At the recent National Citizens Party (NCP) event, almost all leaders ended their speeches with ‘Inquilab Zindabad.’ Amidst the July uprising, this slogan appeared in colourful graffiti and social media posts supporting the revolution. Given its historical significance in the fight against British rule, let us look back at its origins and how it has regained prominence in 2025.
The slogan is a mix of Arabic and Urdu. ‘Inquilab’ means ‘revolution’ in Arabic, while ‘Zindabad’ means ‘long live’ in Urdu, translating to ‘Long Live the Revolution.’ It emerged during the revolutionary struggle against British rule. Although India’s independence and the partition of India and Pakistan are largely credited to Gandhi’s non-violent movement, this often overshadows the fierce resistance that existed before the Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim League formally demanded independence.
The slogan was coined by Hasrat Mohani, a poet, Islamic scholar, and one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India. He was among the first to demand complete independence from British rule. Influenced by the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, a call for revolution was made at the Ahmedabad Session of Congress in 1921. Later, the revolutionary Bhagat Singh popularised the slogan through his speeches and writings, and it became widely used to express frustration against the ruling elite in protests.
Today, the slogan remains in use by the Communist Party of India and other leftist political groups. The Bangladesh Students’ Union, a left-leaning student organisation, has also used it.