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			{{short description\|Patriotic Urdu poem}}
	{{TOC right}}
			{{about\|the Urdu poem\|other use(s)}}
	The poem '''''Saare Jahan Se Achcha''''' (]: سارے جہاں سے اچھا) was composed by the ] ] poet ] in ]/] while India was under ]. Also known as '''''Tarana-e-Hindi''''' (Urdu: ترانۂ ہندی)"Anthem of India"), it was composed in the Urdu language book ], in the ] style, a form of ]. Iqbal was a lecturer at the ], ] at that time. He was invited by his favourite student ] to preside over a function. Instead of making a speech, Iqbal sang ''Saare Jahan Se Achcha'' with gusto. The poem is in praise of ] (India) and preaches harmony between people of separate religious beliefs. Ironically, Iqbal is also credited with being one of the earliest proponents for a separate ] in the Muslim majority areas of the ], an idea which led to the creation of the state of ].<ref>http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060528/spectrum/book7.htm
			{{EngvarB\|date= August 2014}}
	A look at Iqbal; The Sunday Tribune - May 28, 2006</ref>. One of the first formal articulations of this demand was made in his presidential address to the annual conference of the ] in ] in ].
			{{Use dmy dates\|date=August 2015}}
			{{Infobox poem
			\| name = ''Sare Jahan se Accha''
			\| author = ]
			\| language = ]
			\| original_title = ''Taranah-e-Hindi''
			\| original_title_lang = ur
			\| country = ]
			\| form = ]
			\| first = ''Ittehad''
			\| publication_date = 16 August 1904
			\| image =
			\| caption =
			}}

			], then president of the ] in 1930 and address deliverer]]
	Set to tune by the sitar maestro, ], the poem is sung on occasions of national importance. ''Sare Jahan Se Achcha'' enjoys the reputation as a popular ] in India. Unlike ] and ], both written in Sanskritized ], ''Sare Jahan Se Achcha'' was written in Urdu.

			]
	The poem epitomizes the people's love for the nation. ] sang it over a hundred times when he was imprisoned at Yerawada Jail in ] in the ]. Astronaut ], the first Indian in space, spoke the first line of the song to describe how India looked from space when asked by ]. ] quoted it at his first press conference as ].
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	=== Urdu text ===
	<font size="3">
	سارے جہاں سے اچھا ہندوستاں ہمارا <br>
	ہم بلبليں ہيں اس کي، يہ گلستاں ہمارا

			"'''Sare Jahan se Accha'''" (]: {{nastaliq\|سارے جہاں سے اچھا}}; ''Sāre Jahāṉ se Acchā''), formally known as "'''Tarānah-e-Hindi'''" (Urdu: {{Nastaliq\|ترانۂ ہندی}}, "Anthem of the People of ]"), is an ] language patriotic song for children written by poet ] in the ] style of ].{{efn\|"'Taranah-e Hindi' (1904) was explicitly written as a patriotic song for children; Iqbal also composed a number of others meant for children, but this one has always been the most popular. This little ghazal ..."<ref name=pritchett/>}} The poem was published in the weekly journal ''Ittehad'' on 16 August 1904.<ref name=pritchett>Pritchett, Frances. 2000. Columbia University Department of South Asian Studies.</ref> Publicly recited by Iqbal the following year at ], ] (now in ]) it quickly became an anthem of opposition to the ]. The song, an ] to ]—the land comprising present-day ], ] and ], was later published in 1924 in the Urdu book ].<ref name="Indiatoday">{{cite news\|title=Saare Jahan Se Accha: Facts about the song and its creator\|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/saare-jahan-se-accha-facts/1/647730.html\|access-date=17 October 2016\|publisher=India Today\|date=21 April 2016\|archive-date=23 January 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123084302/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/saare-jahan-se-accha-facts/1/647730.html\|url-status=dead}}</ref>
	غربت ميں ہوں اگر ہم، رہتا ہے دل وطن ميں <br>
	سمجھو وہيں ہميں بھي، دل ہو جہاں ہمارا

			By 1910, Iqbal's worldview had changed to become global and Islamic. In a new song for children, "]," written in the same metre, he changed the homeland from "Hindustan" to the "whole world." In 1930, in his presidential address to the Muslim League annual conference in Allahabad, he supported a separate nation-state in the Muslim-majority areas of the subcontinent, an idea that inspired the creation of Pakistan.
	پربت وہ سب سے اونچا، ہمسايہ آسماں کا<br>
	وہ سنتري ہمارا، وہ پاسباں ہمارا

			Saare Jahan se Accha has remained very popular, but only in India.{{efn\|This little ghazal, composed by the man widely considered to be the philosophical father of Pakistan, is now extremely popular—but only in India."<ref name=pritchett/>}} An abridged version is sung and played frequently as a patriotic song and as a marching song of the ].<ref name="wire">{{cite news\|last1=Imam\|first1=Sharjeel\|title=Sare Jahan Se Acha: The Idea of India in Early 20th Century Urdu Poetry\|url=http://thewire.in/49087/sare-jahan-se-acha-the-idea-of-india-in-early-20th-century-urdu-poetry/\|access-date=17 October 2016\|publisher=The Wire\|date=6 July 2016}}</ref> The most popular ] is that of ] maestro ].
	گودي ميں کھيلتي ہيں اس کي ہزاروں ندياں <br>
	گلشن ہے جن کے دم سے رشک جناں ہمارا

			==Text of poem==
	اے آب رود گنگا، وہ دن ہيں ياد تجھ کو؟ <br>
	اترا ترے کنارے جب کارواں ہمارا

			{\|
	مذہب نہيں سکھاتا آپس ميں بير رکھنا <br>
			\|-
	ہندي ہيں ہم وطن ہے ہندوستاں ہمارا
			\|style="text-align:center;"\|'''Urdu'''
			\|style="text-align:center;"\|'''Romanisation (])'''
			\|-
			\| <!-- Urdu -->
			<blockquote><div align=right>
			{{Nastaliq\|سارے جہاں سے اچھا ہندوستاں ہمارا<br/>
			ہم بلبلیں ہیں اس کی، یہ گلستاں ہمارا}}

			{{Nastaliq\|غربت میں ہوں اگر ہم، رہتا ہے دل وطن میں<br/>
	يونان و مصر و روما سب مٹ گئے جہاں سے <br>
	اب تک ~~مگر~~ ہے ~~باقي~~ ~~نام~~ ~~و نشاں~~ ہمارا		سمجھو وہیں ہمیں بھی دل ہو جہاں ہمارا}}

			{{Nastaliq\|پربت وہ سب سے اونچا، ہمسایہ آسماں کا<br/>
	کچھ بات ہے کہ ہستي مٹتي نہيں ہماري <br>
	~~صديوں~~ ~~رہا~~ ہے ~~دشمن~~ ~~دور زماں~~ ہمارا		وہ سنتری ہمارا، وہ پاسباں ہمارا}}

	اقبال! کوئي محرم اپنا نہيں جہاں ميں <br>
	معلوم کيا کسي کو درد نہاں ہمارا
	</font>
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	\|}

			{{Nastaliq\|گودی میں کھیلتی ہیں اس کی ہزاروں ندیاں<br/>
	Note: Some Perso-Arabic loanwords are converted to Hindi/Urdu phonetic approximates, in keeping with the pronunciation of the ] dialect in North India.
			گلشن ہے جن کے دم سے رشکِ جناں ہمارا}}

			{{Nastaliq\|اے آبِ رودِ گنگا! وہ دن ہیں یاد تجھ کو؟<br/>
	=== ] Transliteration ===
			اترا ترے کنارے جب کارواں ہمارا}}

			{{Nastaliq\|مذہب نہیں سکھاتا آپس میں بیر رکھنا<br/>
	''sāre jahān se acchā hindostān hamārā''<br>
			ہندی ہیں ہم، وطن ہے ہندوستاں ہمارا}}
	''ham bulbulain hai is ki, yeh gulsitān hamārā''

			{{Nastaliq\|یونان و مصر و روما سب مٹ گئے جہاں سے<br/>
	''ghurbat men hon agar ham, rahta hai dil vatan men''<br>
			اب تک مگر ہے باقی نام و نشاں ہمارا}}
	''samjho vahīn hamen bhī, dil hain jahān hamārā''

			{{Nastaliq\|کچھ بات ہے کہ ہستی مٹتی نہیں ہماری<br/>
	''parbat voh sab se ūnchā, hamsāya āsmān ka''<br>
			صدیوں رہا ہے دشمن دورِ زماں ہمارا}}
	''voh santari hamārā, voh pāsbān hamārā''

			{{Nastaliq\|اقبال! کوئی محرم اپنا نہيں جہاں میں<br/>
	''godi men kheltī hain is ki hazāron nadiyā''<br>
			معلوم کیا کسی کو دردِ نہاں ہمارا!}}{{rlm}}
	''gulshan hai jin ke dam se, rashk-e-janān hamārā''
			</div></blockquote>
			\| <!-- Roman Transliteration -->
			{{transl\|ur\|
			<blockquote>
			Sāre jahāṉ se acchā, Hindositāṉ<ref name=poetic-pronunciation/> hamārā<br/>
			Ham bulbuleṉ haiṉ is kī, yih gulsitāṉ<ref name=poetic-pronunciation>"Here they are to be pronounced not {{transl\|ur\|Hindūstāṉ}} and {{transl\|ur\|gu-lis-tāṉ}}, respectively, as usual, but {{transl\|ur\|Hindositāṉ}} and {{transl\|ur\|gul-si-tāṉ}}, respectively, to suit the meter." From: Pritchett, F. 2004. Columbia University, Department of South Asian Studies.</ref> hamārā

			G̱ẖurbat meṉ hoṉ agar ham, rahtā hai dil wat̤an meṉ<br/>
	''aye āb, raud, ganga, voh din hen yād tujhko''<br>
			Samjho wuhīṉ hameṉ bhī dil ho jahāṉ hamārā
	''utarā tere kināre, jab kārvān hamārā''

			Parbat wuh sab se ūṉchā, hamsāyah āsmāṉ kā<br/>
	''maz'hab nahīn sikhātā āpas men bayr rakhnā''<br>
	~~''hindi~~ ~~hai~~ ~~ham~~, ~~vatan hai~~ ~~hindostān~~ hamārā''		Wuh santarī hamārā, wuh pāsbāṉ hamārā

			Godī meṉ kheltī haiṉ is kī hazāroṉ nadiyāṉ<br/>
	''yūnān-o-misr-o-romā, sab miṭ gaye jahān se''<br>
			Guls̱ẖan hai jin ke dam se ras̱ẖk-i janāṉ hamārā
	''ab tak magar hai bāqi, nām-o-nishān hamārā''

			Ai āb-i rūd-i Gangā! wuh din haiṉ yād tujh ko?<br/>
	''kuch bāt hai keh hastī, miṭati nahīn hamārī''<br>
			Utrā tire<ref>Pronounced "tiray" to suit the meter, in contrast to the usual "tayray." From: From: Pritchett, F. 2004. Columbia University, Department of South Asian Studies.</ref> kināre jab kārwāṉ hamārā
	''sadiyon rahā hai dushman, daur-e-zamān hamārā''

			Maẕhab nahīṉ sikhātā āpas meṉ bair rakhnā<br/>
	''iqbal ko'ī meharam, apnā nahīn jahān men''<br>
			Hindī haiṉ ham, wat̤an hai Hindositāṉ hamārā
	''m'alūm kya kisī ko, dard-e-nihān hamārā''

			Yūnān o-Miṣr o-Rūmā, sab miṭ ga'e jahāṉ se<br/>
	== Translation ==
			Ab tak magar hai bāqī, nām o-nis̱ẖaṉ hamārā

			Kuch bāt hai kih hastī, miṭtī nahīṉ hamārī<br/>
	Better than the entire world, is our Hindustan;<br>
			Ṣadiyoṉ rahā hai dus̱ẖman daur-i zamāṉ hamārā
	we are its nightingales of mirth, and it is our garden abode

			Iqbāl! ko'ī maḥram apnā nahīṉ jahāṉ meṉ<br/>
	Though in foreign lands we may reside, with our homeland our hearts abide,<br>
			Maʿlūm kyā kisī ko dard-i nihāṉ hamārā!
	Regard us also to be there, where exist our hearts
			</blockquote>
			}}
			\|}

			== English translation ==
	That mountain most high, neighbor to the skies;<br>
	it is ~~our~~ ~~sentinel;~~ it is our ~~protector~~		Better than the entire world, is our Hindustan,<br/>
			We are its nightingales, and it (is) our garden abode

			If we are in an alien place, the heart remains in the homeland,<br/>
			consider us too right there where our heart would be.

			That tallest mountain, that shade-sharer of the sky,<br/>
			It (is) our sentry, it (is) our watchman

			In its lap where frolic thousands of rivers,<br/>
			Whose vitality makes our garden the envy of Paradise.

			O the flowing waters of the ], do you remember that day<br/>
			When our caravan first disembarked on your waterfront?

			Religion does not teach us to bear animosity among ourselves<br/>
			We are of ], our homeland is Hindustan.

			In a world in which ancient ], ], and ] have all vanished<br/>
			Our own attributes (name and sign) live on today.

			There is something about our existence for it doesn't get wiped <br/>
			Even though, for centuries, the time-cycle of the world has been our enemy.

			Iqbal! We have no confidant in this world<br/>
			What does any one know of our hidden pain?

			==Composition==
	In the lap of whose, play thousands of rivers;<br>
			Iqbal was a lecturer at the ] at that time, and was invited by a student ] to preside over a function. Instead of delivering a speech, Iqbal sang "Saare Jahan Se Achcha". The song, in addition to embodying yearning and attachment to the land of Hindustan, expressed "cultural memory" and had an ] quality. In 1905, the 27-year-old Iqbal viewed the future society of the ] as both a pluralistic and composite Hindu-Muslim culture. Later that year he left for Europe for a three-year sojourn that was to transform him into an Islamic philosopher and a visionary of a future Islamic society.<ref name="Indiatoday"/>
	gardens they sustain; the envy-of-the-heavens of ours

			==Iqbal's transformation and Tarana-e-Milli==
	O waters of the Ganga mighty, do you recall the day<br>
	when on your banks, did land the caravan of ours

			In 1910, Iqbal wrote another song for children, "]" (Anthem of the Religious Community), which was composed in the same metre and rhyme scheme as "Saare Jahan Se Achcha", but which renounced much of the sentiment of the earlier song.<ref name=milli>. Columbia University, Department of South Asian Studies.</ref> The sixth stanza of "Saare Jahan Se Achcha" (1904), which is often quoted as proof of Iqbal's secular outlook:
	Religion does not teach us to harbour grudges between us<br>
			{{Verse translation\|{{transl\|ur\|Maẕhab nahīṉ sikhātā āpas meṉ bair rakhnā
	Indians we all are; India, our motherland
			Hindī haiṉ ham, wat̤an hai Hindūstāṉ hamārā}}
			\|
			Religion does not teach us to bear ill-will among ourselves
			We are of ], our homeland is Hindustan.}}

			contrasted significantly with the first stanza of ''Tarana-e-Milli'' (1910) reads:<ref name=milli/>
	While Greece, Egypt , Rome have all been wiped out<br>
			{{Verse translation\|{{transl\|ur\|Chīn o-ʿArab hamārā, Hindūstāṉ hamārā
	till now yet remains, this civilization of ours {it has stood the test of time}
			Muslim haiṉ ham, wat̤an hai sārā jahāṉ hamārā}}
			\|
			Central Asia<ref>Although "Chin" refers to China in modern Urdu, in Iqbal's day it referred to Central Asia, coextensive with historical ]. See also, . Columbia University, Department of South Asian Studies.</ref> and ] are ours, Hindustan is ours
			We are Muslims, the whole world is our homeland.<ref name=milli/>}}

			Iqbal's world view had now changed; it had become both global and Islamic. Instead of singing of Hindustan, "our homeland," the new song proclaimed that "our homeland is the whole world."<ref>Pritchett, Frances. 2000. . Columbia University Department of South Asian Studies.</ref> Two decades later, in his presidential address to the ] annual conference in ] in 1930, he supported a ] in the Muslim majority areas of the sub-continent, an idea that inspired the creation of Pakistan.<ref></ref>
	Something there is that keeps us,our entity from being eroded<br>
	For ages has been our enemy, the way of the world

			==Popularity in India==
	Iqbal! Is there no soul that could<br>
			* ''Saare Jahan Se Achcha'' has remained popular in India for nearly a century. ] is said to have sung it over a hundred times when he was imprisoned at ] in ] in the 1930s.<ref name="timesofindia.indiatimes.com"></ref>
	understand the pain in thy heart?
			* In the 1930s and 1940s, it was sung to a slower tune. In 1945, while working in Mumbai with the ] (IPTA), the sitarist ] was asked to compose the music for the ] film '']'' and the ] movie '']''. During this time, Ravi Shankar was asked to compose music for the song "Saare Jahan se Accha". In an interview in 2009 with ], Ravi Shankar recounts that he felt that the existing tune was too slow and sad. To give it a more inspiring impact, he set it to a stronger tune which is today the popular tune of this song, which they then tried out as a group song.<ref name="NDTV">{{cite news\|last1=Gupta\|first1=Shekhar\|title=Walk the talk - Interview with Pandit Ravi Shankar\|url=http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/walk-the-talk/walk-the-talk-with-pandit-ravi-shankar-aired-on-december-05-2009/258009\|access-date=12 August 2015\|publisher=NDTV\|date=5 December 2009}}</ref> It was later recorded by the singer ] to a 3rd altogether different tune. Stanzas (1), (3), (4), and (6) of the song became an unofficial national song in India,<ref name=pritchett/> and the Ravi Shankar version was adopted as the official quick march of the ].<ref> {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302211705/http://bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/Marches.html \|date=2 March 2009 }}.</ref> This arrangement as ] of this song was made by Antsher Lobo.{{citation needed\|date= July 2018}}
			* ], the first Indian ], employed the first line of the song in 1984 to describe to then prime minister ] how India appeared from outer space.<ref></ref>
			* In his inaugural speech, the former prime minister of India ] quoted this poem at his first press conference after becoming the ].<ref name="timesofindia.indiatimes.com"/>
			* The song is popular in India in schools as a patriotic song, sung during morning assemblies, and as a marching song for the Indian armed forces, played during public events and parades.<ref name="Indiatoday"/> It is played by the Armed forces Massed Bands each year for the ], ] and at the culmination of ].<ref>{{cite news \|title=Indian tunes to set mood at 'Beating Retreat' today \|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/indian-tunes-to-set-mood-at-beating-retreat-today/535386.html \|access-date=5 June 2018 \|work=The Tribune \|date=29 January 2018}}</ref>

			===Text in the Devanagari script===
	==References==
			In India, the text of the poem is often rendered in the ] script of ]:
	<div class="references-small">
			{\|
	<references/>
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	</div>
			\| style="text-align:center;" \|''']'''
	{{IndicText}}
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			<blockquote>
			सारे जहाँ से अच्छा हिन्दोसिताँ हमारा <br/>
			हम बुलबुलें हैं इसकी यह गुलसिताँ हमारा

			ग़ुर्बत में हों अगर हम, रहता है दिल वतन में <br/>
			समझो वहीं हमें भी दिल हो जहाँ हमारा

			परबत वह सबसे ऊँचा, हम्साया आसमाँ का <br/>
			वह संतरी हमारा, वह पासबाँ हमारा

			गोदी में खेलती हैं इसकी हज़ारों नदियाँ <br/>
			गुल्शन है जिनके दम से रश्क-ए-जनाँ हमारा

			ऐ आब-ए-रूद-ए-गंगा! वह दिन हैं याद तुझको? <br/>
			उतरा तिरे किनारे जब कारवाँ हमारा

			मज़्हब नहीं सिखाता आपस में बैर रखना <br/>
			हिंदी हैं हम, वतन है हिन्दोसिताँ हमारा

			यूनान-ओ-मिस्र-ओ-रूमा सब मिट गए जहाँ से <br/>
			अब तक मगर है बाक़ी नाम-ओ-निशाँ हमारा

			कुछ बात है कि हस्ती मिटती नहीं हमारी <br/>
			सदियों रहा है दुश्मन दौर-ए-ज़माँ हमारा

			इक़्बाल! कोई महरम अपना नहीं जहाँ में <br/>
			मालूम क्या किसी को दर्द-ए-निहाँ हमारा !
			</blockquote>
			\|}

	==See ~~Also~~==		== See also ==
			* ]
	*]
			*]
			*]
	*]		*]
	*]		*]
			*]

			== Notes and references ==
			===Notes===
			{{Notelist\|40em}}

			===Citations===
			{{Reflist\|30em}}

			==External links==
	]
			*{{cite web\|title=Tarana-e-Hindi at Rabia Memorial School, Fatehpur Mau (UP) India\| website=] \|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FvKguGfnII\|date=23 January 2013}} (Children singing the complete lyrics of the song.)
	]
			{{Muhammad Iqbal}}
	]
	]

			]
	]
			]
	]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]

Latest revision as of 02:53, 25 December 2024

Patriotic Urdu poem This article is about the Urdu poem. For other use(s), see Sare Jahan se Accha (disambiguation).

Sare Jahan se Accha
by Muhammad Iqbal
Original title	Taranah-e-Hindi
First published in	Ittehad
Country	British India
Language	Urdu
Form	Ghazal
Publication date	16 August 1904

Muhammad Iqbal, then president of the Muslim League in 1930 and address deliverer

"Sare Jahan se Accha" (Urdu: سارے جہاں سے اچھا; Sāre Jahāṉ se Acchā), formally known as "Tarānah-e-Hindi" (Urdu: ترانۂ ہندی, "Anthem of the People of Hindustan"), is an Urdu language patriotic song for children written by poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal in the ghazal style of Urdu poetry. The poem was published in the weekly journal Ittehad on 16 August 1904. Publicly recited by Iqbal the following year at Government College, Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan) it quickly became an anthem of opposition to the British Raj. The song, an ode to Hindustan—the land comprising present-day Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, was later published in 1924 in the Urdu book Bang-i-Dara.

By 1910, Iqbal's worldview had changed to become global and Islamic. In a new song for children, "Tarana-e-Milli," written in the same metre, he changed the homeland from "Hindustan" to the "whole world." In 1930, in his presidential address to the Muslim League annual conference in Allahabad, he supported a separate nation-state in the Muslim-majority areas of the subcontinent, an idea that inspired the creation of Pakistan.

Saare Jahan se Accha has remained very popular, but only in India. An abridged version is sung and played frequently as a patriotic song and as a marching song of the Indian Armed Forces. The most popular musical composition is that of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar.

Text of poem

Urdu

Romanisation (ALA-LC)

سارے جہاں سے اچھا ہندوستاں ہمارا
ہم بلبلیں ہیں اس کی، یہ گلستاں ہمارا
غربت میں ہوں اگر ہم، رہتا ہے دل وطن میں
سمجھو وہیں ہمیں بھی دل ہو جہاں ہمارا
پربت وہ سب سے اونچا، ہمسایہ آسماں کا
وہ سنتری ہمارا، وہ پاسباں ہمارا
گودی میں کھیلتی ہیں اس کی ہزاروں ندیاں
گلشن ہے جن کے دم سے رشکِ جناں ہمارا
اے آبِ رودِ گنگا! وہ دن ہیں یاد تجھ کو؟
اترا ترے کنارے جب کارواں ہمارا
مذہب نہیں سکھاتا آپس میں بیر رکھنا
ہندی ہیں ہم، وطن ہے ہندوستاں ہمارا
یونان و مصر و روما سب مٹ گئے جہاں سے
اب تک مگر ہے باقی نام و نشاں ہمارا
کچھ بات ہے کہ ہستی مٹتی نہیں ہماری
صدیوں رہا ہے دشمن دورِ زماں ہمارا
اقبال! کوئی محرم اپنا نہيں جہاں میں
معلوم کیا کسی کو دردِ نہاں ہمارا!‏

Sāre jahāṉ se acchā, Hindositāṉ hamārā
Ham bulbuleṉ haiṉ is kī, yih gulsitāṉ hamārā
G̱ẖurbat meṉ hoṉ agar ham, rahtā hai dil wat̤an meṉ
Samjho wuhīṉ hameṉ bhī dil ho jahāṉ hamārā
Parbat wuh sab se ūṉchā, hamsāyah āsmāṉ kā
Wuh santarī hamārā, wuh pāsbāṉ hamārā
Godī meṉ kheltī haiṉ is kī hazāroṉ nadiyāṉ
Guls̱ẖan hai jin ke dam se ras̱ẖk-i janāṉ hamārā
Ai āb-i rūd-i Gangā! wuh din haiṉ yād tujh ko?
Utrā tire kināre jab kārwāṉ hamārā
Maẕhab nahīṉ sikhātā āpas meṉ bair rakhnā
Hindī haiṉ ham, wat̤an hai Hindositāṉ hamārā
Yūnān o-Miṣr o-Rūmā, sab miṭ ga'e jahāṉ se
Ab tak magar hai bāqī, nām o-nis̱ẖaṉ hamārā
Kuch bāt hai kih hastī, miṭtī nahīṉ hamārī
Ṣadiyoṉ rahā hai dus̱ẖman daur-i zamāṉ hamārā
Iqbāl! ko'ī maḥram apnā nahīṉ jahāṉ meṉ
Maʿlūm kyā kisī ko dard-i nihāṉ hamārā!

English translation

Better than the entire world, is our Hindustan,
We are its nightingales, and it (is) our garden abode

If we are in an alien place, the heart remains in the homeland,
consider us too right there where our heart would be.

That tallest mountain, that shade-sharer of the sky,
It (is) our sentry, it (is) our watchman

In its lap where frolic thousands of rivers,
Whose vitality makes our garden the envy of Paradise.

O the flowing waters of the Ganges, do you remember that day
When our caravan first disembarked on your waterfront?

Religion does not teach us to bear animosity among ourselves
We are of Hind, our homeland is Hindustan.

In a world in which ancient Greece, Egypt, and Rome have all vanished
Our own attributes (name and sign) live on today.

There is something about our existence for it doesn't get wiped
Even though, for centuries, the time-cycle of the world has been our enemy.

Iqbal! We have no confidant in this world
What does any one know of our hidden pain?

Composition

Iqbal was a lecturer at the Government College, Lahore at that time, and was invited by a student Lala Har Dayal to preside over a function. Instead of delivering a speech, Iqbal sang "Saare Jahan Se Achcha". The song, in addition to embodying yearning and attachment to the land of Hindustan, expressed "cultural memory" and had an elegiac quality. In 1905, the 27-year-old Iqbal viewed the future society of the subcontinent as both a pluralistic and composite Hindu-Muslim culture. Later that year he left for Europe for a three-year sojourn that was to transform him into an Islamic philosopher and a visionary of a future Islamic society.

Iqbal's transformation and Tarana-e-Milli

In 1910, Iqbal wrote another song for children, "Tarana-e-Milli" (Anthem of the Religious Community), which was composed in the same metre and rhyme scheme as "Saare Jahan Se Achcha", but which renounced much of the sentiment of the earlier song. The sixth stanza of "Saare Jahan Se Achcha" (1904), which is often quoted as proof of Iqbal's secular outlook:

Maẕhab nahīṉ sikhātā āpas meṉ bair rakhnā
Hindī haiṉ ham, wat̤an hai Hindūstāṉ hamārā

Religion does not teach us to bear ill-will among ourselves
We are of Hind, our homeland is Hindustan.

contrasted significantly with the first stanza of Tarana-e-Milli (1910) reads:

Chīn o-ʿArab hamārā, Hindūstāṉ hamārā
Muslim haiṉ ham, wat̤an hai sārā jahāṉ hamārā

Central Asia and Arabia are ours, Hindustan is ours
We are Muslims, the whole world is our homeland.

Iqbal's world view had now changed; it had become both global and Islamic. Instead of singing of Hindustan, "our homeland," the new song proclaimed that "our homeland is the whole world." Two decades later, in his presidential address to the Muslim League annual conference in Allahabad in 1930, he supported a separate nation-state in the Muslim majority areas of the sub-continent, an idea that inspired the creation of Pakistan.

Popularity in India

Saare Jahan Se Achcha has remained popular in India for nearly a century. Mahatma Gandhi is said to have sung it over a hundred times when he was imprisoned at Yerawada Jail in Pune in the 1930s.
In the 1930s and 1940s, it was sung to a slower tune. In 1945, while working in Mumbai with the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), the sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar was asked to compose the music for the K. A. Abbas film Dharti Ke Lal and the Chetan Anand movie Neecha Nagar. During this time, Ravi Shankar was asked to compose music for the song "Saare Jahan se Accha". In an interview in 2009 with Shekhar Gupta, Ravi Shankar recounts that he felt that the existing tune was too slow and sad. To give it a more inspiring impact, he set it to a stronger tune which is today the popular tune of this song, which they then tried out as a group song. It was later recorded by the singer Lata Mangeshkar to a 3rd altogether different tune. Stanzas (1), (3), (4), and (6) of the song became an unofficial national song in India, and the Ravi Shankar version was adopted as the official quick march of the Indian Armed Forces. This arrangement as marching tune of this song was made by Antsher Lobo.
Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian astronaut, employed the first line of the song in 1984 to describe to then prime minister Indira Gandhi how India appeared from outer space.
In his inaugural speech, the former prime minister of India Manmohan Singh quoted this poem at his first press conference after becoming the Prime Minister.
The song is popular in India in schools as a patriotic song, sung during morning assemblies, and as a marching song for the Indian armed forces, played during public events and parades. It is played by the Armed forces Massed Bands each year for the Indian Independence Day, Republic Day and at the culmination of Beating the Retreat.

Text in the Devanagari script

In India, the text of the poem is often rendered in the Devanagari script of Hindi:

Devanagari

सारे जहाँ से अच्छा हिन्दोसिताँ हमारा
हम बुलबुलें हैं इसकी यह गुलसिताँ हमारा
ग़ुर्बत में हों अगर हम, रहता है दिल वतन में
समझो वहीं हमें भी दिल हो जहाँ हमारा
परबत वह सबसे ऊँचा, हम्साया आसमाँ का
वह संतरी हमारा, वह पासबाँ हमारा
गोदी में खेलती हैं इसकी हज़ारों नदियाँ
गुल्शन है जिनके दम से रश्क-ए-जनाँ हमारा
ऐ आब-ए-रूद-ए-गंगा! वह दिन हैं याद तुझको?
उतरा तिरे किनारे जब कारवाँ हमारा
मज़्हब नहीं सिखाता आपस में बैर रखना
हिंदी हैं हम, वतन है हिन्दोसिताँ हमारा
यूनान-ओ-मिस्र-ओ-रूमा सब मिट गए जहाँ से
अब तक मगर है बाक़ी नाम-ओ-निशाँ हमारा
कुछ बात है कि हस्ती मिटती नहीं हमारी
सदियों रहा है दुश्मन दौर-ए-ज़माँ हमारा
इक़्बाल! कोई महरम अपना नहीं जहाँ में
मालूम क्या किसी को दर्द-ए-निहाँ हमारा !

Notes and references

Notes

"'Taranah-e Hindi' (1904) was explicitly written as a patriotic song for children; Iqbal also composed a number of others meant for children, but this one has always been the most popular. This little ghazal ..."
This little ghazal, composed by the man widely considered to be the philosophical father of Pakistan, is now extremely popular—but only in India."

Citations

^ Pritchett, Frances. 2000. "Tarana-e-Hindi and Taranah-e-Milli: A Study in Contrasts." Columbia University Department of South Asian Studies.
^ "Saare Jahan Se Accha: Facts about the song and its creator". India Today. 21 April 2016. Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
Imam, Sharjeel (6 July 2016). "Sare Jahan Se Acha: The Idea of India in Early 20th Century Urdu Poetry". The Wire. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
^ "Here they are to be pronounced not Hindūstāṉ and gu-lis-tāṉ, respectively, as usual, but Hindositāṉ and gul-si-tāṉ, respectively, to suit the meter." From: Pritchett, F. 2004. "Taraanah-i-Hindii" Columbia University, Department of South Asian Studies.
Pronounced "tiray" to suit the meter, in contrast to the usual "tayray." From: From: Pritchett, F. 2004. "Taraanah-i-Hindii" Columbia University, Department of South Asian Studies.
^ Iqbal: Tarana-e-Milli, 1910. Columbia University, Department of South Asian Studies.
Although "Chin" refers to China in modern Urdu, in Iqbal's day it referred to Central Asia, coextensive with historical Turkestan. See also, Iqbal: Tarana-e-Milli, 1910. Columbia University, Department of South Asian Studies.
Pritchett, Frances. 2000. Tarana-e-Hindi and Tarana-e-Milli: A Close Comparison. Columbia University Department of South Asian Studies.
A look at Iqbal; The Sunday Tribune – May 28, 2006
^ Times of India: Saare Jahan Se..., it's 100 now
Gupta, Shekhar (5 December 2009). "Walk the talk - Interview with Pandit Ravi Shankar". NDTV. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
Indian Military Marches Archived 2 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
India Empowered to Me Is: Saare Jahan Se Achcha, the home of world citizens
"Indian tunes to set mood at 'Beating Retreat' today". The Tribune. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.

External links

"Tarana-e-Hindi at Rabia Memorial School, Fatehpur Mau (UP) India". YouTube. 23 January 2013. (Children singing the complete lyrics of the song.)

v t e Muhammad Iqbal
Family	Javed Iqbal (son) Nasira Iqbal (daughter-in-law) Yousuf Salahuddin (maternal grandson) Waleed Iqbal (paternal grandson)
Prose	The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam The Development of Metaphysics in Persia Ilm Al-Iqtisad
Poetry	Asrar-i-Khudi ("The Secrets of the Self") Rumuz-i-Bekhudi ("The Secrets of Selflessness") Payam-i-Mashriq ("Message from the East") Bang-i-Dara ("The Call Of The Marching Bell") Zabur-i-Ajam ("Persian Psalms") Javid Nama Bal-i-Jibril ("Gabriel's Wing") Zarb-i-Kalim ("The Rod of the Moses") Pas Chih Bayad Kard ("What Should Then Be Done O People of the East") Armaghan-i-Hijaz ("Gift from Hijaz") Sare Jahan se Accha Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa Iblees Ki Majlis-e-Shura
Ideas	Concept of Khudi Political philosophy Educational philosophy Madani–Iqbal debate Allahabad Address
Scholars	Annemarie Schimmel Arthur J. Arberry R. A. Nicholson Javid Iqbal Muhammad Munawwar more
Related topics	Bibliography Iqbal Academy Iqbal Day Iqbal Manzil Iqbal Review Pakistan Movement (Allahabad Address) Tomb Works

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