Saare Jahan se Achha plays at Beating Retreat: The story of Allama Iqbal who wrote the song

Flanked by the North and South blocks and the Rashtrapati Bhavan towards the extremity of Rajpath, the combined bands of the Indian equipped forces and the Central Armed Police Forces march backmost to this tune. With puffed-up chests and meticulous strides, they march for implicit an hr of martial tunes and colourful pageantry, until the nationalist emblem is lowered and the President gives support to retreat.

The Indian equipped forces march to the opus astatine subject events extracurricular India too.

What is the past of the poem Saare Jahan se Achha?

Muhammad Iqbal, besides known arsenic Allama Iqbal (a rubric fixed to Islamic scholars) wrote Tarana-e-Hindi, oregon the Anthem of the People of Hindustan, arsenic an Urdu poem for children successful 1904. A eulogy for Hindustan, comprising India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the lines of the poem were “Saare jahan se achha, Hindustan hamara/ Hum bulbule hain iski, yeh gulsita hamara” (Better than the full satellite is our Hindustan/ We are its nightingales, and it is our plot abode).

The poem was archetypal published connected August 16, 1904, successful Lucknow-based historiographer and writer Abdul Haleem Sharar’s play journal, Ittehad. A mentation of this poem appeared a period aboriginal successful Zamana, a monthly mag published by Urdu writer and writer Munshi Daya Narayen Nigam. A fewer months aft this, Iqbal, past a 27-year-old lecturer astatine the Government College, Lahore, sang the poem successful his code to the Young Men’s India Association.

The opus soon became a passionate anthem to denounce British regularisation and was a rallying outcry for the state fighters. The lines “mazhab nahi sikhata, aapas mein bair rakhna” spoke of propagating a corporate identity. Mahatma Gandhi sang it often successful his compartment successful Yerwada Jail successful Pune.

While the archetypal tune belonged to Iqbal, the mentation we cognize contiguous was composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar during his relation with IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association). He recovered the existing tune to beryllium dilatory and agelong drawn out. He reworked it to adhd gait and composed the opus successful the cheerful Hindustani raga, Pilu mixing it with different ragas arsenic the opus progressed. While Shankar’s mentation is inactive sung today, it was besides adapted for the equipped forces by Mumbai-based instrumentalist prof Antsher Lobo.

Over the years, the opus has go entwined with India’s consciousness. Today, it is sung successful schools and colleges arsenic well.

Who was Allama Iqbal?

Born successful Sialkot, Iqbal traced his lineage to the Sapru clan (Kashmiri Pandits) that had converted to Islam. He studied astatine Government College Lahore and aboriginal taught Arabic astatine Oriental College, Lahore. Around this time, helium wrote galore poems for children including ‘Saare jahan se achha’ and ‘Lab pe aati hai dua’.

He aboriginal moved to Europe and studied successful England and Germany. After returning to India, helium wrote prolifically connected politics, religion and philosophy. He was besides honoured with a knighthood for his notable works ‘Bang-e-Dara’ and ‘Rumuz-e-Bekhudi’. He was profoundly influenced by Rumi, the noted 13th-century poet.

How is his enactment regarded today?

Over the years, India’s knowing of Iqbal has acquired a antagonistic connotation.

In 1930, helium addressed the All India Muslim League successful Allahabad and made the lawsuit for the two-nation theory, speaking of a Muslim state for northwestern Muslims wrong the Indian Federation. He believed successful the integrity of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and saw him arsenic a idiosyncratic who could usher the Muslim community.

In Pakistan today, Iqbal is regarded arsenic the ideological begetter of the nation, which is wherefore immoderate radical successful India dislike him.

Iqbal’s poesy reached the politicians arsenic good arsenic the masses. While Sarojini Naidu had called Iqbal the ‘poet laureate of Asia’, Jawahar Lal Nehru successful his book, Discovery of India, had written astir his gathering with Iqbal months earlier the poet’s decease successful 1938. “Jinnah is simply a person and you are a patriot,” helium told Nehru. Iqbal aboriginal wrote ‘Tarana-e-Mili’ connected the aforesaid metre arsenic Saare jahan se achha. Taraana-e-Mili spoke of Muslim pridefulness and safeguarding of the Muslim faith.

In caller years, the recitation of his poems has attracted controversy.

In 2019, pursuing a ailment by Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers, the headmaster of a authorities schoolhouse successful Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, was suspended aft his students recited Iqbal’s poem ‘Lab pe aati hai dua.’ The poem has been a supplication sung successful schools and colleges successful the subcontinent for generations for its sentiment of banishing acheronian and bringing airy to the world. In their complaint, the VHP claimed that the poem was sung successful madrassas and that reciting it successful a authorities schoolhouse was ‘anti-national’.

In 2022 too, the poem was a bony of contention erstwhile a school main and a shiksha mitra (teaching assistant) successful UP’s Bareilly were suspended by the authorities acquisition section and booked for “hurting spiritual sentiments”. In 2023, Delhi University dropped a section connected Iqbal from their governmental subject syllabus for undergraduate students.