Couplets › Justice
From Zarb-e-Kalim, 1936 — 'Jamhooriyat' · originally composed in Urdu
Jamhooriyat ik tarz-e-hukoomat hai ki jis mein
Bandon ko gina karte hain tola nahin karte
Bandon ko gina karte hain tola nahin karte
“Democracy is a mode of government in which people are counted, not weighed.”
Romanहिन्दी
जमहूरियत इक तर्ज़-ए-हुकूमत है कि जिसमें
बंदों को गिना करते हैं तोला नहीं करते
बंदों को गिना करते हैं तोला नहीं करते
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
The Interpretation
Iqbal's famous, biting epigram on democracy: it tallies heads but never measures their quality. Numbers decide, not wisdom or worth, so a majority of the shallow outweighs a minority of the deep. A count, he warns, is not the same as a judgment.
For You, Today
Counting is easy; weighing is hard, and systems drift toward whatever they can measure. Iqbal's warning outlives his century: when only the tally matters, quality quietly stops counting. Notice where you are counting heads instead of weighing them.
In the same spirit
Ho mera kaam ghareebon ki himayat karna
Dard-mandon se zaeefon se mohabbat karna
Dard-mandon se zaeefon se mohabbat karna
Let my work be to defend the poor — to love the suffering and the weak.
Justice · Humility · Love
Jis khet se dehqan ko muyassar nahin rozi
Us khet ke har khosha-e-gandum ko jala do
Us khet ke har khosha-e-gandum ko jala do
The field that does not yield its farmer even his daily bread — burn every ear of wheat in that field.
Justice · Courage
Na samjhoge to mit jaoge ai Hindostan walon
Tumhari dastan tak bhi na hogi dastanon mein
Tumhari dastan tak bhi na hogi dastanon mein
If you will not understand, you will be erased, O people of Hindustan — not even your story will remain among the stories.
Awakening · Courage