Traveling through the Indian Railway trains I notice that railways has adopted this line - "Hindi Hain Hum, Watan Hai Hindostan Hamara" - from Saare Jahan Se Achchha - as their national integration line. This can be seen printed in every train cabin, inside and outside it.
Coincidently, I read Khushwant Singh's article that appeared in the news papers last weekend. While the article itself is worthless, and not related to this thread, but this particlar part was very funny and strange, coming from Khushwant Singh. Let me first reproduce that part...
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Jai Ganga Maatey!
...To the English their biggest river is Father Thames. The Mississipi was immortalised by Paul Robenson singing âOle man riverâ. But no river in the world has commanded so much worship as the Ganga. She comes form the Milky Way through the tresses of Lord Shiva down to the earth. Most Indians revere her as their mother. Even a Muslim like the poet Mohammed Iqbal referred it <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>as the base of Aryan Settlement in India:</span>
Ai aab-e-rood-e-Ganga
Voh din hai yaad tujh ko
Utra teyrey kinarey ttha kaarwaan hamaara
(O Ye limped waters of the Ganga
Remember you the day
When our caravan reached your banks
And settled down to stay.)
Even a non-believer like me used to make it a point to go to Haridwar once a year to watch the aarti at sunset at Har ki Pauri and join the throng in shouting Jai Ganga Maatey â Victory to âMother Gangaâ!
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14520643
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Now Khushwant Singh should know better than this; after all he is known to tends to do proper reasearch, at least some basic reasearch, and is known for very good, accurate translations from Urdu.
The above lines are from tarAn-i-milli (the song of islami state) or tarAn-i-hind, and the context is not Aryan Invasion, as KS reports, but Islami invasion of India. In "Utra terey kinarey tha kaarwaan hamaara" - 'kaarwaan hamaara' is lashkar of gAzI-s. The line is not being said in sense of any reverense for Ganga's contribution to the Indic civilization, but is being addressed by a nostalgic gAzI to Ganga in a victory-glorious tone, that 'Ganga, remember that day? when ummah descended upon your banks?".
This, of course, comes from Allama Iqbal, the national poet and idealogue of Pakistan, an ardent propagator of Ummah. He superceded "Hindi hain ham watan hai Hindostan Hamara" by "Muslim hain ham vatan hai sara jahaan hamaara. Coming from a recently converted Kashmiri Brahman family lineage, he said: "Hai jo mathey pe Islam ka teeka Iqbal/Koi Pandit mujhey kehta hai to sharm aati hai." (!!!)
(At the risk of diversion, I must mention that VS Naipaul wonderfully diagnoses the symptom of neo-converts to ridicule all their past and traditions of their kafir ancestors.)
so, while googling about this, I found this note:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->"Saaray Jahaan say achhaa...." is one of the National Songs of India. It is amusing that it recognised as being so with Indians not realising the full import of this "Taraana e Hind".
"Taraana e Hind" celebrates and declares the Claim of Muslims on "Hind". It that respect it is not very much different from Iqbal's "Taraana e Milli". It does not address all the people of "Hind". It is meant only for "Muslims".
Before ill-informed hackles become antennae tuning into presumed suspicious and prejudiced intent, let me explain.
After celebrating the glory of "Hindustaan" in the first few couplets, Iqbal reveals his mind in:
ai aab-e-ruud-e-gangaa vo din hai yaad tujh ko
utaraa tere kinaare jab kaaravaa.N hamaaraa
Iqbal asks River Ganga to recollect the time when "hamaara kaarvaan" descended on it's banks. The "haamaara' is the Muslim collective, the "Ummah" in the form of advent of Islam. The indigenous faith people were always resident on the banks of Ganga.
Similarly, lack of knowledge about Islamic terminology has led to a spin quite different from the inherent meaning in:
mazhab nahii.n sikhaataa aapas me.n bair rakhanaa
hindii hai.n ham vatan hai hindustaa.N hamaaraa
"Mazhab" does not refer to "Religions" of Hindustaan being asked to not harbour enmity against each other. "Mazhab" (variant of Maddhab in Arabic) is a specific term used in Islam for "sects". The religion of Islam by itself is called "Deen". "Sunni" and "Shia" would be "Mazhabs". The couplet addresses itself to Muslims belonging to various sects in Islam.
http://readerlist.freeflux.net/blog/archiv...-officia-6.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
...the likes of Laloo Prasad, Man Mohan Singh want to "replace" Vande Mataram by "Sare Jahan Se..." as it is more acceptable by 'minorities' than VM. why not.
Coincidently, I read Khushwant Singh's article that appeared in the news papers last weekend. While the article itself is worthless, and not related to this thread, but this particlar part was very funny and strange, coming from Khushwant Singh. Let me first reproduce that part...
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Jai Ganga Maatey!
...To the English their biggest river is Father Thames. The Mississipi was immortalised by Paul Robenson singing âOle man riverâ. But no river in the world has commanded so much worship as the Ganga. She comes form the Milky Way through the tresses of Lord Shiva down to the earth. Most Indians revere her as their mother. Even a Muslim like the poet Mohammed Iqbal referred it <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>as the base of Aryan Settlement in India:</span>
Ai aab-e-rood-e-Ganga
Voh din hai yaad tujh ko
Utra teyrey kinarey ttha kaarwaan hamaara
(O Ye limped waters of the Ganga
Remember you the day
When our caravan reached your banks
And settled down to stay.)
Even a non-believer like me used to make it a point to go to Haridwar once a year to watch the aarti at sunset at Har ki Pauri and join the throng in shouting Jai Ganga Maatey â Victory to âMother Gangaâ!
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14520643
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Now Khushwant Singh should know better than this; after all he is known to tends to do proper reasearch, at least some basic reasearch, and is known for very good, accurate translations from Urdu.
The above lines are from tarAn-i-milli (the song of islami state) or tarAn-i-hind, and the context is not Aryan Invasion, as KS reports, but Islami invasion of India. In "Utra terey kinarey tha kaarwaan hamaara" - 'kaarwaan hamaara' is lashkar of gAzI-s. The line is not being said in sense of any reverense for Ganga's contribution to the Indic civilization, but is being addressed by a nostalgic gAzI to Ganga in a victory-glorious tone, that 'Ganga, remember that day? when ummah descended upon your banks?".
This, of course, comes from Allama Iqbal, the national poet and idealogue of Pakistan, an ardent propagator of Ummah. He superceded "Hindi hain ham watan hai Hindostan Hamara" by "Muslim hain ham vatan hai sara jahaan hamaara. Coming from a recently converted Kashmiri Brahman family lineage, he said: "Hai jo mathey pe Islam ka teeka Iqbal/Koi Pandit mujhey kehta hai to sharm aati hai." (!!!)
(At the risk of diversion, I must mention that VS Naipaul wonderfully diagnoses the symptom of neo-converts to ridicule all their past and traditions of their kafir ancestors.)
so, while googling about this, I found this note:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->"Saaray Jahaan say achhaa...." is one of the National Songs of India. It is amusing that it recognised as being so with Indians not realising the full import of this "Taraana e Hind".
"Taraana e Hind" celebrates and declares the Claim of Muslims on "Hind". It that respect it is not very much different from Iqbal's "Taraana e Milli". It does not address all the people of "Hind". It is meant only for "Muslims".
Before ill-informed hackles become antennae tuning into presumed suspicious and prejudiced intent, let me explain.
After celebrating the glory of "Hindustaan" in the first few couplets, Iqbal reveals his mind in:
ai aab-e-ruud-e-gangaa vo din hai yaad tujh ko
utaraa tere kinaare jab kaaravaa.N hamaaraa
Iqbal asks River Ganga to recollect the time when "hamaara kaarvaan" descended on it's banks. The "haamaara' is the Muslim collective, the "Ummah" in the form of advent of Islam. The indigenous faith people were always resident on the banks of Ganga.
Similarly, lack of knowledge about Islamic terminology has led to a spin quite different from the inherent meaning in:
mazhab nahii.n sikhaataa aapas me.n bair rakhanaa
hindii hai.n ham vatan hai hindustaa.N hamaaraa
"Mazhab" does not refer to "Religions" of Hindustaan being asked to not harbour enmity against each other. "Mazhab" (variant of Maddhab in Arabic) is a specific term used in Islam for "sects". The religion of Islam by itself is called "Deen". "Sunni" and "Shia" would be "Mazhabs". The couplet addresses itself to Muslims belonging to various sects in Islam.
http://readerlist.freeflux.net/blog/archiv...-officia-6.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
...the likes of Laloo Prasad, Man Mohan Singh want to "replace" Vande Mataram by "Sare Jahan Se..." as it is more acceptable by 'minorities' than VM. why not.