Washington: During a reception for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month attended by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the White House's Marine Band performed “Sare Jahan Se Achha Hindustan Hamara" for an audience of Asian Americans.
The patriotic song, written by Mohammad Iqbal during India’s Independence struggle, was played twice by the White House Marine Band at the request of Indian Americans whom the president invited for the annual event.
“This was an amazing celebration of the White House’s AANHPI Heritage Month at the Rose Garden. The best part was that as I walked into the White House, I was greeted by the musicians playing ‘Sare Jahan se Accha Hindustan Hamara’. (Better than the entire world, is our Hindustan)," Indian American community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria said in an interview after the Rose Garden reception.
In a post on X, Ajay Jain wrote, “Thrilled to hear Saare Jahan Se acha Hindustan Hamara played at White House AANHPI heritage celebration hosted by President Joe Biden with VP Harris. Paanipuri and Khoya dish was also served. Stronger US-India relationship."
Moreover, this marks the second time within a year that the popular Indian patriotic song was performed at the White House. The previous occasion was during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic State Visit on June 23. According to the Marine Band, they had practised the song in preparation for that visit.
The playing of this song during the AANHPI Heritage Month is also reflective of how much President Biden and his team care for the India-US relationship and Indian Americans, Bhutoria said.
