This article is written by Avinash Scrapwala, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
‘Dil fidaa karte hain, Qurbaan jigar karte hain’
“Even if I have to face death a thousand times for the sake of my Motherland, I shall not be sorry. Oh Lord! Grant me a hundred births in ‘Bharat’. But grant me this, too, that each time I may give up my life in the service of the Mother land.’
These inspiring words come from none other than the great revolutionary and laureate Shri Ramprasad ‘Bismil’.
Today is the 87th martyrdom day of Pandit Shri Ramprasad Bismil. He was hanged to death in Gorakhpur Jail on 19th Dec 1927.
He was only 30 years old then.
He was born to Shri Muralidhar and Smt. Moolmati at Shahjahanpur (U.P) on 11th June 1897.
He learnt Hindi and Urdu and also joined English medium school in spite of his Father’s disapproval. He also learned Sanskrit and Bengali. In his School days he came in contact with the ‘Arya Samaj’. Simultaneously he was also writing poetry and was a talented poet. He translated some Bangla books to Hindi also. Some of this writings include ‘The Bolshevik Programme’, ‘A Sally of the Mind’, ‘Swadeshi Rang’, and ‘Catherine’. All of his poems have intense patriotic fervour in them.
He and his associates raised a revolutionary organisation to fight against the British Imperialism in India. To strengthen this organisation they required funds, for which they looted the government treasury which resulted in the famous Kakori Train Conspiracy. This jolted the British Empire and soon the Britishers were successful in arresting the key members of the Hindustan Republican Army except Chandra Shekhar Azad who remain un-caught till his end.
Ramprasad, Ashfaqullah, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri were awarded death sentence after trial in the court. They were kept in Gorakhpur Jail, where Ramprasad wrote his autobiography and completed it just three days before his hanging.
He was confident that the sacrifice made by him and his friends would not go in vain and there would be many more to follow in their wake ;
मरते ‘बिस्मिल’ ‘रोशन’ ‘लहरी’ ‘अशफाक’ अत्याचार से ।
होंगे पैदा सैंकड़ों इनके रुधिर की धार से ॥
His last words addressed to fellow countrymen are also very much important and relevant forever;
“देशवासियों से यही अन्तिम विनय है कि जो कुछ करें, सब मिलकर करें और सब देश की भलाई के लिए करें । इसी से सबका भला होगा ।
“My last request to all countrymen is that whatever they do, do collectively and in the interest of the Nation. This will be beneficial for all”
Years have passed by since these revolutionaries sacrificed their life for our freedom. Today we breathe in the free air of an Independent country and it has been 67 years since we achieved our freedom. Lot of changes have taken place during these decades and our stature as a country has also changed during these years. Lot of scientific and technological advances have taken place since the colonial rule. Globalisation and other international compulsions have affected our political as well as social life. Media and Social media, other than the entertainment industry are playing a huge role in capturing the minds of the young generation. It is essential that this young generation are made aware of the sacrifices made by the martyrs of pre independence days who sacrificed their present for the future of this country.
Though our Priorities as a Nation have changed, the basic problems related with development and overall social development still remain to be addressed.
At this juncture it is essential for us to revisit our goals and objectives as a nation, and take a collective and united stand to decide how to fulfil the dreams of our founding fathers and these great revolutionaries who made the highest sacrifices to see ourselves free. And more importantly we have to resolve to act in ‘National Interest’ and not for satisfying personal goals of some people.
I could glance through just few pages of the digital version of his autobiography and would like to mention a few key points which can be a source of inspiration all of us;
– Ramprasad’s family suffered a lot when he was a child, and later on the young Ram Prasad also suffered a lot as he grow and fight with the British Empire still against all odds he continue his struggle and made this highest sacrifice for the nation.
– He has mentioned in his autobiography about how he overcame his bad habits and several distractions coming in his way. Also how he took up ‘bramhacharya’ (celibacy) and practiced it.
– He had the highest regards for his Mother who according to him taught him, inspired him and made him what we know him today.
– He has mentioned his gratitude for all his ‘Gurujans’ and all who helped him and motivated him and all those who influenced his life for betterment.
– In His biography he has given the details of his life from his childhood to landing in jail. Three days before his hanging he had completed the autobiography and given to his Mother and his friend Shiv Verma in the lunch box which they had brought for him.
(I tried to get some of his books and though ordered a few, I could not get them before finalizing this post. However we have one more chance to discuss his poem which is there in the film ‘Aandolan’ 1975, and there we can discuss more details about him.).
(A digital wiki version of the printed book of his autobiography in Hindi, prepared by Shri.Dayanand Deswal, is available on internet as Ram Prasad Bismil Ki Aatma Katha ).
(Information on wiki is available here- Ram Prasad Bismil )
A documentary published by I & B Ministry – ‘A Tribute to Ram Prasad Bismil’ is also available on YT and uploaded just 06 months back.)
There is also a wiki page which gives details of his notable works (books and poems) named as Author Ram Prasad Bismil
The introductory para from this page is given below;
“An Indian poet, laureate and revolutionary, who was executed in 1927 by the then British Empire.
Ram Prasad Bismil (11 June 1897 – 19 December 1927) was an Indian revolutionary who participated in the Mainpuri (1918) and Kakori (1925) conspiracy cases against British Empire. He was also a patriotic poet who wrote with the pen names of Ram, Agyat and Bismil in Urdu and Hindi but became popular with the name ‘Bismil’. Ram Prasad Bismil was one of the founder members of the Indian revolutionary organisation Hindustan Republican Association. Bhagat Singh praised him as a great poet-writer of Urdu and Hindi. Several inspiring patriotic poems including the famous poem Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna is popularly attributed to him.” (This all time inspiring and famous poem Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna Ab Hamaare Dil Mein Hai has been discussed on this blog earlier)
About this film ‘Azadi Ki Raah Par’ – 1948, I got to know about this title from the list of films mentioned in the ‘filmography’ in books on Sahir Ludhianvi’s poems and songs. (It was the very first film of Sahir Saab as a lyricist in Hindi movies)
I noticed this song (uploaded very recently) appearing in the suggestions on YT with one of the G.M.Durrani songs.
My sincere thanks to ‘Musicaltreat4all’ for uploading this Rare Gem.
Song-Dil fida karte hain qurbaan jigar karte hain (Aazaadi Ki Raah Par)(1948) Singer-G M Durrani, Lyrics-Ramprasad Bismil, MD-G D Kapoor
Lyrics
dil fidaa karte hain
qurbaan jigar karten hain
dil fidaa karte hain
qurbaan jigar karte hain
paas jo kuchh bhi hai
mata Ki nazar karte hain
paas jo kuchh bhi hai
mata ki nazar karte hain
dil fidaa karte hain
qurbaan jigar karte hain
sookh jaaye na kahin
paudha ye aazadi ka
sookh jaaye na kahin
paudha ye aazadi ka
khoon se apne ise
Isliye tar karte hain
khoon se apne ise
Isliye tar karten hain
koi maata ki ummeedon pe
na daale paani
koi maata ki ummeedon pe
na daale paani
zindagi bhar ko hamen
bhej de kaale paani
zindagi bhar ko hamen
bhej de kaale paani
ham bhi aaram uthha sakte thhe
ghar reh reh kar
ham bhi aaram uthha sakte thhe
ghar reh reh kar
hamko bhi paala thha
maa baap ne dukh seh seh kar
hamko bhi paala thha
maa baap ne dukh seh seh kar
dar o deewaar pe
hasrat se nazar karten hain
dar o deewaar pe
hasrat se nazar karten hain
khush raho ahle watan
ham to safar karte hain
khush raho ahle watan
ham to safar karte hain
————————————————————–
Devnagari Script Lyrics (Provided by Avinash Scrapwala)
————————————————————–
दिल फ़िदा करते हैं
कुर्बान जिगर करते हैं
दिल फ़िदा करते हैं
कुर्बान जिगर करते हैं
पास जो कुछ भी हैं
माता कि नज़र करते हैं
पास जो कुछ भी हैं
माता कि नज़र करते हैं
दिल फ़िदा करते हैं
कुर्बान जिगर करते हैं
सुख जाए न कहीं
पौधा ये आज़ादी का
सुख जाए न कहीं
पौधा ये आज़ादी का
खून से अपने इसे
इसलिए तर करते हैं
खून से अपने इसे
इसलिए तर करते हैं
कोई माता कि उम्मीदों पे
न डाले पानी
कोई माता कि उम्मीदों पे
न डाले पानी
जिंदगी भर कों हमें
भेज दे काले पानी
जिंदगी भर कों हमें
भेज दे काले पानी
हम भी आराम उठा सकते थे
घर पर रह कर
हम भी आराम उठा सकते थे
घर पर रह कर
हमको भी पाला था
माँ बाप ने दुःख सह सह कर
हमको भी पाला था
माँ बाप ने दुःख सह सह कर
दर ओ दीवार पे
हसरत से नज़र करते हैं
दर ओ दीवार पे
हसरत से नज़र करते हैं
खुश रहो अहले वतन
हम तो सफर करते हैं
खुश रहो अहले वतन
हम तो सफर करते हैं
