Qaumi Taranah

The Qaumī Tarānah (Urdu: قومی ترانہ‎, pronounced [ˈqɔːmi ˈt̪əɾɑːnɑ], lit. ' "National Anthem"'), also known as Pāk Sarzamīn (پاک سرزمین, pronounced [ˈpɑːk ˈsəɾzəmiːn], lit. '"Thy Sacred Land"'), is the national anthem of Pakistan. It is written by Hafeez Jalandhari in 1952 and the music was produced by Ahmad G. Chagla in 1949, preceding the lyrics. Although in Urdu, the anthem has heavy Persian influence,[1] and only uses one exclusively Urdu word 'kā'.[2]

Qaumī tarānah

English: National Anthem
قومی ترانہ
National anthem of Pakistan
Also known as	Pāk Sarzamīn (English: "Thy Sacred Land")
Lyrics	Hafeez Jalandhari, June 1952
Music	Ahmed G. Chagla, 21 August 1949
Adopted	13 August 1954
Audio sample
"Qaumī Tarānah" (instrumental) file help

Ahmed Rushdi recorded the National Anthem of Pakistan in 1954

It was officially adopted as Pakistan's national anthem in August 1954[3] and was recorded in the same year by eleven major singers of Pakistan including Ahmad Rushdi, Kaukab Jahan, Rasheeda Begum, Najam Ara, Naseema Shaheen, Zawar Hussain, Akhtar Abbas, Ghulam Dastagir, Anwar Zaheer, and Akhtar Wasi Ali.[4]

History

In early 1948, A. R. Ghani, a Muslim from South Africa's Transvaal, offered two prizes of five thousand rupees each for the poet and composer of a new national anthem for the newly independent state of Pakistan. The prizes were announced through a government press advertisement published in June 1948. In December 1948, the Government of Pakistan established the National Anthem Committee (NAC) with the task of coming up with the composition and lyrics for the official national anthem of Pakistan. The NAC was initially chaired by the Information Secretary, Sheikh Muhammad Ikram, and its members included several politicians, poets and musicians, including Abdur Rab Nishtar, Ahmad G. Chagla and Hafeez Jullundhri. The NAC encountered early difficulties in finding suitable music and lyrics.

When President Sukarno of Indonesia became the first foreign head of state to visit Pakistan on 30 January 1950, there was no Pakistani national anthem to be played. In 1950, the impending state visit of the Shah of Iran added urgency to the matter and resulted in the government of Pakistan asking the NAC to submit a state anthem without further delay. The NAC Chairman, then Federal Minister for Education, Fazlur Rahman, asked several poets and composers to write lyrics but none of the submitted works were deemed suitable. The NAC also examined several different tunes and eventually selected the one presented by Ahmed G. Chagla and submitted it for formal approval.[5] On 21 August 1950, the Government of Pakistan adopted Chagla’s tune for the national anthem.[6]

The anthem, without lyrics, was performed for the first time for a foreign head of state on the state visit of the Shah of Iran to Pakistan in Karachi on 1 March 1950 by a Pakistan Navy band.

It was later played for Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan during his official visit to the United States on 3 May 1950. It was played before the NAC on 10 August 1950.[7] Official recognition to the national anthem, however, was not given until August 1954.[7] The NAC distributed records of the composed tune amongst prominent poets, who responded by writing and submitting several hundred songs for evaluation by the NAC. Eventually, the lyrics written by Hafeez Jullundhri were approved and the new national anthem was broadcast publicly for the first time on Radio Pakistan on 13 August 1954, sung by Hafeez Jullundhri himself. Official approval was announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 16 August 1954. The composer, Ahmed G. Chagla, died in 1953, before the new national anthem was officially adopted. In 1955, there was a performance of the national anthem involving 11 major singers of Pakistan, including Ahmad Rushdi, Kaukab Jahan, Rasheeda Begum, Najam Ara, Naseema Shaheen, Zawar Hussain, Akhtar Abbas, Ghulam Dastagir, Anwar Zaheer and Akhtar Wasi Ali.[8]

Music

The "Qaumī Tarānah" is a melodious and harmonious rendering of a three-stanza composition with a tune based on eastern music but arranged in such a manner that it can be easily played by foreign bands.

The music, composed by the Pakistani musician and composer, Ahmad G. Chagla in 1949, reflects his background in both eastern and western music. Typically twenty-one musical instruments[6] and thirty-eight different tones[6] are used to play the "Qaumi Taranah",[9] the duration of which is usually around 80 seconds.[3][6][10]

Lyrics

Urdu original

The lyrics, written by the Pakistani Urdu-language poet, Hafeez Jullundhri in 1952, have commonality with Persian, rendering them mutually intelligible in both Urdu and Persian languages. No verse in the three stanza lyrics is repeated.[3] The lyrics have heavy Persian poetic vocabulary,[1] and only uses one exclusively Urdu word 'kā'.[2]

Nastaleeq script	Roman Urdu	ALA-LC transliteration	Phonetic transcription (IPA)
پاک سرزمین شاد باد كشورِ حسين شاد باد تُو نشانِ عزمِ عالی شان ارضِ پاکستان!‏ مرکزِ یقین شاد باد پاک سرزمین کا نظام قوّتِ اُخوّتِ عوام قوم، ملک، سلطنت پائنده تابنده باد!‏ شاد باد منزلِ مراد پرچمِ ستاره و ہلال رہبرِ ترقّی و کمال ترجمانِ ماضی، شانِ حال جانِ استقبال!‏ سایۂ خدائے ذوالجلال[11][12]	Paak sarzameen shaad baad Kishvari haseen shaad baad Too nishaani azmi aalee shaan Arzi Paakistaan! Markazi yaqeen shaad baad Paak sarzameen kaa nizaam Quvvati Ukhuvvati avaam Qaum, mulk, saltanat Paayindah taabindah baad! Shaad baad manzili muraad Parcami sitaarah o hilaal Rahbari taraqqee o kamaal Tarjumaani maazee, shaani haal Jaani istiqbaal! Saayahyi Khudaayi Zoo l'jalaal	Pāk sarzamīn shād bād Kishwar-i ḥasīn shād bād Tū nishān-i ʿazm-i ʿālī shān Arẓ-i Pākistān! Markaz-i yaqīn shād bād Pāk sarzamīn kā niz̤ām Quwwat-i Ukhuwwat-i ʿawām Qaum, mulk, salt̤anat Pāyindah tābindah bād! Shād bād manzil-i murād Parcam-i sitārah o-hilāl Rahbar-i taraqqī o-kamāl Tarjumān-i māẓī, shān-i ḥāl Jān-i istiqbāl! Sāyah-yi Khudā-yi Ẕū l-jalāl	[pɑːk səɾzəmiːn ʃɑːd̪ bɑːd̪] [kɪʃʋəɾɪ həsiːn ʃɑːd̪ bɑːd̪] [t̪uː nɪʃɑːnɪ əzmɪ ɑːliː ʃɑːn] [əɾzɪ pɑːkɪst̪ɑːn ‖] [məɾkəzɪ jəqiːn ʃɑːd̪ bɑːd̪] [pɑːk səɾzəmiːn kɑː nɪzɑːm] [qʊʋːət̪ɪ ʊxʊʋːət̪ɪ əʋɑːm] [qɔːm | mʊlk | səlt̪ənət̪] [pɑːjɪnd̪ɑ t̪ɑːbɪnd̪ɑ bɑːd̪ ‖] [ʃɑːd̪ bɑːd̪ mənzɪlɪ mʊɾɑːd̪] [pəɾtʃəmɪ sɪt̪ɑːɾɑ oː hɪlɑːl] [rɑbəɾɪ t̪əɾəqːiː oː kəmɑːl] [t̪əɾdʒʊmɑːnɪ mɑːziː | ʃɑːnɪ hɑːl] [dʒɑːnɪ ɪst̪ɪqbɑːl ‖] [sɑːjɑjɪ xʊd̪ɑːjɪ zuːl dʒəlɑːl][lower-alpha 1]

English translations

Poetic translation[13]

Literal translation[14]

May the holy land, stay glad; Beauteous realm, stay glad. Thou, the sign of high resolve— O Land of Pakistan! Citadel of faith, stay glad. Order of the holy land, Power of fraternity of the populace; The nation, country, and domain; Ever luminous remain! The cherished goal, stay glad. Flag with the star and crescent, The leader of progress and ascent, Dragoman of past, the pride of present; Soul of the future! Shadow of the God of grandeur

Blessed be the sacred land, Happy be the bounteous realm. Thou symbol of high resolve, O Land of Pakistan! Blessed be the citadel of faith. The order of this sacred land, The might of the brotherhood of the people, May the nation, the country, and the state, Shine in glory everlasting! Blessed be the goal of our ambition. The flag of the crescent and star, Leads the way to progress and perfection, Interpreter of our past, glory of our present, inspiration for our future! Shade of God, the Glorious and Mighty.

Milestones

• 1947 – The new state of Pakistan came into being on 14 August.
• 1949 – Music for the Qaumī Tarānah is composed by the Pakistani musical composer, Ahmad G. Chagla (running time: 80 seconds).
• 1950 – anthem, without lyrics, was performed for the first time for a foreign head of state on the state visit of the Shah of Iran to Pakistan in Karachi on 1 March 1950 by a Pakistan Navy band.
• 1952 – Verses written by the Pakistani poet, Hafeez Jullundhri, are selected from amongst 723 entries.
• 1954 – Officially adopted as the national anthem and broadcast for the first time on Radio Pakistan on 13 August
• 1955 – Sung by 11 famous Pakistani singers including Ahmad Rushdi, Shamim Bano, Kokab Jehan, Rasheeda Begum, Najam Ara, Naseema Shaheen, Zwar Hussain, Akhtar Abbas, Ghulam Dastgir, Anwar Zaheer and Akhtar Wassi
• 1996 – Rendered in electric guitar for the first time by Pakistani rock band Junoon in their album Inqilaab
• 2009 – Rendered as an acoustic instrumental for the first time by Pakistani musician Jehangir Aziz Hayat
• 2011 – On 14 August, 5,857 people gathered in a stadium in Karachi to sing the Qaumī Tarānah and set a new world record for most people gathered to sing a national anthem simultaneously.[15]
• 2012 – On 20 October, 42,813 people gathered in a stadium in Lahore to sing the Qaumee Taraanah and set a new world record for most people gathered to sing a national anthem simultaneously, which was certified by Guinness World Records.[16] The record was subsequently broken on 26 March 2014 in Bangladesh.[17]
• 2017 – Coke Studio released a collaborative rendition of Qaumī Tarānah on 4 August by the featured artistes, to celebrate the 70 years of Pakistan in the tenth season.[18][19]
• 2019 – Gule Yaas Studio released a rendition of the Qaumī Tarānah sung and performed by Syed Imon Rizvi on 21 March 2019, to celebrate the 72 years of Pakistan.[20]

See also

• Taraanahye Paakistaan
• Dil Dil Paakistaan
• Qaumee Parcam
• Radio Pakistan
• State emblem of Pakistan

Notes

1. Transcriptions are based on sources from the articles Urdu, Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu and Hindustani phonology. Therefore, the transcriptions aren't original research.

References

1. Alex Vatanka. Iran and Pakistan: Security, Diplomacy and American Influence. I.B.Tauris. p. 14. ISBN 9780857739155.
2. "The national anthem of Pakistan". Dawn. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
3. "Information of Pakistan". Infopak.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
4. "Death Anniversary of Ahmed Rushdi". Duniya News. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
5. Michael Jamieson Bristow, National-Anthems.org. "Forty National Anthems". Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2006.
6. Aqeel Abbas Jafari (2010). Pakistan Chronicle (in Urdu) (1st ed.). 94/1, 26th St., Ph. 6, D.H.A., Karachi, Pakistan: Wirsa Publishers. p. 42. ISBN 9789699454004.CS1 maint: location (link)
7. "National Anthem". Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 29 November 2007.
8. Mazhar Iqbal, Mazhar.dk. "Ahmad Rushdi". http://mazhar.dk/film/singers/ahmadrushdi/. Retrieved 12 April 2006.
9. Mazhar Iqbal, Mazhar.dk. "National Anthem of Pakistan". Retrieved 12 April 2006.
10. Information Ministry, Government of Pakistan. "Basic Facts". Archived from the original on 13 April 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2006.
11. https://www.modablaj.com/songLine/179300/پاک-سرزمین-شاد-باد#line-1
12. https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=915097
13. Pasha, Muhammad A. English Composition (Part II). Lahore: Command Publications.
14. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/india/anthem-pakistan.asp
15. "Pakistan creates new anthem record". The Express Tribune. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
16. "Pakistan reclaims anthem singing record". The News. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
17. "Pakistan Record Broken". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
18. Rafay Mahmood (4 July 2017). "Exclusive: Coke Studio 10's line-up will leave you starstruck". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
19. Coke Studio (4 August 2017). "The National Anthem of Pakistan". Retrieved 4 August 2017 – via YouTube.
20. Gule Yaas Studio (21 March 2019). "The National Anthem of Pakistan". Retrieved 21 March 2019 – via YouTube.

External links

• Pak Sar Zameen Shad Bad Lyrics
• Pakistan: Qaumī Tarānah – Audio of the national anthem of Pakistan, with information and lyrics
• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of Pakistan. "National Anthem". Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
• National Anthem of Pakistan
• Pakistan National Songs