Arabic · noun · Nation, Faith & Society
Jamhuriyat
जम्हूरियत
said jam-hoo-ri-YAT
also written: jamhur
Meaning
Democracy; popular rule.
How Iqbal uses it
Famously double-edged. He mocks a democracy that “counts heads but never weighs them,” distrusting mere numbers over quality — yet he also heralds the coming “sultani-e-jamhur,” the sovereignty of the people that will sweep away the old order of kings.
See it in the verse
Jamhuriyat 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
Sultani-e-jamhur ka aata hai zamana
Jo naqsh-e-kuhan tum ko nazar aae miTa do
Jo naqsh-e-kuhan tum ko nazar aae miTa do
The age of the people's rule is arriving; whatever old patterns you still see, wipe them away.
Freedom · Awakening · Justice