Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna (English: "the desire for sacrifice") is an Urdu patriotic poem written by Bismil Azimabadi as a dedication to young freedom fighters of the Indian independence movement.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, , retrieved via Google Books on 19 May 2013 This poem was popularized by Ram Prasad Bismil. When Ram Prasad Bismil was put on the gallows, the opening lines of this poem 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. The Song
Transliteration
English translation
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.
Popular culture The poem was used in Manoj Kumar's Shaheed (1965) on the life of Bhagat Singh.History Book Sl.No. 12 Chapter Bismil Azimabadi Page No. 82 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 the 2006 film, Rang De Basanti, being featured heavily for the track Lalkaar in the latter. The poem is also referenced in abridged form in the 2009 movie, Gulaal by Anurag Kashyap. The poem has also been recently used in Ajay Devgn's 2021 film Bhuj: The Pride of India.
See also Kakori conspiracy
References
Further reading
Sarfaroshi-ki-tamanna