Qaumi Taranah

This article is about the national anthem of Pakistan. "Pak sarzamin" redirects here. For other uses, see Pak sar zamin (disambiguation).

Pākistān Kā Qaumī Tarānah
पाकिस्तान का कौमी तराना

English: National Anthem of Pakistan
قومی ترانہ
Score of the anthem
National anthem of Pakistan
Also known as	پاک سرزمین شاد باد Pāk Sarzamīn Shād Bād पाक सरज़मीं शाद बाद (English: "Blessed Be the Sacred Land")
Lyrics	Abu Al-Asar Hafeez Jalandhari, June 1952
Music	Ahmed Ghulam Ali Chagla, 21 August 1949 INC: 30 saura śrāvaṇa 1871
Adopted	16 August 1954 INC: 25 saura śrāvaṇa 1876
Succeeded by	Amar Sonar Bangla (1971, in Bangladesh)
Audio sample
File:National-Anthem- instrumental.ogg Government of Pakistan instrumental version file help

The National Anthem of Pakistan, referred to by its opening line "The Sacred Land," serves as the anthem for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which was previously known as the Dominion of Pakistan. The music was initially composed by Ahmad G. Chagla in 1949, while the lyrics, crafted in heavily Persified Urdu, were penned by Hafeez Jalandhari in 1952. The anthem was first publicly broadcast on Radio Pakistan on 13 August 1954, with Jalandhari performing it himself. It was officially adopted by the Interior Ministry of the Government of Pakistan on 16 August 1954.

Following its official adoption, the national anthem was recorded in the same year by a group of eleven prominent Pakistani singers. This ensemble included Ahmad Rushdi, Kaukab Jahan, Rasheeda Begum, Najam Ara, Naseema Shaheen, Zawar Hussain, Akhtar Abbas, Ghulam Dastagir, Anwar Zaheer, and Akhtar Wasi Ali.

History

In early 1948, A. R. Ghani, a Muslim from Transvaal in South Africa, announced two prizes of five thousand rupees each for the creation of a new national anthem for the newly created Islamic state of Pakistan. This announcement was made through a government press advertisement published in June 1948. Subsequently, in December 1948, the Government of Pakistan established the National Anthem Committee (NAC) with the objective of developing the composition and lyrics for the official national anthem. The NAC was initially chaired by Sheikh Muhammad Ikram, the Information Secretary, and included various members such as politicians, poets, and musicians, including Abdur Rab Nishtar, Ahmad G. Chagla, and Hafeez Jalandhari. The committee faced initial challenges in securing suitable music and lyrics for the anthem.

When President Sukarno of Indonesia became the first foreign head of state to visit Pakistan on 30 January 1950 (INC: 10 saura māgha 1871), there was no national anthem available to be played. The urgency for a national anthem increased with the upcoming state visit of the Shah of Iran in 1950, prompting the Government of Pakistan to request the National Anthem Committee (NAC) to expedite their work. The NAC chairman at the time, Fazlur Rahman, who was also the Federal Minister for Education, solicited lyrics from several poets and composers; however, none of the submissions were considered suitable. The committee reviewed various musical compositions and ultimately chose the tune presented by Ahmad G. Chagla, which was then submitted for formal approval. On 21 August 1950 (INC: 30 saura śrāvaṇa 1872), the Government of Pakistan officially adopted Chagla's tune as the national anthem.

Lyrics

The lyrics of the national anthem are composed in heavily Persianised and Arabicised Urdu and were written by the Pakistani Urdu-language poet Hafeez Jalandhari in 1952. Notably, no verse is repeated across the three stanzas. The lyrics feature a rich Persian poetic vocabulary, with the only words derived from Sanskrit being "kā" (کا [का], meaning 'of') and "tū" (تو [तू], meaning 'thou').

Urdu official

Original text in Nastaliq script	Roman Urdu	Devanagari (appropriated)	IPA transcription
پاک سرزمین شاد باد کشورِ حسین شاد باد تُو نشانِ عزمِ عالی شان ارضِ پاکستان!Template:Rlm مرکزِ یقین شاد باد پاک سرزمین کا نظام قُوَّتِ اُخوَّتِ عوام قوم، ملک، سلطنت پائندہ تابندہ باد!Template:Rlm شاد باد منزلِ مراد پرچمِ ستارہ و ہِلال رہبرِ ترقِّی و کمال ترجمانِ ماضی، شانِ حال جانِ استقبال!Template:Rlm سایۂ خدائے ذوالجلال	Pāk sarzamīn shād bād Kishwar-e-hasīn shād bād Tu nishān-e-azm-e-āli shān Arz-e-Pākistān! Markaz-e-yaqīn shād bād Pāk sarzamīn ka nizām Quwwat-e-ukhuwwat-e-awām Qaum, mulk, saltanat Pāyindah tābindah bād! Shād bād manzil-e-murād Parcam-e-sitārah-o-hilāl Rahbar-e-taraqqi-o-kamāl Tarjumān-e-māzi, shān-e-hāl Jān-e-istiqbāl! Sāyah-ye-khudā-ye-zūl-jalāl	पाक सरज़मीं शाद बाद किश्वर-ए-हसीं शाद बाद तू निशान-ए-अज़्म-ए-आली शाद बाद अर्ज़-ए-पाकिस्तान! मरकज़-ए-यकीन शाद बाद पाक सरज़मीं का निज़ाम क़ुव्वत-ए-उखुव्वत-ए-आवाम कौम, मुल्क, सल्तनत पायिन्दा ताबिन्दा बाद! शाद बाद मञ्ज़िल-ए-मुराद परचम-ए-सितारा-ओ-हिलाल रहबर-ए-तरक्की-ओ-कमाल तर्जुमान-ए-माज़ी शान-ए-हाल जान-ए-इस्तिकबाल! साया-ए-खुदा-ये-ज़ूल-जलाल	[paːk səɾ.zə.miːn ʃaːd baːd ǀ] [kɪʃ.ʋə.ɾ‿e‿hə.siːn ʃaːd baːd ǀ] [tuː nɪ.ʃaː.n‿e‿əz.m‿e‿aː.liː‿ʃaːn] [əɾ.z‿e‿paː.kɪs.taːn ǀ] [məɾ.kə.z‿e‿jə.qiːn ʃaːd baːd ǁ] [paːk səɾ.zə.miːn kaː nɪ.zaːm ǀ] [qʊʋ.ʋə.t‿e‿ʊ.xʊʋ.ʋə.t‿e‿ə.ʋaːm ǀ] [qɔːm ǀ mʊlk ǀ səl.tə.nət] [paː.(j)ɪn.daː taː.bɪn.daː baːd ǀ] [ʃaːd baːd mən.zɪ.l‿e‿mʊ.ɾaːd ǁ] [pəɾ.t͡ʃə.m‿e‿sɪ.taː.ɾaː‿oː‿hɪ.laːl ǀ] [rɛɦ.bə.ɾ‿e‿tə.ɾəq.qiː‿oː‿kə.maːl ǀ] [təɾ.d͡ʒʊ.maː.n‿e‿maː.ziː ʃaː.n‿e‿haːl] [d͡ʒaː.n‿e‿ɪs.təq.baːl ǀ] [saː.jaː.(j)e‿xʊ.daː.(j)e‿zʊː‿l.d͡ʒə.laːl ǁ]

English translation

Literal

Poetic

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.

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

Timeline

• 1947 – The new state of Pakistan created on the 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 Jalandhari 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 Pakistani singers including Ahmad Rushdi and Shamim Bano
• 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.
• 2012 – On 20 October, 70,000 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.
• 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.
• 2022 – The anthem was re-recorded with modern instruments and in a higher quality. It was released on Pakistan’s 75th Independence Day.

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