Most Indians know that Lata Mangeshkar’s immortal patriotic song “Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon” once moved Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to tears in 1963. But few remember that long before this, in 1948, a song sung by Mohammad Rafi had the very same overwhelming effect on him — reducing the nation’s first Prime Minister to tears.
The date was January 30, 1948. The nation was plunged into unimaginable grief: Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation and the world’s greatest apostle of peace, had been assassinated. The shockwaves rippled across India and far beyond.
Within hours, the film industry came together to pay its own tribute. Lyricist Rajendra Krishan and the composer duo Husnlal–Bhagatram quickly created a moving elegy, “Suno Suno Ae Duniya Walo, Bapu Ki Yeh Amar Kahani…”
When Mohammad Rafi lent his poignant voice to the song, it became more than just a musical tribute — it was a nation’s cry of anguish. The performance was so soul-stirring that it brought tears to the eyes of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru himself.
Tragically, this powerful piece of musical history has faded from public memory. Unlike “Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon”, Rafi’s tribute to Gandhi is rarely heard today. Television channels and radio stations seldom play it on Gandhi’s death anniversary, a sad irony in a country where dozens of film songs are celebrated daily while gems of our golden musical heritage are left forgotten.
It stands as a reminder — that our past holds treasures not just of melody, but of memory, and they deserve to be preserved.
