Meaning
Government, rule, authority or governance.
How Iqbal uses it
Hukoomat in Iqbal must answer to justice; legitimate authority for him serves the people while tyrannical rule forfeits its right. He measures government by its care for the weak.
See it in the verse
Hukoomat in Iqbal’s couplets
Jamhuriyat ek tarz-e-hukumat 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 governance in which people are counted, not weighed.
Justice · Awakening
Hai dil ke liye maut machinon ki hukumat
Ehsaas-e-muravvat ko kuchal dete hain aalat
Ehsaas-e-muravvat ko kuchal dete hain aalat
The rule of machines is death for the heart — the instruments crush the very feeling of human kindness.
Justice · Awakening · Love