The song was originally written by Gupta in March 1924 as a patriotic poem and was released by Khanna Press in Kanpur, The poem sold over 5000 copies. The Indian National Congress adopted the song as the official flag song in 1924 and it was first sung at the Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs' Day on 13 April 1924 at Phool Bagh in Kanpur, a function attended by Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1938, Sarojini Naidu presented the song at the Haripura Session of the Indian National Congress in the presence of freedom leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Govind Vallabh Pant, Jamnalal Bajaj, Mahadev Desai, and Purushottam Das Tandon. A decade later, the song was featured in the film, "Azadi ki Raah Par", released in 1948. The film was directed by Lalit Chandra Mehta, and had Prithviraj Kapoor and Vanamala Pawar in the lead roles. The song, composed by Shekhar Kalyan and sung by Sarojini Naidu, is reported to have instilled a sense of patriotism among Indians during the pre-independence period. It is sung every year during the flag hoisting ceremony at the Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations.