Subh-e-Azadi (lit.'Dawn of Independence' or 'Morning of freedom'), also spelled Subh-e-Aazadi or written as Subh e Azadi, is an

Urdu language Urdu (;"Urdu"
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Faiz Ahmed Faiz written in 1947. The poem is often noted for its prose style, marxist perspectives, disappointment, anguish, and critic atmosphere. It centers partition of India after the

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

was ended in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, leading to rise different concerns and feelings associated with

multi-ethnic Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...

origin. The poem primarily revolves around the poet's

sentiment Sentiment may refer to: *Feelings, and emotions *Public opinion, also called sentiment *Sentimentality, an appeal to shallow, uncomplicated emotions at the expense of reason *Sentimental novel, an 18th-century literary genre *Market sentiment, opt ...

s and

emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is currently no scientific ...

s about those people who migrated from one

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

to another, leaving their native places. Subh-e-Azadi was written as an expression of solidarity with the people who was living either in India or Pakistan before the region split into two independent nations. The poem illustrates split of Indian subcontinent in an imaginary style, covering aftermath and its related events as personally felt or realized by the poet. The poem also illustrates displeasure of the poet which he claimed or saw across India–Pakistan borders. Faiz expresses his

emotional pain Psychological pain, mental pain, or emotional pain is an unpleasant feeling (a suffering) of a psychological, non-physical origin. A pioneer in the field of suicidology, Edwin S. Shneidman, described it as "how much you hurt as a human being. I ...

sadness Sadness is an emotional pain associated with, or characterized by, feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, grief, helplessness, disappointment and sorrow. An individual experiencing sadness may become quiet or lethargic, and withdraw them ...

or distress about the cost paid for sovereignty and suggests a degree of resignation.

History

Subh-e-Azadi was written on the first day of Pakistan, highlighting the issues encountered or experienced by the new sovereign state. In this poem, the author expresses his disappointments experienced during or after the partition. It is also claimed he wrote the poem in solidarity with people killed or displaced during 1947

intrastate war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

that saw

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

as well as

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

violences from the both sides such as India and Pakistan.

Analysis

Subh-e-Azadi is often recognized as a

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc. ...

poem. It reads naturally, conversationally or possibly emotionally and begins as a kind of

cross-border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...

depiction of partition. It consists of four to seven modern prose style stanzas of lines each. At some occurrences, the first line loosely rhymes with the third and fourth, and since it is an Urdu language poem, the second line doesn't rhymes with the next one. The rhythmic variation of the poem and its Urdu language naturalness affects the reader's sense of expectation. The poem is recognized one of the prominent writings of Faiz which was "praised" as well as "criticised" by the both nations.

Reactions

Subh-e-Azadi's lyricism associated with

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

political movement expresses the poet's sorrow about events occurred during or after partition. It was criticised by the notable authors, raising their concerns about its views and ideological style in which poet has opposed the sovereignty of the two nations ( freedom/partition). Some writers criticised Faiz's sorrow over freedom and expressed their views citing "freedom had finally arrived". One of progressive poets

Ali Sardar Jafri Ali Sardar Jafri (29 November 1913 – 1 August 2000) was an Indian writer of Urdu language. He was also a poet, critic and film lyricist. Biography Early life and education Ali Sardar Jafri was born in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, where he sp ...

described the poem "half truth" citing "a poem like Subh-e-Azadi could be written by both an Islamist or a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

organization". A Pakistani scholar Fateh Mohammad Malik defended the poem citing "critics never managed to see in it his deep" and

contribution made via poem.

External links

Original text of Subh-e-Azadi poem
at

UrduPoint UrduPoint is an Urdu-language web portal of Pakistan. Launched on August 14, 2000, it is the 6th most visited website in Pakistan and its global rank is 1045 (). UrduPoint is also partner of digital media company Ziff Davis, a division of J2 Gl ...

References

Notes

{{notelist Poetry by Faiz Ahmad Faiz Urdu-language poems Faiz Ahmad Faiz 1947 poems Pakistani poems Historical poems Poems published posthumously