Hum Dekhenge....
The poem by Faiz is everything.. The words are giving us hope to not give up. Even if a person has to lose everything, it is giving us an assurance.
The poem was written by Faiz during the challenging times in Pakistan during the Zia-ul-Haq’s regime. It is said that they had to confiscate every copy and reading the poem anywhere would’ve resulted in sedition charge. It was the most difficult times for the people who stood for people’s rights.
According to Wikipedia:
“The nazm became a song of resistance and defiance, after a public rendition by Iqbal Bano at Alhamra Arts Council on 13 February,1986, ignoring the ban on Faiz's poetry”
The nazm(poem) has been quoted and sung widely across a variety of protests in the sub-continent.
In India, there have been protests and solidarity march. The Abrogation of article 370 was one of the darkest hours. The entire state of Jammu & Kashmir was made to suffer. The Indian government is solely responsible for the injustice. The people of India were made to believe that there was a terrorist attack being planned and the pilgrims visiting the shrine were asked to leave. It was a trap to bring in the armed forces into the state. This was also to stop anyone from protesting and the Indian government even changed laws that gave powers to the armed forces and administration to detain anyone. There was a complete crackdown and we have seen the worst things being done to the people. The young children were picked up such that families would stay silent. There were other brutal incidents and thinking of that would bring shills down the spine. The Indian government have let down the people of Kashmir. It was an unfortunate turn of events. The state and its leaders are still suffering and are being denied basic services.. the nazm by Faiz were being sung at protests and to show solidarity for the people of Kashmir. The nazm even made news when someone played the religion card.. they accused that it’s an Islamic prayer and was being recited at schools and an attempt to convert young children.. This whole claim was bogus and eminent writers and poets called out the hypocrisy and reminded them on the beautiful poem by Faiz..
The country that cherished the harmony and secularism had to face another issue. The Indian government passed a bill through the parliament and made a law that deemed immigrants from certain countries as illegals based on their religion. This law was carefully designed to garner support of a certain section of the people. The Indian government led by the BJP thought the law that was passed the parliament would sail and there won’t be any issues.
The people across the country realized the dangers of the discriminatory law that was passed. The CAA law deemed Muslims and other nationals illegals and made them ineligible for citizenship. The Indian government continues to justify the law by saying there are persecuted Hindus in neighboring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The citizenship act of 1951 was clear enough to grant anyone citizenship regardless of their religion. There was no need to bring in the CAA law.
There are protests against CAA, NRC, NPR across the country and people from all faiths have joined together. The humans of Shaheen bagh need special mention. They have done what other Indians didn’t. They are standing up for India and the constitution. It’s been 60+ days and shaheen bagh has made us proud. There are shaheen bagh like protests in other places in the country.. There is also great danger for people who are taking part in the protests. It is a life and death situation and we don’t know if some of them would be even alive.. this is because the BJP led state governments have given orders to the police and administration to detain people who are protesting. The people detained have shared their experience and how they were treated by the cops. It was troubling and people are unable to come to terms that the cops were involved. Who will register the complain for them?
They say, when one door closes another one opens. The people are finding support from volunteers, advocates, judges and others. There are also SM warriors who are helping with the coordination and helping them connect with support groups. There are many people on the ground who aren’t sure what their future will be. There are people from all faiths and backgrounds.. The students have also been detained and attacked by the Sangh-pariwar goons and the cops. There is no end to the hooliganism.
As people continue to protest, the people can quote/sing the nazm by Faiz.
Here is the poem :
Here is the original rendition by Iqbal Bano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxtgsq5oVy4
There are also renditions in Indian languages and we are starting to the localized hum dekhenge versions. There is no shortage of talent and people are using the medium to send in their support. we are seeing how the common is making a huge difference. We are known for our diversity and there cannot be an India without this.
How long can anyone suppress the voices? Hum dekhenge.
Hum dekhenge in Tamil:
Hum dekhenge in Malayalam:
Hum dekhenge in Kannada:
Hindi:
Hum dekhenge.. hum dekhenge..