Few figures in history epitomise the duality of human spirit as elegantly as Hasrat Mohani.
A confluence of romantic lyricism and revolutionary fervour, his life is an allegory of resistance wrapped in the silken folds of poetic eloquence.
Born as Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan on 1 January 1875ha the Mohan town of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani was his sobriquet.
His life wove together threads of Sufi spirituality, political defiance, and a ceaseless devotion to the art of the ghazal.
While his ghazals painted the inner landscapes of longing, Hasrat Mohani’s revolutionary exploits shook the very foundations of British imperialism.
He was a founding member of the Communist Party of India and an unyielding freedom fighter who coined the electrifying slogan "Inquilab Zindabad"—an invocation that still reverberates in India’s collective consciousness.
Arrested multiple times for his defiance, he endured imprisonment with the fortitude of a Sufi mystic, finding solace in the verses of Rumi and Ghalib.
Unlike many contemporaries, his vision of independence extended beyond mere political freedom to a dream of socio-economic equity.
His ideals often placed him at odds with the more conservative factions of the Indian freedom movement.
A life, steeped in Sufism, reflects an uncanny ability to bridge the spiritual and the worldly.
As a devout Muslim and a pluralistic thinker, he navigated the treacherous waters of India’s communal tensions with grace.
He prayed for freedom with the same fervour with which he composed his ghazals—a unity of purpose that rendered his life a living poem.
Hasrat Mohani’s "Chupke Chupke Raat Din Aansoon Bahana Yaad Hai" stands as a paragon of Urdu poetry’s capacity to convey boundless emotion within the confines of linguistic precision.
The poem whispers tales of yearning, solitude, and bittersweet reminiscences, rendering the ephemeral eternal. His mastery of the ghazal form reflects the ethos of classical Urdu poetry - a dance between the temporal and the metaphysical.
Hasrat Mohani’s work here is a balm for wounded hearts and a symphony for dreamers lost in the labyrinth of love
Hasrat Mohani’s enduring relevance lies in his ability to transcend the binaries of his age—romance and revolution, devotion and defiance, tradition and modernity.
His words continue to inspire those who dare to dream of a world where beauty and justice coexist.
In a world often divided by extremes, Mohani remains a symbol of harmonious duality.
Maulana Hasrat Mohani died on 13 May 1951 in Lucknow, India.
Hasrat Mohani Memorial Society was founded by Maulana Nusrat Mohani in 1951.
In Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, the Hasrat Mohani Memorial Library and Hall was established by the Hasrat Mohani Memorial Library and Hall Trust.
Every year, on his death anniversary, a memorial meeting is conducted by this Trust as well as many other organisations in India and Pakistan.
A hostel in Aligarh Muslim University is also named after him
Hasrat Mohani’s oeuvre is a testament to the power of the written word to inspire both love and change.
Whether through the tender cadences of "Chupke Chupke" or the clarion call of "Inquilab Zindabad", his voice remains immortal—a beacon for romantics and revolutionaries alike.
His pen proved mightier than the sword, and his legacy proves that poetry and politics, far from being disparate realms, can together orchestrate the symphony of a nation’s awakening.
