Prof-Jaganath Azad

Early life

He was born on December 5, 1918 in the town of Isa Khel in western Punjab, which now lies in Pakistan. In 1937, he obtained a BA from Gordon Collegein Rawalpindi and in 1944 went on to study for an MA in Persian from the University of the Punjab in Lahore. Azad then started a journalistic career, working for the Urdu monthly Adabi Dunya, published in Lahore. By 1946, Azad was assistant editor of the Urdu daily, Jai Hind. After Partition in 1947, he was asked by Muhammad Ali Jinnah to write a new national anthem for Pakistan.^[1][2] Azad wrote the anthem in a few days and it was quickly approved by Jinnah. The anthem continued to be used for eighteen months until, after Jinnah's death, the government of Pakistan decided it needed a new anthem.

Long before Hafeez Jullundhri’s lyrics were adopted as the national anthem in 1950s, Pakistan had an anthem written by Jagannath Azad, son of Lahore-based poet Tilok Chand Mahroom. Azad was commissioned by Jinnah to write the anthem three days before the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

Azad’s lyrics — “Ae sarzameene paak/Zarray teray haen aaj sitaaron se taabnaak/ Roshan hai kehkashaan se kaheen aaj teri khaak/Ae sarzameene paak” (Oh land of Pakistan, the stars themselves illuminate each particle of yours/rainbows brighten your very dust) — were replaced six months after Jinnah’s death in September 1948. The National Anthem Committee chose Hafeez Jullundhri’s poem from among 723 submissions.

In an article for the Dawn, writer-activist Beena Sarwar wrote, “In all these deviations from Mr Jinnah’s vision, perhaps discarding Azad’s poem appears minuscule. But it is important for its symbolism. It must be restored and given a place of honour, at least as a national song our kids learn. After all, Indian kids learn Iqbal’s “Saarey jahan se accha.” Adil Najam, a well-known blogger, posted speeches by Azad on his blog. “I asked my friends why Jinnah Sahab wanted me to write the anthem. They said the Quaid wanted the anthem to be written by an Urdu-knowing Hindu.

“Through this, I believe Jinnah Sahab wanted to sow the roots of secularism in Pakistan,” read a post that quoted Azad. The debate comes at a time when Pakistanis are having a fresh look at the role played by Jinnah in the partition, thanks to a new biography of the country’s founder penned by former BJP leader Jaswant Singh.

Later life

Shortly after writing the anthem, Azad migrated to India, where he worked as assistant editor of several publications and also worked as information officer successively for the Press Information Bureau, the Ministry of Food, and the Ministry of Works and Housing.^[3] Eventually, from 1977 to 1980, Azad was appointed Professor of Urdu and head of the Urdu department at the University of Jammu.^[3] In 1988 he was appointed a Professor Emeritus for life. Azad was also president of the Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Urdu Hind for ten years. During his career, Azad published fifteen collections of poems, twelve long Nazms and several works of prose, all in Urdu as well as some works in English.^[3] His impact on the literary circles of both India and Pakistan can be measured by the five books and numerous research articles written about him and the DLitt degrees awarded to him by the universities of Kashmir and Jammu.^[3]

Jagannath Azad was universally accepted as an Authority on the works of Dr Allama Mohammad Iqbal. The Government of Pakistan awarded The President of Pakistan's Gold Medal to Prof. Azad for his services to Urdu Literature.

[Death

Jagannath Azad died of cancer at a hospital in July 2004. He was 86 and survived by wife and five children. During his illustrious career, Azad had served as Director Press Information Bureau (PIB), Headquartered in Srinagar. After retirement Azad was appointed Head of the department of Urdu at Jammu University and awarded Fellow Emerituship for Life. He was also President of Anjuman Taraqqui Urdu Hind, a national body for the promotion of Urdu under the Human Resource Development Ministry.