Ram Prasad Bismil

Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil (1897-1927) was one of the great Indian independence fighters, who also participated in the Kakori train robbery. Bismil was his pen name. He was a member of the Arya Samaj and also of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. He was a great poet and several inspiring patriotic verses are attributed him, of which Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna is the most well known.

Pandit Ramprasad was born in the year 1897 at Shahjahanpur,Uttar Pradesh. His ancestors hailed from the state of Gwalior.His father Muralidhar was with the municipality of Shahjahanpur.He was the second of two siblings.

Ram Prasad Bismil joined the revolutionary organization Hindustan Socialist Republican Association in his youth and came in contact with other revolutionaries including, among others, Premkishan Khanna, Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrasekhar Azad, Thakur Roshan Singh, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Bhagawati Charan, Rajguru Rai Ram Narain great grand son of Raja Tikait Rai Wazir Nawab of Oudh Awadh. Along with nine revolutionary colleagues, Bismil executed a meticulous plan for the looting of the government treasury carried in a train at Kakori. This happened on August 9, 1925 and is known as the Kakori Train Robbery. The incidsent created great upheavel in British India. The retribution was severe when The revolutionaries were caught. In a long drawn case, Ram prasad, Ashfaqullah, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri were sentenced to death. Ram Prasad Bismil was hanged by the British authorities on December 18, 1927 in Gorakhpur (located in the present Indian state of Uttar Pradesh), while Rai Ram Narain was jailed for life.

Ram Prasad Bismil was known for his inspiring poems that acted as motivation for his fellow revolutionaries. Among them, Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna is the most well-known, although the authorship is often disputed by some. The poem is given below.

Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai, Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai.

Karta nahin kyun doosra kuch baat-cheet, Dekhta hun main jise woh chup teri mehfil mein hai. Aye shaheed-e-mulk-o-millat main tere oopar nisaar, Ab teri himmat ka charcha ghair ki mehfil mein hai. Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Waqt aanay pe bata denge tujhe aye aasman, Hum abhi se kya batayen kya hamare dil mein hai. Khainch kar layee hai sab ko qatl hone ki ummeed, Aashiqon ka aaj jumghat koocha-e-qaatil mein hai. Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Hai liye hathiyaar dushman taak mein baitha udhar, Aur hum taiyyaar hain seena liye apna idhar. Khoon se khelenge holi gar vatan muskhil mein hai, Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se, Sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se. Aur bhadkega jo shola-sa humaare dil mein hai, Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Hum to ghar se nikle hi the baandhkar sar pe kafan, Jaa hatheli par liye lo badh chale hain ye qadam. Zindagi to apni mehmaan maut ki mehfil mein hai, Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Yuun khadaa maqtal mein qaatil kah rahaa hai baar baar, Kya tamannaa-e-shahaadat bhi kisee ke dil mein hai. Dil mein tuufaanon ki toli aur nason mein inqilaab, Hosh dushman ke udaa denge humein roko na aaj. Duur reh paaye jo humse dam kahaan manzil mein hai,

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai. Dekhna hai zor kitna baazuay qaatil mein hai.

In one poem he prays: "Even if I have to face death a thousand times for the sake of my Motherland, I shall not be sorry. Oh Lord! Grant me a hundred births in Bharath. But grant me this, too, that each time I may give up my life in the service of the Mother land."

In a poem written just before going to the gallows, he prays: "Oh Lord! Thy will be done. You are unique. Neither my tears nor I will endure. Grant me this boon, that to my last breath and the last drop of my blood, I may think of you and be immersed in your work."

In the Bollywood movie The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil is depicted as a visionary who ignites in Bhagat Singh the fire of freedom. The character was played by Ganesh Yadav.

In Rang De Basanti, Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil was a more significant character played by Atul Kulkarni.

The autobiography of Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil written while he was at Gorakhpur jail, days before he was hanged to death, is is available on Hindi Wikipedia. Bismil was part of the

• Sukhdev Thapar
• Chandrashekar Azad
• Rajguru
• Thakur Roshan Singh
• Ashfaqullah Khan
• Bhagat Singh
• Shahjahanpur
• Arya Samaj

• http://sarvadharma.org/Museum/heroes/bismil.htm
• http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/freedom/bismil.htm
• http://www.freeindia.org/freedom_fighters/page22.htm