Saare jahan se acha Hindustan hamara..!

Rakesh Sharma

The Day
 It was 3rd April, 1984. I could not remember whether it was Monday or Thursday. But, the date and day would be written in golden letters in the annals of Modern India.

The Event 
It was on that day Rakesh Sharma of Indian Air Force became the first Indian and 138th person to travel in space. Rakesh Sharma spent eight days in space.
It is more than two decades now.
But, still I could recall and reconnect the drama, pleasure and ecstasy of that day.  I had been giving final touches to the sketch in biology record book when my father handed over the copy of தினமணி (Dinamani - the Tamil edition of the Indian Express) to me. It carried the photograph of Rakesh Sharma and I could not remember the exact wordings of the news. But I could relish the delight  I felt then, even now.

The conversation
I could not remember the details. Even now I am ignorant of the details. What do we have achieved by that space mission? What did Rakesh Sharma do for more than a week up over there?
He is one of the forgotten heroes now. But, one thing I will never forget.

It was his answer given to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi then.
Indira Gandhi, sitting in her office in New Delhi talked with Rakesh Sharma who was hovering around the globe over the sky.
Indira Gandhi in her own voice full of confidence and with a palpable sense of joy asked Rakesh, ''Sharmaji, ooper se bharat kaisa laga?"
Rakesh Sharma said, Saare jahan se acha Hindustan hamara..! Those are the immortal lines of Allama Iqbal.
You could listen the conversation by clicking here.

The question
The big, big, big question here is whether we could say Saare jahan se acha Hindustan Hamara..! now?
In what aspects and fields do we excel than other countries?

Yes. There is one important field where nobody on this earth could beat us.

We have Narendra Modi with us.
Yes, the same Modi who has been described as "mass murderer" by fellow Gujarati and veteran journalist Vir Sanghvi.
Yes the same Modi who is seen worshiping deadly weapons in these photographs.
Yes the same Modi who has been branded as the "Ugly Indian" by seasoned journalist Seema Mustafa.
Yes the same Modi who was famously depicted by the Supreme court of this land as modern day Nero. Remember we do not have a single politician who has got such a distinction in this entire world today. Yet he is still roaming free. This could happen only in India ie Saare Jahan se acha Hindustan Hamara..!

One day he stands as a accused criminal in front of some lowly officer answering questions.

Next day he shares the dais with the Chief Justice of the nation.

Yes. We could say that we are the best.
God bless this nation.

Yet, there is hope...!
Yes. There is hope..!
We may have failed in delivering justice to all.
It took seventeen long years for Liberhan Commision to submit its report. The UPA government is yet to take action against the culprits.

Those who stoked the communal fire in Bombay are still at large. They have won elections and they continue to form governments. And the findings and report of the Sri Krishna Commision is gathering dust in some unknown cup board of a central government office.

The nation has witnessed countless number of riots, arson, murders etc. Yet not a single culprit has been punished so far. No one has been hanged. The murderers, looters, vandals, miscreants are roaming free.
It may take ages to punish the mass murderers of Gujarat.

Still, there is hope.

  

Teesta Setalvad                                    Harsh Mander

We have Teesta Setalvads. We have Harsh Manders. We have Sandeep Pandeys. We have Zakia Ehsan Jafferis. And the list goes on. These noble souls have not lost hope. They are relentless in their struggle. They work indefatiguably for the establishment of Justice.

Let their tribe increase.

Besides Aam Aadmi of this great nation do not prefer bigotry. Aam Aadmi may be powerless in the times of crisis. But, he has the right to vote. And he has the habit of using it wisely.

So, Allama Iqbal and Rakesh Sharma are right.  

Saare Jahan se acha Hindustan Hamara..!