Inquilab Zindabad (Urdu: اِنقلاب زِنده باد; Hindi: इंक़िलाब ज़िंदाबाद; Bengali: ইনকিলাব জিন্দাবাদ) is a South Asian phrase,[1][2][3] which translates to "Long live the revolution". Although originally the slogan was used by leftists in British India, today it is used in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan by civil society activists during protests as well as by politicians from various ideological backgrounds.[4][5][6][7][8]

Graffiti of Inquilab Zindabad slogan from Bangladesh, drawn by the students after the July Revolution

History

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This slogan was coined by the Islamic scholar, Urdu poet, Indian freedom fighter, prominent leader of Indian National Congress and one of the founders of communist party of India, Maulana Hasrat Mohani in 1921.[9][10][11] It was popularized by Bhagat Singh (1907–1931) during the late 1920s through his speeches and writings.[12] It was also the official slogan of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association,[12][13] and the slogan of Communist Consolidation as well as a slogan of the All India Azad Muslim Conference.[14] In April 1929, this slogan was raised by Bhagat Singh and his associate Batukeshwar Dutt who had shouted this after bombing the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi.[15] Later, for the first time in an open court, this slogan was raised in June 1929 as part of their joint statement at the High Court in Delhi.[12][16] Since then, it became one of the rallying cries of the Indian independence movement. In Indian political novels chronicling the independence movement, a pro-independence sentiment is often characterized by characters shouting this slogan.[17] This slogan also has been used after the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh.

References

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  1. ^ "inqalab | A Practical Hindi-English Dictionary". DSAL |. 1970.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "inquilab | Definition of inquilab in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  3. ^ "इंकलाब जिंदाबाद का नारा किसने दिया ? - Azab Gazab | DailyHunt". DailyHunt (in Hindi). Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  4. ^ "Arvind Kejriwal Calls His Win in Delhi Election the 'Birth of a New Politics'".
  5. ^ "Pakistan में Inquilab Zindabad और Azaadi के Slogan क्यों गूंज रहे हैं? (BBC Hindi)". YouTube. 29 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Live Draw SGP, Live SGP, Live Draw Singapore Hari Ini, Result SGP Pools".
  7. ^ "Inquilab Zindabad slogan will stay relevant till people continue their struggle against diverse inequalities". 29 May 2022.
  8. ^ "At Umar Khalid's bail hearing, Delhi HC deliberates on meaning of 'inquilab': 'Revolution not necessarily bloodless'". 20 May 2022.
  9. ^ Pandya, Prashant H. (1 March 2014). Indian Philately Digest. Indian Philatelists' Forum.
  10. ^ "LITERACY NOTES: Hasrat Mohani – a unique poet & politician". Business Recorder. 18 June 2005. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  11. ^ "India remembers Maulana Hasrat Mohani who gave the revolutionary slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad'". Zee News. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  12. ^ a b c "Bhagat Singh: Select Speeches And Writings, Edited by D. N. Gupta". archive.org. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Inquilab Zindabad: A War Cry for Change". Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  14. ^ Ali, Afsar (17 July 2017). "Partition of India and Patriotism of Indian Muslims". The Milli Gazette.
  15. ^ Habib, S. Irfan (2007). "Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his Revolutionary Inheritance". Indian Historical Review. 34 (2): 79–94. doi:10.1177/037698360703400205. S2CID 143159505.
  16. ^ Singh, Bhagat. "Full Text of Statement of S. Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt in the Assembly Bomb Case". www.marxists.org. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  17. ^ Bhatnagar, O.P. (2007). Indian Political Novel in English. Delhi: Saruk and Sons. p. 42. ISBN 9788176257992.