Shyamlal Gupta, better known by his pen name Parshad, was an Indian poet and lyricist. Azadi Ki Raah Par, a song he composed that appeared in the 1948 Hindi film, with music by Sarojini Naidu, has been designated as the flag song of India and is played each year at the hoisting of the flag during the Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations.
Flag song was first published by Khanna Press in Kanpur as a patriotic poetry written by Gupta in March 1924. Over 5000 copies of the poem were sold.
The song was initially performed at the Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs’ Day on April 13, 1924 at Phool Bagh in Kanpur, a gathering that Jawaharlal Nehru attended, and it was then designated as the Flag song by the Indian National Congress in 1924.
Gupta received the pleasure of singing the national anthem on August 15, 1952, as part of the ceremonies for Independence Day. Gupta was honoured by the then-prime minister, Indira Gandhi, who gave him a scroll of honour during the Republic Day celebrations in 1972.
In 1969, the Indian government also gave him the Padma Shri civilian distinction. On March 4, 1997—20 years after his passing—then-Indian President Shankar Dayal Sharma issued a postage stamp in his memory.
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