Dr Ashok Bhan IPS (Retd)
Soldiers, Police and PMF personnel and the likes, who render selfless service and make the supreme sacrifice at the altar of duty, provide an unequaled inspiration to any nation. In Jammu and Kashmir, 6000 security force personnel, including nearly 2000 J&K Police personnel, have attained martyrdom in fight against Pakistan sponsored proxy war since 1990. The sacrifices during wars and internal security duties since independence will take the numbers to tens of thousands. These brave hearts inspire generations of citizens.
In pre-independence India, newspapers and journals acted as fountain heads of patriotism and promoted freedom struggle. Similarly, poets and writers inspired masses through their writings.
Bollywood songs have also served as a power house of patriotism. Inspirational lines written by Bankim Chander Chatterjee, Rabindranath Tagore, Allama Iqbal, Kavi Pradeep and many more have been immortalized by Bollywood. These patriotic songs have captured and stored for future generations the mood of the nation at the time of their creation. It is an enchanting journey from pre-independence days to present. Let us get onboard.
“Chal chal re naujawan” (singers Leela Chitnis and Arun Kumar; music by Saraswati Devi) from film Bandhan (1940) and “Door hato ae duniya walo, Hindustan hamara hai” (singers Ameerbai Karnataki and Khan Mastana; music Anil Biswas) from Kismet (1943) were amongst the earliest patriotic Bollywood songs with mass appeal. Kavi Pradeep wrote both. Film Kismet and the song were cleverly disguised as a protest against Axis powers to annex British India during World War II. The film and the song passed muster with the censors without a cut.
Soon after independence, film Shaheed (1948) casting Dilip Kumar playing the role of a freedom fighter, was released. The song “Wattan Ki rah main Wattan ke naujawan shaheed ho” depicted the popular sentiment. Sung by Mohd Rafi, the song was written by Raja Mehndi Ali Khan and music composed by Ghulam Haider.
Our national song “Vande Matram”, one of the most popular protest songs during independence struggle, was picturised in Anand Math (1952). Lata Mangeshkar lent her voice to the soulful number with music of Hemant Kumar. The aura around “Vande Matram” was recreated by A. R. Rehman in his award winning non-film album released in 1997 coinciding with the 50th anniversary of India’s independence. The title song of the album “Maa tujhe salaam” had a profoundly positive and unifying effect.
Kavi Pradeep wrote some of the most inspiring songs for film Jagriti (1954). The film was based on the 1949 Bengali film Paribartan, meaning the change. Let us recall some of the unforgettable songs from this movie:
“Ham layen hain toofan se kishti nikal ke”,
“Ao bacho tumhe dikhaye” and
“Sabarmati ke Sant, tune kar diya kamaal”
Through two box office hits Shree 420 (1955) and Jis Desh Main Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Raj Kapoor popularized “Mera joota hai Japani” (written by Shailendra) and “Hothon pe sachai rehti hai” (lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri). These rhythmic songs were extremely popular in and outside the country.
Similarly, heartthrobs of that generation, Dilip Kumar and Vaijyantimala acted for highly invigorating numbers “Yeh desh hai veer jawano ka” (Mohd Rafi in Naya Daur, released on 15th August 1957), “Insaaf ki dagar par, bacho dikhao chal kar” (Hemant Kumar in Ganga Jamuna, 1961) and “Apni azadi ko hum hargiz mita sakte nahi” (Rafi in Leader, 1965). Sahir Ludhianwi penned the Naya Daur song and Shakeel Badayuni wrote the other two. Dilip Kumar and Nutan starrer Karma (1986) gave another memorable song “Dil diya hai jaan bhi denge, Ae wattan tere liye”. Mohd Aziz and Kavita Krishnamurthy lent their voices to the song with music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal.
Film Hum Hindustani (1960), portrayed the expectations of the newborn nation through its song “Chorro Kal Ki batein, Kal ki baat purani”. The song written by Prem Dhawan and sung by Mukesh was set to music by Usha Khanna.
Around the same time, film Kabuliwala (1961) based on a Bengali short story written by Rabindranath Tagore was released. Though it was the story of a Pashtun dry fruit seller from Kabul, who missed his home and family, the emotive lines of “Aae mere pyare watan” have inspired generations of Indians.
The 1962 and 1965 wars regenerated patriotic fervor. “Nanha munna rahi Hoon, Desh Ka sipahi Hoon” from Mehboob Khan’s Son of India (1962) energized the young and old alike. This song sung by Shanti Mathur was written by Shakeel Badayuni and set to music by Naushad. “Kar Chale hum fida jano tan saathiyo” from film Haqeeqat (1964) rendered by Rafi, written by Kaifi Azmi and set to music by Madan Mohan topped popularity charts.
Film Shaheed (1965), with Manoj Kumar playing the role of Bhagat Singh, was a patriotic extravaganza. Songs of the film notably “Ae watan ae watan hamko teri kasam”; “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil main hai”, “Pagdi Sambhal Jatta” and “O Mera Rang de Basanti Chola” (lyrics and music by Prem Dhawan) took the nation by storm.
On Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s suggestion Manoj Kumar made film Upkar based on the slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”. Unfortunately, Shastri Ji did not live to watch the iconic award winning film that was released in 1967. “Mere Desh ki Dharti sona ugle, ugle heree moti” written by Gulshan Bawra and sung by Mahendra Kapoor with music by Kalyan Ji Anand Ji set a new benchmark in singing of patriotic songs. Purab Aur Paschim (1970) put the stamp of ‘Bharat Kumar’ on Manoj. Here again Mahendra Kapoor sung “Hai preet jahan Ki reet sada” stole the limelight among the popular songs of that time. The song was written by Indeevar and music composed by Kalyan Ji Anand Ji.
Meanwhile, film Sikandar-E-Azam, released in 1965 gave a soothing “Jahan daal daal par sone ki chidiya karti hai basera, woh Bharat desh hai mera” (sung by Mohd Rafi and lyrics by Rajinder Krishen). In film Ankhen (1968) produced by Ramanand Sagar, Mohd Rafi rendered a reassuring number “Uss mulk ki sarhad ko koi choo nahi sakta, Jis mulk ki sarhad ki nigehbaan hain aankhen”.
Dev Anand played roles of gutsy Captain Anand and hot headed Major Manohar Lal Verma in film Hum Dono (1961), a film that enhanced the glory of the olive green. The film highlighted the unequivocal commitment of the soldiers even as it portrayed the travails of their families. In film Prem Pujari (1970), another Dev starrer, S. D. Burman composed music for the energetic “Taaqat watan ki hamse hai” written by Neeraj and sung by Mohd Rafi and Manna Dey.
The journey of patriotic songs took a pause here till the release of Mani Ratnam film Roja on 15th August 1992. The film was based on the story of a girl from Tamil Nadu in search of her husband who was kidnapped by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. The joyful “Bharat hamko jaan se bhi pyara hai” (lyrics by Vairamuthu and singer Hariharan; music by A. R. Rehman) refreshed an affectionate feeling towards the motherland.
Another popular number “I Love my India” came from film Pardes (1997) with music by Nadeem Shravan. This song was written by Anand Bakshi and sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy, Hariharan, Aditya Narayan and Shankar Mahadevan. SRK gave a scintillating performance in Chak De India (2007) as a devoted Indian women’s hockey coach Kabir Khan. The title song “Chak De” became a super hit too.
An emotional “Sandeshe aate hai, hamein tadpate hain” sung by Sonu Nigam and Roop Kumar Rathod was featured in Border (1997), a film based on the battle of Longewala during the Indo-Pak war of 1971. Border had lyrics written by Javed Akhtar and music by Anu Malik. The film had another patriotic song “Meri Aan, Meri Jaan, Meri Shaan Hindustan” sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Sunali Rathod.
In film Sarfarosh (1999) a young medical student joins IPS to wipe out terrorism. In the film Sonu Nigam and Roop Krishen very competently render the song “Zindagi maut na ban jaye sambhalo yaro” (Lyrics Israr Ansari, Music Jatin-Lalit).
A number of films were produced to register the mood of a grateful nation after Pakistani misadventure in Kargil. “Seemaaye pukare sipahi, seemaye bulaye tujhe chal rahi” in LOC Kargil (2003) and “Kandhon se milte hain kandhe” in Laksh (2004) showcased life of soldiers on the border and their commitment to the nation. Ashutosh Gowarikar directed SRK starrer Swades (2004) gave another popular song “Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera” written by Javed Akhtar.
Shyam Benegal directed The forgotten Hero (2004) was a biopic on Neta Ji Subhash Chander Bose. A song composed by Ram Singh Thakur in 1942 and banned by the Britishers, “Kadam kadam badaye jaa, khushi ke geet gayee jaa” was used in the film to the tunes of A. R. Rehman.
Another brilliant song “Bar bar haan, bolo yaar haan, apni jeet ho, unki haar haan” from film Lagan (2012) promoted national unity. Javed Akhtar wrote the lines for this song sung by A. R. Rehman and Srinivas (Music A. R. Rehman). Arijit Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan sang “Ae watan, mere watan, aabad rahe tu” in praise of the motherland in film Raazi (2018). This song written by Gulzar and Allama Iqbal had music by Shanker-Ehsan-Loy.
This narration will be incomplete without recalling “Jammu Kashmir Police ke, hum janbaz sipahi nirale”, the theme song of J&K Police. This song was composed on the eve of award of Presidential Colours to J&K Police by President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on 26th June 2003. The song was written by Javed Akhtar and Shiv Darshan Singh and sung by Udit Narayan. This song is a befitting tribute to the sacrifices made by brave hearts of J&K Police who are engaged in fighting the proxy war launched by Pakistan. It truly inspires every member of the force.
The flavour and influence of Bollywood songs over the mood of the nation have sufficiently been captured. But this journey has not ended. The piece de resistance is yet to come. It is three non-film popular patriotic songs.
“Saare Jahan Se achha Hindustan Hamara”, a poem written by Allama Mohd Iqbal, first published in 1904, was the anthem of opposition to the British Raj. The most popular musical composition of the song is that of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. The song is popularly used as a marching tune for bands.
On 15th August 1988, Lok Sewa Sanchar Parishad of the Ministry of Information released “Mile sur mera tumhara”, an exhilarating song and video promoting national integrity and unity in diversity. It became a hit overnight and has remained on the lips of every Indian. The song written by Piyush Pandey has music composed by Louis Banks, Ashok Patki and Bhimsen Joshi.
And finally the song that brings goose bumps to every Indian. The day was 27th of January 1963 and the stage National stadium in New Delhi. The nation was reeling under the losses suffered during the Indo-China war of 1962. A charity show for National Defence Fund had been organized to commemorate the sacrifices of Indian soldiers who were killed in action during the war. Lata Mangeshkar sang the iconic “Ae mere watan ke Logo” in the presence of President Dr S Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. The song has since become a symbol of our national unity and a tribute to the brave hearts from a grateful nation. The song was written by Kavi Pradeep and music composed by C. Ramchand.
Thus we see that film songs are matchless motivators. They lift the spirit of the nation, as happened on that eventful day at the National Stadium in the capital. We need more such songs. Let us celebrate the unity and integrity of India recalling the sacrifices of our brave hearts and saluting their valour.
“Koi Sikh koi Jat Maratha,
Koi Gurkha Koi Madrasi,
Sarhad par marne wala,
Har veer tha Bharatwasi”
Jai Hind
Follow our WhatsApp channel
