(This piece was first published on 10 August 2017 and is being republished in light of recent calls for ‘One Nation, One Language’.)
Bol, ki lab Azaad hai tere
Bol, ki jaan ab tak teri hai
Yeh sarzameen, yeh aabshaar, yeh kohsaar
Bol, ki taqdeer ab tak teri hai
Woh jo shab andheri main aur din ke ujaalon main
Woh jo khwaab sajoye aankhon ke pyaalon main
Bol, ki in sab ki taabeer ab tak teri hai
Bol ki yeh bol ab tak tere hai
Mir o Munshi, Faiz o Ghalib
bol, ki yeh sab tere hain.
Bol ki tere lafzon main ab tak jaan hai
Jamhooriyat wa insaaniyat teri hi shaan hai
Rawadaari wa mohabbat tera imaan hai
Bol ki teri sadaa falak daraaz ho
Awaaz main Nusrat, lafzon main Faraz ho
Bol ki tere lafzon main Iqbal ki jhalak ho
Urdu ki sheereeni, Hindi ki mehak ho
bol yun ki awaaz main saaz ho
Khusrau, Kabir ka sufiyana andaaz ho
bol aise ki yeh ulfat jhuke nahi
bol aise ki yeh kaarwaan ruke nahi
Bol
Shor main
Zor main
Chaaron aur main
BOL, KI LAB AZAAD HAIN TERE!
Cameraperson: Athar Rather & Sanjoy Deb
Editor: Rahul Sanpui
Producer: Athar Rather & Tridip K Mandal
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