Saare Jahan Se Accha

In today’s times, a series that documents the patriotic achievements of unsung heroes without resorting to mouth-frothing, jingoistic chest-thumping distinguishes itself by default. Saare Jahan Se Accha, now playing on Netflix, is yet another addition to the canon of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI and its Indian counterpart R&AW attempting to get ahead of each other in a duel of wits, words and weaponry. But with a difference. This six-episode series is set in the 1960s and ’70s, a tumultuous period not only for the two nations which had already sparred with each other on the war field, but one that found itself in the middle of a rapidly changing world order. With alliances being both forged and broken, it was a time of deep political unrest and immense distrust, with an inclination towards unchecked nuclear proliferation. That called for the world’s secret service agencies pressing quickly into a race against time to thwart attacks from powerful adversaries.