Jai Hind (, ) is a salutation and slogan that means "Hail India", "Long live India", or literally "Victory orIndia" as originally coined by Chempakaraman Pillai. Used during India's independence movement from

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, it emerged as a

battle cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religio ...

and in political speeches. The phrase reached a new level of popularity when under

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Fascist Japan left a l ...

it was adopted as an official slogan of the

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Empire of Japan, Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian Nationalism#An ...

Etymology

The word "jai" (जय ''jaya'' in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

) means "triumph, victory, cheers, bravo, rejoice". The word ''jaya'' appears in

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

literature such as in ''

Atharvaveda The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda (, , from ''wikt:अथर्वन्, अथर्वन्'', "priest" and ''wikt:वेद, वेद'', "knowledge") or is the "knowledge storehouse of ''wikt:अथर्वन्, atharvans'', the proced ...

'' 8.50.8 and in post-Vedic literature such as the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

''. "Hind" (from

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

هند ''hind'') was the common endonym for what is today the entire Indian subcontinent prior to

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. Indians were called "Hindī" as in Iqbal's iconic Indian patriotic song '' Saare Jahaan Se Accha''.

History

In 1907, Chempakaraman Pillai coined the term "Jai Hind", which was adopted as a slogan of the

in the 1940s at the suggestion of

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

and Abid Hasan. After

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement t ...

, it emerged as a national slogan. According to

Sumantra Bose Sumantra Bose is an Indian political scientist and professor of international and comparative politics at the London School of Economics. He specialises in the study of ethnic and national conflicts and their management, with a particular focu ...

the phrase is devoid of any religious tones. The term became popular as a slogan and greeting of the Indian National Army organized by

and his colleagues, particularly between 1943 and 1945. After India's independence, it emerged as a national slogan, and has been a common form of greeting the Indian people by political leaders and

prime ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

such as

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...

, and others. Indira Gandhi in particular often ended her political speeches with a triple shout of "''Jai Hind''". Since the mid-1990s, it came to be used as a greeting among

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

personnel. In 2019,

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

requires cabin crew to end every announcement with Jai Hind. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh chanting 'Jai Hind' from the ramparts of Red Fort on the occasion of 64th Independence Day, in Delhi on August 15, 2010.jpg, Former Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

chanting "''Jai Hind''" from the ramparts of

Red Fort The Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila () is a historic Mughal Empire, Mughal fort in Delhi, India, that served as the primary residence of the Mughal emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1639, fo ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

JAI HIND.jpg, The book "''Jai Hind''" by Ramchandra Moreshwar Karkare. 1947 India Flag 3½ annas.jpg, Independent India's first postage stamp. Jai Hind Post-mark.gif, Indian commemorative ''Jai Hind'' postmark.

In popular culture

A follower of

, Ramchandra Moreshwar Karkare, of Gwalher (Gwalior) Madhya Bharat, wrote the patriotic drama ''Jai Hind'' in March 1947, and published a book in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

with the same title. Later, Karkare became Congress president of Central India Province. The

Jai Hind postmark The Jai Hind postmark was the first commemorative postmark of Independent India, and was issued on the day of independence, 15 August 1947. The post mark was withdrawn on 31 December 1947 but reintroduced at Girdikot Post Office, Jodhpur in June ...

was the first commemorative

postmark A postmark is a postal marking made on an envelope, parcel, postcard or the like, indicating the place, date and time that the item was delivered into the care of a postal service, or sometimes indicating where and when received or in transit. ...

of Independent India. The first stamps of an independent India were issued on November 21, 1947, with ''Jai Hind'' inscribed on them, in 1.5 anna, 3.5 anna and 12 anna denominations. Along with ''Jai Hind'', these bore images of the

Lion Capital of Ashoka The Lion Capital of Ashoka is the capital, or head, of a column erected by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in Sarnath, India, . Its crowning features are four life-sized lions set back to back on a drum-shaped abacus. The side of the abacus is ad ...

, the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

, and an aircraft respectively. "जय हिन्द" is also stated on the first, Independence series of Indian stamps. The phrase is used on

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

at the end of a broadcast. It occurs in the patriotic song " Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" sung by

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

in 1963. The phrase also appeared in early slogans of state-owned

, with a 1965

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

debate mentioning it as part of the tagline "One Nation, One Leader, One India, Jai Hind".

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

sent a piece of crocheted, cotton lace made from yarn he spun by himself, with the central motif of ''Jai Hind'', to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

, as a gift on the occasion of their wedding in 1947. In the Hindi-language film '' Pathaan'' (2023),

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...

uses the phrase ''Jai Hind'' at the end of his fight with the villain played by

John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...

Other uses

The phrase has also given its name to * Media ** Movies *** ''

Jaihind (1994 film) ''Jaihind'' () is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language action war film written and directed by Arjun. The film stars him and Ranjitha. It was released on 20 May 1994, and became a commercial success. A spiritual successor titled '' Jaihind 2'', also ...

''), a Tamil language movie with

Arjun Sarja Srinivasa Sarja (born 15 August 1962), better known by his stage name Action King Arjun, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has mainly acted in Tamil cinema, Tamil films in addition to Telugu ...

as hero *** '' Jai Hind (2019 film)'', a Hindi language movie, made by actor-director

Manoj Kumar Manoj Kumar (born Harikrishan Giri Goswami; 24 July 1937 – 4 April 2025) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful actors in t ...

*** '' Jai Hind (2012 film)'', Kannada language war movie *** '' Jaihind 2 (2014 film)'', a Hindi language movie (''Arjunin Jaihind 2'' in Tamil) produced and directed by Arjun Sarja *** '' Jai Hind (2019 film)'', Bhojpuri language movie ** TV *** ''

Jay Hind! ''Jay Hind!'' is an Indian Hindi-language standup comedy and late-night talk show hosted by Sumeet Raghavan, which was broadcast on the internet. It was launched on 15 August 2009, and published new episodes twice a week. The final episode wa ...

'', a comedy show *** JaiHind TV ** Newspaper *** '' Jai Hind'', a Gujarati language newspaper * Institutes and places **

Jai Hind College Jai Hind College (Autonomous) (Marathi: जय हिंद कॉलेज) is an autonomous college in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, affiliated to the University of Mumbai. It was established in 1948. In 2000, ''India Today'' named Jai Hind C ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

** Jai Hind metro station in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

References

{{Authority control Indian political slogans National symbols of India Indian National Army Indian independence movement Slogans Battle cries Hindi words and phrases

Etymology

History

In popular culture

Other uses

See also

References