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Ram Prasad Bismil
राम प्रसाद बिस्मिल
The poet-revolutionary of the Kakori conspiracy
Years
1897 – 1927
Known as
Author of 'Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna'
Birthplace
Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh
Field
Freedom Fighters
“Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai, dekhna hai zor kitna bazu-e-qatil mein hai.”
— Ram Prasad Bismil, 'Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna'
The Story
Born in Shahjahanpur in 1897, Bismil was a poet from his youth who joined the struggle early — he was arrested at nineteen for his fiery pamphlet 'Deshvasiyon ke Naam Sandesh' and imprisoned in Lucknow. It was in prison that he wrote 'Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna', a song of such fire that it became the anthem of the entire revolutionary movement.
In 1924 he co-founded the Hindustan Republican Association with Sachindranath Sanyal, and in 1925 he led the Kakori conspiracy: on 9 August, his band stopped the 8-Down Lucknow mail train and looted the government treasury — a bold raid that shook the British but resulted in a massive manhunt and trial.
Arrested, tried in the great Kakori trial, and sentenced to death, Bismil went to the gallows on 19 December 1927 singing 'Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna'. He was just twenty-nine, and he left behind not only a martyr's story but a song that generations of freedom fighters carried into their own battles.
Core Ideas
Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna
His song became the anthem of the revolution.
The Kakori Conspiracy
He led the daring train robbery of 1925.
The HRA
He co-founded the revolutionary association.
The Poet
He wrote his last poems on the gallows' eve.
Martyr at 29
Hanged in 1927, singing his own song.
Why it matters today
Bismil's 'Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna' is sung at every Independence Day and every revolutionary gathering in Bhārat — its words as fresh as the day they were written. He is the poet whose verse and whose death both demanded sacrifice.