Hindustan Zindabad


Hindustan Zindabad is a Hindustani phrase and battle cry most commonly used in India in speeches and communications pertaining to or referring to patriotism towards India. It translates to "Long Live India". It is a nationalistic slogan, and has been used in nationalist protests such as radical peasant movements in post-colonial India. Other variations of the slogan are Jai Hind and India Zindabad. Such slogans are common while cheering the Indian team in cricket matches.

Etymology

The word Hindustan generally refers to the Republic of India since 1947. It is conventionally believed to be derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, which in turn is derived from Sindhu, the Sanskrit name for the Indus River. Old Persian refers to the people living beyond the Indus as Hinduš. This combined with the Avestan suffix -stān results in Hindustan, as the land on the other side of the Indus.
Zindabad is a typical Urdu and Persian suffix that is placed after a person or a country name. It is used to express victory, patriotism or as a prayer.

Use in episodes of violence

The slogan Hindustan Zindabad, and its counterpart, Pakistan Zindabad, were used during the partition of India in episodes of sexual violence against women: the slogans were often tattooed on the bodies of victims of collective rapes.

In popular culture

The slogan became popularized in recent times as it was used in the film , where the protagonist, Tara Singh, is asked to shout Hindustan Murdhabad in Pakistan as a condition to receiving approval from his father-in-law for the marriage of his wife, but he defiantly proclaims Hindustan Zindabad instead and then uproots a hand pump and kills a few attacking locals belonging to a mob angered from his remarks. In real life, Deol, as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, had used the same dialogue and slogan in a speech in a rally prior to Indian independence day in 2019.