From Gully Girl to Gully Boy: Indian feminist activist Kamla Bhasin’s Azaadi chant was borrowed from Pakistan

Indian feminist activist Kamla Bhasin, who passed away in September 2021 at the age of 75, fought for equal rights throughout her life and is the person who grafted a slogan about ‘Azaadi‘ that will forever be remembered by the generations to come. The youth must have heard Gully Boy’s Azaadi and found it inspirational and motivational, but not many know that the slogan has its origin in Pakistan. The feminist icon, Kamla Bhasin, told the story behind the Azaadi song which became popular after JNU students Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid chanted it. However, it is actually borrowed from Pakistan, according to her old interview in Indian portal The Quint.  Bhasin travelled to neighbouring countries while working with the United Nations in the 1980s. She went to Pakistan in 1984, when the country was led by General Zia-ul-Haq. “[Around] 35-years-ago, I went to Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan at that time was ruled by Zia-ul-Haq. The first group that rose up against Zia-ul-Haq was not a political party or political activists, but it was a group of Pakistani feminists. Women were not allowed to do meetings so they took permission from the police and arranged a ‘women fair’ where they had stalls of bangles etc. In reality, the congregation was all about democracy and freedom,” she said.  

Did #KamlaBhasin inspire #GullyBoy‘s ‘Azaadi’ song? She tells@GarvitaKhybri, the story behind the song. pic.twitter.com/ArfaSufrqu

— Quint Neon (@QuintNeon) February 7, 2019

  “I witnessed that meeting and that’s where they chanted: ‘Women want azaadi children want azaadi, we want our azaadi’. Then I started using the phrase for all purposes when it is required; azaadi [freedom] from starvation, diseases, endless violence, endless silence, rape and plunder, nuclear blunder, patriarchy and all hierarchy.” When asked what’s her take on the usage of the slogan in Gully Boy’s song Azaadi, Bhasin said that she is not sure if they learnt it from her or not. “If they learnt it from me then I’m very happy because even I learnt it in Pakistan and borrowed it. This is a chant that is alive. It grows every day and it changes every day. It is not set in stone,” she concluded. You can listen to Gully Boy’s Azadi here: