Saare Jahan Se Achcha
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The poem Saare Jahan Se Achcha was composed by the poet Muhammad Iqbal in 1904/1905 while India was under British administration. Iqbal was a lecturer at the Government College, Lahore at that time. He was invited by his favorite student Lala Hardayal to preside over a function. Instead of making a speech, Iqbal sang Saare Jahan Se Achcha with gusto. The poem is in praise of Hindustan and preaches harmony between people of separate religious beliefs. Ironically, Iqbal is also credited with being one of the earliest proponents for a separate nation-state in the Muslim majority areas of the sub-continent. One of the first formal articulations of this demand was made in his presidential address to the annual conference of the All India Muslim League in 1930 in Allahabad.
The poem is sung by Indians on occasions of national importance and in schools as part of morning prayer. After the Indian National Song Jana-Gana-Mana and the Indian National Song Vande Mataram, Sare Jahan Se Achcha enjoys the reputation as the most popular patriotic song in India. Unlike Jana-Gana and Vande Mataram which are written in Bengali, Sare Jahan Se Achcha is written in Hindustani which is understood by a larger population in India.
The poem epitomises love for the nation and patriotism. Mahatma Gandhi sang it over a hundred times when he was imprisoned in Yerwada Jail in Pune in the 1930s. Astronaut Rakesh Sharma recited it to describe India from space. Manmohan Singh quoted it at his first press conference as Prime Minister to underline India's greatness.
Lyrics
सारे जहाँ से अच्छा, हिन्दोस्तां हमारा हम बुलबुले हैं इसकी, वो गुलसितां हमारा गुरबत में हों अगर हम, रहता है दिल वतन में समझो वहीं हमें भी, दिल हो जहाँ हमारा, सारे... पर्वत हो सबसे ऊँचा, हमसाया आसमाँ का वो संतरी हमारा, वो पासवां हमारा, सारे... गोदी में खेलती हैं, जिसकी हज़ारों नदियां गुलशन है जिसके दम से, रश्क\-ए\-जिनां हमारा सारे.... ऐ आब\-ए\-रौंद\-ए\-गंगा! वो दिन है याद तुझको उतरा तेरे किनारे, जब कारवां हमारा, सारे... मजहब नहीं सिखाता, आपस में बैर रखना हिन्दी हैं हम वतन हैं, हिन्दोस्तां हमारा, सारे... यूनान, मिस्र, रोमां, सब मिट गए जहाँ से अब तक मगर है बाकी, नाम\-ओ\-निशां हमारा, सारे... कुछ बात है की हस्ती, मिटती नहीं हमारी सदियों रहा है दुश्मन, दौर\-ए\-जहाँ हमारा, सारे 'इक़बाल' कोई मरहूम, अपना नहीं जहाँ में मालूम क्या किसी को, दर्द\-ए\-निहां हमारा, सारे
A simple English transliteration of the poem is
saare jahaan se achcha hindostaan hamaraa
hum bul bulain hai is kee, ye gulsitan hamaraa
سارے جہان سے اچہا ھندوستان ھمارا
parbat vo sabse unchaa hum saaya aasma kaa
vo santaree hamaraa, vo paasbaan hamaraa
godee mein khel tee hain is kee hazaaron nadiya
gulshan hai jinke dum se, rashke janna hamaraa
mazhab nahee sikhataa apas mein bayr rakhnaa
hindee hai hum, vatan hai hindostaan hamaraa
Translation
Better than all the world, is our India
We are its nightingales and this is our garden
That mountain most high; neighbor to the skies
It is our sentinel; it is our protector
A thousand rivers play in its lap,
Gardens they sustain, the envy of the heavens is ours
Faith does not teach us to harbour grudges between us
We are all Indians and India is our homeland