Meaning
Homeland, native country.
How Iqbal uses it
A word he both sang and warned about. The young Iqbal gave India its anthem — “our homeland is Hindustan” — and made every grain of its dust a deity to him. The later Iqbal grew wary of narrow territorial nationalism as a modern idol that divides the faithful.
See it in the verse
Watan in Iqbal’s couplets
Mazhab nahin sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna
Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindostan hamara
Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindostan hamara
Religion does not teach us to hold enmity among ourselves. We are of Hind, and Hindustan is our homeland.
Unity · Love
Watan ki fikr kar nadaan, museebat aane wali hai
Teri barbadiyon ke mashware hain aasmanon mein
Teri barbadiyon ke mashware hain aasmanon mein
Think of your homeland, you fool — calamity is on its way; the plans for your ruin are already being drawn up in the skies.
Awakening · Courage
Patthar ki mooraton mein samjha hai tu Khuda hai
Khaak-e-watan ka mujh ko har zarra devta hai
Khaak-e-watan ka mujh ko har zarra devta hai
You have imagined that God dwells within stone idols — for me, every single speck of my homeland's dust is itself a deity.
Unity · Love
Saare jahan se achchha Hindostan hamara
Ham bulbulen hain is ki ye gulsitan hamara
Ham bulbulen hain is ki ye gulsitan hamara
Better than the whole world is this India of ours; we are its nightingales and this is our garden.
Unity · Love