Jubilee Post News & Views
Utkarsh Sinha
When in 1979 famous poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz had created stanzas for his poetry “Hum Dekhenge” to oppose Pakistan’s dictator General Jia, he (Faiz Ahmad Faiz) would never have thought his creation will be probed in 2019 in India and that too with an accusation that stanzas in this poetic creation were anti-Hindu.
In 1984 Faiz passed away and two years later (1986) Gazal singer Iqbal Bano sang stanzas from this poem versus at the Al-Hamra Arts Council auditorium in Lahore and made the poem eternal. Sometime later, she had sang it in India too. After this the lines of these poem were sung in almost every anti-government agitation in the entire south-Asia and particularly by the students.
Interestingly the probe is not done by any religious organization neither by a literary figure but is done by an organization that is known for its engineering courses and is also known for its intellectual progressiveness in the entire world.
Reading this news I remember the incidence quoted in the book ‘Adha Gaon’ (Half Village) by Dr Rahi Masoom Raza where one character asks another.– Where does your son reads?
– At Banaras Hindu University. And yours? (asks the respondent)
– At Aligarh Muslim University (replies the first one)
Suddenly some another character says “In our times men were Hindus and Muslims. Now do universities have these tags?”
The matter is now way ahead and has reached poetry, verse. Deputy director of IIT-Kanpur Maniondra Agrawal says some students have filed complaint with the office of the director that anti-Hindu peom was read out on the campus that has hurt Hindu religious sentiments hence action be taken against those responsible for reading the poem. After this a probe was set up by the IIT administration.
Now listen to this poem- (video link)
In fact those opposing this poem saying it is anti-Hindu have objection to a particular line which reads “Bas Naam Rahega Allah Ka” but how far they are concerned with the objective of the entire poem it is not even worth thinking about.
Think twice, had the word Allah been replaced with words such as Bhagwan or God would the meaning of the poem change at all? No not at all. But the minds with communal weeds would not have said it against the Muslims is difficult to say as they too would not have the ability to understand the (entire) poem.
Try to also understand the weakness of the thought process at an institute of repute such as the IIT, which has set up a probe on such a request. It is assumed that people with rank of professors are intellectuals and knowledgeable then are not even professors able to understand the stanzas or are they trying to score numbers before the government by putting pressure upon the students protesting against.
Though it is not for the first time that a poet or a lyricist has been targeted like this. After the Babri incident in Ayodhya uproar was also there upon ‘Ram Banwas’ by Kafi Azmi but not in such an absurd manner.
Famous poet Javed Akhtar in his reaction to this uproar upon the poem being said anti-Hindu said, ‘Terming any of the poems or verses by Faiz as anti-Hindu is absurd and funny and talking on this will be difficult. Faiz Ahmad Faiz was the leading star in the movement by the progressive writers done in undivided India.’
What Javed Akhtar has said is correct but he should also keep in mind that taking such issues very lightly in a fanatic situation will be wrong because such issues may further rise or multiply. The situation is such at present and it is when literature festivals are pulling attention is several cities.
