A Hindu wrote Pakistan’s first national anthem? Jitendra Singh revives forgotten partition-era tale

At the News18 Rising Bharat Summit held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on April 8-9, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, highlighted a lesser-known historical fact:

“And one more fact, which is not much talked about is that on the 14th of August, the midnight when Pakistan was granted independence, the very first national anthem was written by a Hindu poet called Jagan Nath Azad.”

Singh elaborated that Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founding father, formed a panel of poets to craft the nation’s inaugural anthem. Noticing Azad’s name among them, Jinnah remarked: “Look, let’s have this, we might send out a message.”

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Azad’s composition began with “Sar Zameen-e Pakistan,” dedicating it to the motherland. Dr. Singh noted: “And then, of course, later on, it got changed. Then Hafiz Jalandhri wrote, Jo Aaj Kal Hai.”

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— Dr Jitendra Singh (@DrJitendraSingh) April 9, 2025

Jagan Nath Azad, born in 1918 in Isa Khel, Punjab, was a prominent Urdu poet and scholar of Allama Iqbal’s works. In August 1947, Jinnah reportedly invited Azad to pen the national anthem, aiming to promote inclusivity in the nascent nation.

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Azad completed the anthem within five days, and it was promptly approved and broadcast on Radio Pakistan.

However, some historians question this narrative. A 2011 article in Dawn highlighted the lack of concrete evidence supporting Azad’s claim and noted that official records do not document an anthem broadcast during the independence ceremony.

Several Pakistani researchers, including Aqeel Abbas Jafri in his book Pakistan ka Qaumi Tarana: Kya Hai Haqeeqat, Kya Hai Fasana, have challenged the claim on the grounds of lack of inconsistencies in Azad’s interviews.

Singh also recounted Azad’s personal experiences during the partition: “He used to take quite a lot of sadist pleasure in narrating that when my national anthem was being composed, at that very moment, he was running away from there. Some of my Muslim neighbours came there and said, ‘Sir, your anthem is playing — it’s a matter of great honour — but we’re afraid that with the riots going on here, something might happen to you, and we might not be able to protect you.’”

Azad was a noted expert on Allama Iqbal and continued to write and travel across the subcontinent for academic engagements, even after Partition.

As Singh pointed out, it also reflected Jinnah’s initial vision of an inclusive Pakistan, even if that vision later gave way to more conservative influences in the years that followed.

In today’s climate of polarised narratives, Singh’s remarks serve as a poignant reminder of shared histories.