Javed Akhtar spoke out in defence of legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poem Hum Dekhenge, after protesters began using it as a personal anthem to further their cause.
After the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur constituted a panel, in an attempt to distinguish whether legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz caused upheaval to the sentiments of Hindus through his poem Hum Dekhenge, Javed Akhtar, senior lyricist, came out in support for the singer, dubbing the incident funny and absurd.
During a conversation with ANI, regarding the controversy that Faiz is embroiled within, Javed Akhtar told the agency, "Calling Faiz Ahmed Faiz anti-Hindu is so absurd and funny that it's difficult to seriously talk about it."
He also went on to say that the poem was not written against the Indian government, rather was written during the government of Zia-ul-Haq.
He was quoted as saying, "He lived half his life outside Pakistan, he was called anti-Pakistan there. Hum Dekhenge he wrote against Zia ul Haq's government which was a communal regressive and fundamentalist government."
The lyricist further went on to refute claims against the poem being anti-Hindu by explaining one of the phrases of the poem. He stated, "He has mentioned a phrase - Goonjega an-al-haq ka naara which means aham brahma, which means that the Creator and creation is one, it is not an Islamic thought."
Javed Akhtar was forced to make this move after a complaint was launched against the poet by a faculty member, at Jamia Millia Islamia, after students began reciting the poem as a personal anthem to mark protests. This recitation ended up hurting the sentiments of Hindus, as well as other communities.