LAMENT ON THE DIFFERENCES AMONG INDIANS
EXPLANATORY NOTE

The first section of this chapter deals particularly with the problem of the Muslims vis-�-vis the Hindus of the subcontinent. Freedom of the country from the British bondage was the ideal before all, but the Hindu leaders seemed to behave as if they wanted to inherit from the British Government the authority to rule the country without sharing it with other communities. Apprehension of the Muslims on this account seemed to be con-firmed during the Round Table Conferences in London.¹

Iqbal describes the life of the people under slavery of the Imperial powers. In Bandagi Namah,² the reader will find a detail-ed exposition of his point of view. Slavery, says Iqbal, deprives people of the opportunity of preserving their cultural identity and transmitting it to their future generations. Again, it is due to the fact that different nations in the subcontinent, in spite of their desire to win freedom from the alien rulers, waste their time and energy in fighting with one another on diffe₇rences that could be resolved with goodwill on all sides.

The second section deals with the solution which Iqbal has in view. it is to �pass from matter to spirit. Matter is diversity spirit is light, life and unity.�³ This spiritual orientation in man is symbolised by the word �heart� which �shines like a bright lamp in the dark chamber of the body�. For elucidation of the term �Heart,� see note 20 to line 469.

Iqbal thinks that spiritual orientation of heart can be cultivated successfully in what he calls Faqr, which is explained in the previous chapter and especially in the Explanatory Note at its end.

1.         �Shamloo,� Ed., Speeches and Statements of Iqbal, pp. 208 ff.

2.         It is part of Zabur-i Ajam, pp. 248 ff. It has been translated into English by the present writer and published along with the translation or Gulshan-i Raz Jadid by the Institute of Islamic Culture Lahore.

3.         �Shamloo,� Ed, op. cit., p. 35.