Abid Hasan Safrani, IFS, born Zain-al-Abdin Hasan, was an officer of the
Indian National Army (INA) and later, after 1947, an
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
diplomat.
Born to an anti-colonialist family in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
, Abid Hasan was brought-up in India and later went to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to train as an engineer. While he was a student in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
that Abid Hasan met
Subhas Chandra Bose and decided to join the
Indische Legion
, image = Flag of the Indian Legion.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = Flag of the Indian Legion
, country =
, allegiance = Adolf ...
. Hasan would later serve as Bose's personal secretary and interpreter while Bose was
in Germany. Hasan also sailed with Bose in the German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
U-180
German submarine ''U-180'' was a Type IXD1 transport U-boat of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' which served in World War II. Her keel was laid down on 25 February 1941 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen as yard number 1020. She was lau ...
in 1943 on Bose's voyage to South East Asia. Over the course of the reformation of the INA and its campaigns in the
south east Asian theatre, Hasan rose to be a
Major in the
Azad Hind Fauj
The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...
. It was also during this that he adopted "''Safrani''", after the holy Hindu colour of
Saffron
Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in ...
, to his name as a mark of communal harmony.
After repatriation to India at the end of the war, Abid Hasan was released following the end of the
INA trials in 1946 and joined the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
briefly. After partition, Hasan chose to settle in Hyderabad and joined the nascent
Indian Foreign Service
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...
. Over a long diplomatic career, Hasan served as the Indian
Ambassador to a number of countries including
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
and
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
before retiring in 1969 and settling back in Hyderabad. Abid Hasan Saffrani died in 1984.
On suggestion of Abid Hasan, the INA adopted "
Jai Hind
Jai Hind (, , ) is a salutation and slogan that originally meant "Victory to Hindustan", and in contemporary colloquial usage often means "Long live India" or "Salute to India". Coined by Champakaraman Pillai and used during India's independen ...
" as its slogan;
The term "
Jai Hind
Jai Hind (, , ) is a salutation and slogan that originally meant "Victory to Hindustan", and in contemporary colloquial usage often means "Long live India" or "Salute to India". Coined by Champakaraman Pillai and used during India's independen ...
" had been coined by Abid Hasan himself.
In the 1940s, the INA leaders decided to devise a religion-agnostic greeting for its soldiers: Thakur Yashwant Singh suggested "Hindustan ki Jai", but Hasan felt this was too long and suggested "Jai Hind" as an alternative, which was unanimously accepted.
The term emerged as a national slogan after India's independence.
Netaji Bose's nephew Aurobindo Bose later married Safrani's niece. Her name is
Suraiya Hasan Bose
Suraiya Hasan Bose (1928 - 2021) was an Indian textile conservator, textile designer, and manufacturer, who worked to preserve traditional Indian textile art and techniques. She worked with the Indian Cottage Industries Emporium, as well as the I ...
. She was the daughter of elder brother of Abid Hasan safrini by name Badrul Hasan, who worked with Gandhiji. Mr Abid Hasan died on April 5, 1984.
Scholarly activities
Hasan was also a scholar who spent long hours with his Persian and Urdu poetry.
His
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
-
translation of ''
Jana Gana Mana
"" (Sanskrit: जन गण मन) is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as '' Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata'' in Bengali by polymath Rabindranath Tagore. The first stanza of the song ''Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata' ...
'' with the music from
Ram Singh Thakuri, became ''
Subh Sukh Chain'', the anthem of the
Provisional Government of Free India
The Provisional Government of Free India (''Ārzī Hukūmat-e-Āzād Hind'') or, more simply, ''Azad Hind'', was an Indian provisional government established in Japanese occupied Singapore during World War II. It was created in October 1943 ...
.
Abid Hasan Safrani died on 5 April 1984 in Hyderabad.
See also
*
Syed Akbaruddin
Syed Akbaruddin is a retired Indian civil servant from 1985 batch of the Indian Foreign Service and served as India's permanent representative at the United Nations at New York from January 2016 to April 2020. He had previously served as off ...
References
*. From
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan, Abid
Subhas Chandra Bose
Indian National Army personnel
Indian Muslims
1984 deaths
Ambassadors of India to Denmark
Ambassadors of India to Egypt
1911 births
Ambassadors of India to the Holy See