Shyamlal Gupta, popularly known by his pen name Parshad, (9 September 1896 – 10 August 1977) was an Indian poet and lyricist. A song written by him which featured in the 1948 Hindi film, ''Azadi Ki Raah Par'', (sung by Sarojini Naidu), has been accepted as the flag song of India and is sung every year during the flag hoisting ceremony at the

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

and Republic Day celebrations. He was the recipient of the fourth highest civilian award (

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

) in 1969. In 1997, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

issued a postage stamp in his honor.

Biography

Shyamlal Gupta was born on 9 September 1896 as the youngest son of Visheshwar Prasad and Kaushalya Devi, in Dosar Vaishya community in Narwal,

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

. Refusing to join the family business, he took up teaching as a career and worked at various government schools in Kanpur, while also participating in the

Indian Independence Movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. His chance of meeting Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi at one of the conventions of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

brought him the charge of the freedom campaigns of Fatehpur town. He was arrested by the authorities of the British Raj in 1921 and worked covertly upon release. He was also arrested later, in 1930 and 1944, and was incarcerated on both occasions. Gupta held the post of President of the Fatehpur District Congress Committee for 19 years. He was known to have avoided using footwear and umbrellas until Indian Independence, following a personal vow. He died on 10 August 1977, at the age of 81. As an honor, Gupta was selected to sing the flag song on 15 August 1952 during the Independence Day celebrations. During the Republic Day celebrations in 1972, Gupta was celebrated by the then Prime Minister,

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

, who awarded him with a scroll of honor. The

also awarded him the civilian honor of

in 1969. Two decades after his death, on 4 March 1997,

Shankar Dayal Sharma Shankar Dayal Sharma (; 19 August 1918 – 26 December 1999) was an Indian lawyer and politician from the state of Madhya Pradesh who served as the ninth President of India, from 1992 to 1997. Born in Bhopal, Sharma studied at Agra, Allahaba ...

, then president of India, released a postage stamp in his honor.

Flag song

The song was originally written by Gupta in March 1924 as a patriotic poem and was released by Khanna Press in Kanpur, The poem sold over 5000 copies. The

adopted the song as the official flag song in 1924 and it was first sung at the Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs' Day on 13 April 1924 at Phool Bagh in

, a function attended by

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

. In 1938, Sarojini Naidu presented the song at the Haripura Session of the Indian National Congress in the presence of freedom leaders such as

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, Motilal Nehru,

Dr Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

Govind Vallabh Pant Govind Ballabh Pant (10 September 1887 – 7 March 1961) was an Indian freedom fighter and the first chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Alongside Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabh Bhai Patel, Pant was a key figure in the movement fo ...

, Jamnalal Bajaj,

Mahadev Desai Mahadev Haribhai Desai (1 January 1892 – 15 August 1942) was an Indian independence activist, scholar and writer best remembered as Mahatma Gandhi's personal secretary. He has variously been described as "Gandhi's Boswell, a Plato to G ...

, and

Purushottam Das Tandon Purushottam Das Tandon (; 1 August 1882 – 1 July 1962) was a freedom fighter from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is widely remembered for his opposition to the partition of India, as well as efforts in achieving the ''Official Langu ...

. A decade later, the song was featured in the film, ''Azadi ki Raah Par'', released in 1948. The film was directed by Lalit Chandra Mehta, and had

Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...

and Vanamala Pawar in the lead roles. The song, composed by Shekhar Kalyan and sung by Sarojini Naidu, is reported to have instilled a sense of patriotism among Indians during the pre-independence period. It is sung every year during the flag hoisting ceremony at the

and Republic Day celebrations. The song in Hindi: विजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा, झण्डा ऊँचा रहे हमारा। सदा शक्ति बरसाने वाला, प्रेम सुधा सरसाने वाला। वीरों को हर्षाने वाला, मातृ भूमि का तन मन सारा।। झण्डा ऊँचा रहे हमारा ... स्वतंत्रता के भीषण रण में, रख कर जोश बढ़े क्षण-क्षण में। काँपे शत्रु देखकर मन में, मिट जाये भय संकट सारा।। झण्डा ऊँचा रहे हमारा ... इस झँडे के नीचे निर्भय, हो स्वराज जनता का निश्चय। बोलो भारत माता की जय, स्वतंत्रता ही ध्येय हमारा।। झण्डा ऊँचा रहे हमारा ... आओ प्यारे वीरों आओ, देश धर्म पर बलि-बलि जाओ। एक साथ सब मिल कर गाओ, प्यारा भारत देश हमारा।। झण्डा ऊँचा रहे हमारा ... शान न इसकी जाने पाये, चाहे जान भले ही जाये। विश्व विजयी कर के दिखलाएं, तब हो ये प्रण पूर्ण हमारा।। झण्डा ऊँचा रहे हमारा ...

Awards and recognition

*1969: Received the fourth highest civilian award (

) in 1969.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gupta, Shyamlal Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education 1896 births 1977 deaths Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh Hindi-language lyricists Hindi-language poets People from Kanpur 20th-century Indian musicians

Biography

Flag song

Awards and recognition

See also

References

External links