In today’s critical times, the nation needs to celebrate the essence of the national anthem once again to reaffirm its commitment to the dream of an independent and progressive Pakistan.

Playing the national anthem on ceremonial occasions, school and college functions, and even before the start of a film in a cinema is becoming an afterthought rather than the norm. School children are made to learn and then sing the anthem but rarely is it understood for its worth in evoking feelings of selfless service to the nation as its proud caretakers. So much so that some columnists have expressed that the people of Pakistan do not understand its wordings because there are only three words of Urdu in it. Others go to the extent of suggesting that it is time to change this anthem for another.

Consequently, it was a brilliant move when the first ever symposium on the national anthem of Pakistan was held under the aegis of the Urdu Department of Aitchison College, Lahore. Mr Khalid Atta’s initiative and passion to eulogise the poetic beauty of the lyrics of the anthem translated into a session of student speeches, musical expertise both vocal and instrumental and patriotic songs before a rapt audience of students, teachers and well known poets, musical composers and literary figures.

Young students spoke passionately on the meaning, concept and spirit of the anthem which is sung in schools and colleges across the country with perhaps little understanding of its importance of inculcating pride in a free and blossoming nation which had taken root in 1947. Mr Majeed Nizami, the chief guest at this momentous function, spoke of his participation in the Pakistan Movement as a student of Islamia College, Lahore, and explained that the national flag and anthem instilled identity and pride of a country among the comity of nations. Bano Qudsia graced the occasion and gave away the prizes to the best renderings of the anthem and reminded her young audience that Pakistan was created to share its bounties with all its peoples without discrimination.

Both junior and senior boys spoke on the virtues of the anthem they sang every day at their morning assembly. Pakistan’s national anthem is unique in that the musical score was written before the lyrics in 1950 by Mr Ahmad G. Chagla whose musical expertise has created a timeless score incorporating both eastern and western genres. Western bands find it extremely easy to play this anthem on their particular instruments.

The lyrics matched to the music by Abul Asar Hafeez Jullundri were chosen from 732 compositions in a competition held by the National Anthem Committee in 1954. The wordings are in Persian, Urdu and Arabic, familiar to the nation as all three make up the national language Urdu. The three stanzas of the anthem are brief but carry a world of meaning to highlight the aspirations of young nationhood and the inspiration of its past to achieve a future of brotherhood, integrity and enduring freedom.

On archival data, students informed the audience that the anthem was broadcast on Radio Pakistan for the first time on Aug 13, 1954, and its running time is one minute and 20 seconds. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting officially adopted it on Aug 16, 1954, as the anthem for the newly created state of Pakistan.

In 1955, the national anthem was performed by 11 renowned Pakistani singers including Ahmad Rushdi, Shamim Bano, Kokab Jehan, Rasheeda Begum, Najam Ara, Naseema Shaheen, Zwar Hussain, Akhtar Abbas, Ghulam Dastgir, Anwar Zaheer and Akhtar Wassi. However, Director, Iqbal Academy, Lahore, Mr Suheyl Umar, claims that six words of the national anthem are mispronounced by present day singers and are indicative of our falling standards in education. However, the original anthem has been retrieved by him for future generations and is preserved in the archives of the academy.

The Pakistan of the ’90s gave a new life and popularity to the national anthem when rock music became all the rage with its youth. The anthem was played on the electric guitar for the first time by the rock band Junoon and included in their album, Inquilaab. The precariousness of the Pakistani state as it faced new challenges in 2011 made its citizens turn once again to its national anthem to gain strength and sustenance from it. On Aug 14, 2011, 5,857 (five thousand, eight hundred and fifty-seven) people gathered in a stadium in Karachi, Pakistan’s first capital city, to sing the national anthem together and set a new world record. The focal message for today’s Pakistan is epitomized in the second stanza of the anthem with a reminder that:

“The order of this sacred land Is 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 writer is an educational consultant based in Lahore. ismatriaz@yahoo.com