A forgotten freefom hero of Hyderabad is nowhere mentioned in the 75th Independence day celebrations in Hyderabad. The Telangana government is neglected his involvement and not mentioned anywhere. From a simple greeting to a rallying cry, the words ‘Jai Hind!’ have come to mean many things in the Indian consciousness over time. But did you know how the rousing phrase came into existence?
‘Jai Hind!’ is the brainchild of Abid Hasan Safrani, a man from Hyderabad who joined Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army (INA). How did he come up with it? Simply because Netaji was looking for a uniform way to greet the soldiers.
Born to an anti-colonialist family in Hyderabad, Abid Hasan was brought-up in India and later went to Germany to train as an engineer. While he was a student in Germany during World War II that Abid Hasan met Subhas Chandra Bose and decided to join the Indische Legion.
Hasan would later serve as Bose’s personal secretary and interpreter while Bose was in Germany. Hasan also sailed with Bose in the German U-boat U-180 in 1943 on Bose’s voyage to South East Asia. Over the course of the reformation of the INA and its campaigns in the south east Asian theatre, Hasan rose to be a Major in the Azad Hind Fauj. It was also during this that he adopted “Safrani“, after the holy Hindu colour of Saffron, to his name as a mark of communal harmony.
After repatriation to India at the end of the war, Abid Hasan was released following the end of the INA trials in 1946 and joined the Indian National Congress briefly. After partition, Hasan chose to settle in Hyderabad and joined the nascent Indian Foreign Service. Over a long diplomatic career, Hasan served as the Indian Ambassador to a number of countries including Egypt and Denmark before retiring in 1969 and settling back in Hyderabad. Abid Hasan Saffrani died in 1984.
On suggestion of Abid Hasan, the INA adopted “Jai Hind” as its slogan; The term “Jai Hind” had been coined by Abid Hasan himself. In the 1940s, the INA leaders decided to devise a religion-agnostic greeting for its soldiers: Thakur Yashwant Singh suggested “Hindustan ki Jai”, but Hasan felt this was too long and suggested “Jai Hind” as an alternative, which was unanimously accepted. The term emerged as a national slogan after India’s independence.
Netaji Bose’s nephew Aurobindo Bose later married Safrani’s niece. Her name is Suraiya Hasan Bose. She was the daughter of elder brother of Abid Hasan safrini by name Badrul Hasan, who worked with Gandhiji. Abid Hasan died on April 5, 1984. #KhabarLive #hyderabadlive #hydnews
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