Jai Hind (Hindi: जय हिन्द, IPA: [dʒəj ɦɪnd]) is a salutation and slogan that originally meant "Victory to Hindustan",[1] and in contemporary colloquial usage often means "Long live India"[2] or "Salute to India". Coined by Champakaraman Pillai[3][4] and used during India's independence movement from British rule,[5][6] it emerged as a battle cry and in political speeches.[7]

Etymology edit

The word "jai" is derived from jaya (Sanskrit), which means "triumph, victory, cheers, bravo, rejoice".[8] The word jaya appears in Vedic literature such as in Atharvaveda 8.50.8 and in post-Vedic literature such as the Mahabharata.[9]

History edit

In 1907, Champakaraman Pillai coined the term "Jai Hind",[10][11] which was adopted as slogan of the Indian National Army in the 1940s at the suggestion of Abid Hasan.[12] After India's independence, it emerged as a national slogan.[7][13]

According to Sumantra Bose the phrase is devoid of any religious tones. The term became popular as a slogan and greeting of the Indian National Army organized by Bose and his colleagues, particularly between 1943 and 1945.[7] After India's independence, it emerged as a national slogan, and has been a common form of greeting the Indian people by political leaders and prime ministers such as Jawaharlal Nehru,[14] Indira Gandhi,[15] Rajiv Gandhi, P.V. Narasimha Rao, and others.[16][17] Indira Gandhi in particular often ended her political speeches with a triple shout of "Jai Hind".[15] Since the mid-1990s, it came to be used as a greeting among Indian Army personnel.[7]

In popular culture edit

A follower of Subhas Chandra Bose, Ramchandra Moreshwar Karkare, of Gwalher (Gwalior) Madhya Bharat, wrote the patriotic drama Jai Hind in March 1947, and published a book in Hindi with the same title. Later, Karkare became Congress president of Central India Province.[citation needed]

The Jai Hind postmark was the first commemorative postmark of Independent India. The first stamps of an independent India were issued on November 21, 1947, with Jai Hind inscribed on them, in 1.5 anna, 3.5 anna and 12 anna denominations. Along with Jai Hind, these bore images of the Lion Capital of Ashoka, the national flag, and an aircraft respectively.[18] "जय हिन्द" is also stated on the first, Independence series of Indian stamps.

The phrase is used on All India Radio at the end of a broadcast.[citation needed] It occurs in the patriotic song Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo sung by Lata Mangeshkar in 1963.[19] The phrase also appeared in early slogans of state-owned Air India, with a 1965 Lok Sabha debate mentioning it as part of the tagline "One Nation, One Leader, One India, Jai Hind".[20]

Mahatma Gandhi sent a piece of crocheted, cotton lace made from yarn he spun by himself, with the central motif of Jai Hind, to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, as a gift on the occasion of their wedding in 1947.[21]

Other uses edit

The phrase has also given its name to

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Chopra, Pram Nath (2003). A comprehensive history of modern India. Sterling Publishing. p. 283. ISBN 81-207-2506-9. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  2. ^ James, Lawrence (1997). The Rise and Fall of the British Empire. Macmillan. p. 548. ISBN 978-0-312-16985-5. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  3. ^ Charles Stephenson (2009). Germany's Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885-1914. Boydell Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1-84383-518-9. ...Champakaraman Pillai, a committed anti-imperialist. He is credited with coining the phrase 'Jai Hind' meaning 'Victory for India'...
  4. ^ Saroja Sundararajan (1997). Madras Presidency in pre-Gandhian era: a historical perspective, 1884-1915. Lalitha Publications. p. 535. To Champakaraman Pillai goes the credit of coining the taraka mantra "Jai Hind" in 1907...
  5. ^ Ian W. Archer (2014). Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. Cambridge University Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-107-06386-0.
  6. ^ Gyanendra Pandey (2001). Remembering Partition: Violence, Nationalism and History in India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-521-00250-9.
  7. ^ a b c d Sumantra Bose (2018). Secular States, Religious Politics. Cambridge University Press. pp. 49–50. ISBN 978-1-108-47203-6.
  8. ^ Duncan Forbes (1958). A Dictionary, Hindustani & English: Accompanied by a Reversed Dictionary, English and Hindustani. W.H. Allen and Company. p. 307.
  9. ^ Monier Monier-Williams. "jaya (जय)". Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary 1899 (Updated 2009). Harvard University Press.
  10. ^ Charles Stephenson (2009). Germany's Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885-1914. Boydell Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-1-84383-518-9. ...Champakaraman Pillai, a committed anti-imperialist. He is credited with coining the phrase 'Jai Hind' meaning 'Victory for India'...
  11. ^ Saroja Sundararajan (1997). Madras Presidency in pre-Gandhian era: a historical perspective, 1884-1915. Lalitha Publications. p. 535. To Champakaraman Pillai goes the credit of coining the taraka mantra "Jai Hind" in 1907...
  12. ^ Gurbachan Singh Mangat (1986). The Tiger Strikes: An Unwritten Chapter of Netaji's Life History. Gagan Publishers. p. 95.
  13. ^ "Who coined 'Jai Hind'?". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 24 February 2014.
  14. ^ Benjamin Zachariah (2004). Nehru. Routledge. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-1-134-57740-8.
  15. ^ a b Indira Gandhi (1984). Selected speeches and writings of Indira Gandhi, September 1972-October 30, 1984. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India. p. 273.
  16. ^ Jagdish Bhagwati; Arvind Panagariya (2013). Why Growth Matters: How Economic Growth in India Reduced Poverty and the Lessons for Other Developing Countries. Public Affairs. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-61039-272-3.
  17. ^ Economic and Political Weekly, Volume 24. Sameeksha Trust. 1989. p. 1325.
  18. ^ Gopa Sabharwal (2017). India Since 1947: The Independent Years. Penguin Random House. p. 24. ISBN 978-93-5214-089-3.
  19. ^ Chaturvedi, Mamta (2004). Filmi & non-filmi songs. Diamond Pocket Books. p. 38. ISBN 81-288-0299-2.
  20. ^ Asian Recorder. K. K. Thomas at Recorder Press. 1965. p. 6220.
  21. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ Jai Hind at IMDb