At any given moment, Srinagar is plastered with pro-India propaganda, courtesy of local government and military organizations. One recent billboard has especially been lampooned in the Kashmiri press for the sheer ridiculousness of the “creative” translation of Iqbal’s poetry that it features:
The line of Farsi poetry reads: tanam gilay ze khayabaan-e-jannat-e-kashmir
Which translates to: *the clay of my body is from the paths of the paradise of kashmir
*
Never mind the fact that the government couldn’t even get the diacritical marks right (the *pesh *on the gaaf actually changes the meaning of the word). Rather, it’s the Indian government’s creative new translation that it makes it so entertaining - “Make your own world from the clay of India.”
In a state where virtually every literate person can read Farsi script and see that the term ‘Hindustan’ appears no where in the quote, I really have to question the intelligence of the fools who thought that they could get away with botching the translation like that. Silly Indians.
PS…the “translation” given in the billboard is itself a botched and decontextualized version of an entirely different sher.
*
uttha na shisha-giraan-e-farang ke ehsaan
sifaal-e-hind se meena o jaam paida kar
don’t be under obligation to foreign glass blowers
fashion your pitchers and glasses from clay of the Subcontinent*
Re: Indian government "retranslates" Iqbal's poety to make it more pro-India
there is no sub continent those days, so ur translation is not correct
What are you talking about? "Subcontinent" is probably one of the only accurate ways to translate the word "Hind," as it refers to roughly the same geographical area.
Re: Indian government "retranslates" Iqbal's poety to make it more pro-India
What are you talking about? "Subcontinent" is probably one of the only accurate ways to translate the word "Hind," as it refers to roughly the same geographical area.
Re: Indian government "retranslates" Iqbal's poety to make it more pro-India
then you are wrong, hind is india
Hind is an Arabicized derivation from the word "Indus." The term traditionally refers to the Indus valley and the lands to the east of it...basically the Indian subcontinent. Iqbal wrote the poem in 1932, so it's pretty silly to think that he was referring to the modern day nation-state of India (especially given the fact that he was the ideological father of the Pakistan movement).
In any case, none of this changes the ridiculousness of the billboard...poor Iqbal would turn in his grave if he knew his words were being twisted to encourage Indian imperialism in his beloved Kashmir.
Re: Indian government "retranslates" Iqbal's poety to make it more pro-India
janab-i-aali
unlike quran and its author every one changes over time.
Iqbal started as an india loving some time women praising poet.
His words were difficult but subject were simple. eg bang-y-dara
In later years of his life words got simple and subject got very complicated. eg zarb-y-kaleem
So picking up his work from bangy dara such as
"sary jahan sy aach hindusatn hamara" you could present him as an india loving person.
Re: Indian government "retranslates" Iqbal's poety to make it more pro-India
^
Like I said, he wrote that couplet in 1932...a full two years after he first publicly presented the idea of Pakistan in Allahabad.
The couplet isn't about loving the modern-day state of India...it's about self reliance and not being overly dependent on the West. And in any case, the translation featured on the billboard is ridiculous on many levels.
