There are 49 words in the national anthem of Pakistan.
The national anthem embodies Pakistan’s true identity, culture, and norms. Pakistan’s national anthem consists of 49 words in total. It was composed by Ahmad G. Chagla, with lyrics written by Hafeez Jullundhri in Persianized Urdu. There is not a single word repeated in any of the stanzas of the national anthem. However, the anthem’s melody was composed in 1950 and was officially accepted in 1954.
Interesting Facts
- In 1949, musician Ahmad Ghulam Ali Chagla composed the national anthem of Pakistan.
- The national anthem includes 21 distinct musical instruments and 38 different tones. The time span is 80 seconds.
- The national anthem was penned by the famous poet Hafeez Jalandhari.
- A competition was organised to determine the finest song for Pakistan, with a prize fund of PKR 10,000 on offer.
- The present national anthem of Pakistan was chosen from a pool of over 723 songs.
- The complete Pakistani national anthem has been written in Persian.
- There is only a single word ‘ka’ of the Urdu language
- Najam Ara, Ahmad Rushdi, Kokab Jehan, Naseema Shaheen, Shamim Bano, Rasheeda Begum, Zwar Hussain, Ghulam Dastgir, Akhtar Abbas, Anwar Zaheer, Zwar Hussain, and Akhtar Wassi are among the prominent singers.
- The national anthem was first broadcast on Radio Pakistan on August 13, 1954.
- On January 19, 1955, the Pakistani national anthem and flag were featured in the United States’ first colour film.
History
Pakistan formed the National Anthem Committee (NAC) in 1948 to write the country’s official national anthem. The committee, chaired by Sheikh Muhammad Ikram, featured poets, politicians, and musicians such as Ahmad Ghulam Ali Chagla, Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, and Hafeez Jalandhari. They struggled to capture the essence of Pakistan’s difficulties and sacrifices.
During the first visit of Indonesian President Sukarno in 1950, Pakistan lacked an anthem to honour its homeland. The planned visit of Iran’s Shah created urgency, forcing the NAC to propose an anthem. On August 21, 1950, Ahmad Chagla’s song was chosen from among many entrants and adopted. The anthem, however, was played without lyrics during the Shah of Iran’s visit in March 1950.
Following that, Hafeez Jalandhari’s lyrics were chosen from 723 entries in 1952. On August 13, 1954, the Qaumi Taranah, which featured Chagla’s music and Jalandhari’s lyrics, was first broadcast on Radio Pakistan.
Many years later, in 1996, Junoon, a Pakistani sufi rock band, gave the tune new life with an electric guitar. In 2009, Pakistani singer Jehangir Aziz Hayat released a lovely instrumental rendition that captivated the world.
In the years that followed, things only became larger and better. In 2011, a new world record for “the most people performing a national anthem simultaneously” was set by 5, 857 people who gathered at National Stadium in Karachi and sang the Qaumi Taranah.