not have hot blood in it,
How can a person conquer a Typhoon while sitting in a boat near the shore.

The desire for revolution is in our hearts,
We shall now see what strength there is in the boughs of the enemy.

Recent use

The first line of the poem was recited by Dr. Manmohan Singh in his Budget Speech of 1992, on the floor of Lok Sabha.[15] The poem has been recently being in use by various mass movements,[6][16] like the anti-CAA protests in India,[17] Pakistani Students Solidarity March,[18] etc.

Popular culture

The poem was used in Manoj Kumar's Shaheed (1965) on the life of Bhagat Singh.[19] It was again used (with altered lines) as the lyrics for songs two films: in the title song of the 1999 film Sarfarosh (Zindagi Maut Na Ban Jaye), and in the 2002 Hindi film, The Legend of Bhagat Singh. The poem has also been used in the 2000 film, Dhadkan and 2006 film, Rang De Basanti. The poem is also referenced in abridged form in the 2009 movie, Gulaal by Anurag Kashyap.[6] The poem has also been recently used in Ajay Devgn's 2021 film Bhuj: The Pride of India.

See also

References

  1. ^ Das, Sisir Kumar, "A Chronology of Literary Events / 1911–1956", in Das, Sisir Kumar and various, History of Indian Literature: 1911–1956: Political Movements and Indian Writers, Page 82 Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna, 1995, published by Sahitya Akademi, ISBN 978-81-7201-798-9, retrieved via Google Books on 19 May 2013
  2. ^ "Interesting Fact - Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna". Rekhta.
  3. ^ a b Noorani, Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed (1996). The trial of Bhagat Singh: politics of justice. Konark. p. 16. ISBN 9788122004298.
  4. ^ Singh, Dipti (29 January 2016). "79th Anniversary: Khalsa college begins yearlong symposium for unsung heroes". The Indian Express. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  5. ^ The Muslim World. Motamar al-Alam al-Islami; World Muslim Congress. 2004. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Sharjeel, Shahzad (2 January 2020). "Come to a head". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Interview of Syed Masood Hasan, Grandson of Bismil Azimabadi". Hindustan Times (Patna) (in Hindi). 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  8. ^ "तो 'सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना..' एक बिहारी बिस्मिल ने लिखी है !!". PatnaBeats. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Read full ghazal 'Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna' by Bismil Azimabadi". Rekhta. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Sarfaroshi ki tamanna - Bismil Azimabadi". TAWARIKHKHWANI. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  11. ^ Sehgal, Anil, ed. (2001). "Ali Sardar Jafri". Lokodaya Granthamala. 685. Bharatiya Jnanpith. ISBN 978-8-12630-671-8. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  12. ^ Muhammad, Shan (2002). Muslims and India's freedom movement. Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi, India. ISBN 9788185220581. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  13. ^ Hasan, Mushirul (2016). Roads to Freedom: Prisoners in Colonial India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199089673. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  14. ^ Urduwallahs. "Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna | urduwallahs". urduwallahs.wordpress.com. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  15. ^ 1992 - Annual Union Budget, archived from the original on 19 December 2021, retrieved 19 October 2021
  16. ^ Shukla, Ira (24 December 2019). "Poems, Slogans & Paintings: With Its Recent Protests, India Has Shown How To Use Art For Resistance". www.scoopwhoop.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  17. ^ "'Azadi', 'Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna': What the Nationwide Student Protests in Solidarity with Jamia Milia Looked Like". News18. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  18. ^ Scroll Staff (19 December 2019). "Watch: Pakistani students sing 'Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna' at Faiz Festival ahead of solidarity march". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  19. ^ History Book Sl.No. 12 Chapter Bismil Azimabadi Page No. 82 Archived 1 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna
  • Roy, Rituparna (2011). South Asian Partition Fiction in English: From Khushwant Singh to Amitav Ghosh. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 978-90-8964-245-5.
  • Trivedi, Harish (1995). Colonial Transaction: English Literature and India. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-4605-6.
  • Sarfaroshi-ki-tamanna