सारे जहाँ से अच्छा

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“The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?” said Pablo Casals. Sumptuous words, especially in times when the winds will have you believe that ‘nationalism’ is a four letter word. But Mr Casals fails to acknowledge a basic fact; love for one’s country is not always a matter of voluntary choice.
I invoke Iqbal to help the point across:
ग़ुरबत में हों अगर हम
रहता है दिल वतन में
समझो वहीं हमें भी
है दिल जहाँ हमारा
सारे जहाँ से अच्छा
हिन्दोस्तान हमारा
Though ग़ुरबत also means poverty, the connotation here pertains to the tribulation of a person away from his native land.
Now ग़ुरबत doesn’t always need a strong impetus (like a racial slur) for it to be set into motion. It may as easily be activated by subtle tethers such as rootedness or belonging. For example, mere perception of the way you are perceived (by the natives of your adopted land) can set ग़ुरबत going.
And then there are ग़ुरबत’s main instigators: Habit and conditioning. You may be gleefully cruising through the English countryside of green meadows and bright blue skies when, all of a sudden, ग़ुरबत will come calling in the guise of a ridiculous yearning; the yearning for a roadside dhaba that specialises in stuffed parathas( served with an unhygienic achar) and thickly concocted chai.
The point, then, isn’t whether Hindostan is indeed ‘सारे जहाँ से अच्छा.’ The point is that Hindostan ‘हमारा’ है। So by corollary, Hindostan के हम हैं। And that is a fact which cannot be wished away.