Faiz in India

There has emerged a bizarre controversy in India over verses by eminent poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The poetry of Faiz and other poets is being widely read by students and activists in India. The controversy, dubbed as laughable by most people here, began after a protest by students at IIT-Kanpur, where students gathered on campus in solidarity with students from the Jaamia Milia protesting India’s new citizenship act. At the gathering at IIT, a female student sang one of Faiz’s best-known poems, ‘Hum Dekhenge’. IIT-Kanpur has set up a committee to investigate whether this poem is in fact anti-Hindu. The whole affair has a comic element to it given that Faiz, through much of his life, was seen as ‘anti-state’ in Pakistan and using his work and art was discouraged by Gen Zia. His poetry would be used even then as a form of protest. The poem recited at Kanpur was in fact written during the Zia era and targeted the regressive, communal and fundamentalist regime. The verses that so-called ‘experts’ have picked from the poem as being directed against Hindu refer to idols of false gods being uprooted. The rest of the poem chiefly refers to the powerful being overthrown.

Well-known Indian poet Javed Akhtar and renowned Urdu theory expert Gopichand Narang, winner of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award, have both countered the views being expressed about Faiz. Narang has said that Faiz’s metaphors, frequently used in Urdu poetry, cannot be taken literally. The communist beliefs of the poet and his views in favour of peace in India have also been cited. The entire debate suggests how absurd Indian efforts to suppress ongoing protests against the citizenship law are. Amidst the guffaws of those who know Faiz’s poetry well and who recognize him as one of the most influential poets of his time, IIT-Kanpur has hinted it may withdraw its inquiry. The actions indicate the desperation of an Indian government unable – despite the use of terrible violence – to quell the protests that have broken out across India and which involve members of all religious groups. Faiz no doubt would have been proud of the young people leading these movements. The ongoing events in India simply show how far bias, in this case against Pakistan, can drive people to tragic inanity.