Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna
Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna is an Urdu patriotic poem written by Bismil Azimabadi as a dedication to young freedom fighters of the Indian independence movement. 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.
Composition & publication
In 1921 Bismil wrote this poem, following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and other atrocities by the British colonialists. It was first published in journal "Sabah", published from Delhi. The ghazal has 11 couplets. 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.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.It has also been associated with the younger generation of inter-war freedom fighters such as Ashfaqullah Khan, Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad.
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.The poem has been recently being in use by various mass movements, like the anti-CAA protests in India, Pakistani Students Solidarity March, etc.