On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of India’s independence, Farheen asks some pertinent questions and wonders where is the secular India that the Founding Fathers of our liberation had dreamt of. A Different Truths exclusive.
The dream I see
The valour of my countrymen intact be
With pride by my one side
And the happiness on the other stride
When fortune favours the brave
Together with one voice, march to save
Those were the days, extremely unusual
People believed in one action and not dual
The woman birthed babies for whom the dream was one
To grow up; get sacrificed in front of an enemy’s gun
Where are such people and such people’s love for a nation?
Why love, care, secularism are felt precisely as ration
This country raised the Braveheart not only from one community
How they try to prove; Ah! It’s a pity
Don’t lend your precious ears to hear hatred cacophony
When you have always loved the symphony
They exaggerate, they make you fight and cease your power of thinking
Your love for that one group starts sinking
They make you enemies at one go
When they ask you to harm others, say no
Tell them, humans are humans, all feel the pain, families are broken, women are raped, children lose their mind
Where peace I need to find
What is left is media coverage, unending debates, newspaper headlines, and grants to the dead
Use your mind, save a life, help, bring in positivity instead
The blood doesn’t do any good to my country
Especially, the nation that was long ago made free
Believe me, the country you believe is your mother
Who will save her, you, you and you, none others
Guard your country and make us proud
Be those countrymen as our freedom fighters were among the Indian crowd
So brave, honest, and only one thought to make the country free, we know
They wanted to breathe freedom and seeds of unity they had to sow
Together, we will fight and get our country back
Only one motive – in nationalism nobody should lack
Unique obsession they had for the county, my friend
They kissed the soil and loved the country’s each strand
They didn’t know, people will fight over meat, religion, marriages among different faiths, tweets, and the triviality
Some sourced words, some other the tune, yet others brought their best ability
Where are we heading, my dream is worried too?
I have been consoling it, it says it’s not the way I grew
When I was seen by a freedom fighter, the dream said
With his brimming patriotism, I knew, with freedom I need to wed
The Patriots belong only to one group they say
The other group would even die to show, nay
Nobody would accept him as a patriot
He was a traitor, lynching is appropriate for that bigot
My nation’s air no longer feels so pure
Despite so many religious rituals, only hatred, bloodshed, and future unsure
Did they die, for us, to see?
Not the nationalism, but lynching and riots to be the social spree
If you want to die, die for your country, countrymen and to save country’s honour
Love was free then, for publicity no one had to wait
Could reside among people bonded despite different faiths
The festivals didn’t know which religion
Even after the country’s partition
Neighbours – an extended family; let’s coexist
Hindu sister tied Rakhi on a Muslim brother’s wrist
The country in which Ganapati idols, Muslims make
Hindu tailors ready clothes for Eid sake
From a flooded mosque, Sikhs risk their lives to secure the Holy Book; incredible
Christians present crackers to Hindu children on Diwali; commendable
This is the India we know
Don’t compromise and stoop low
Raise yourself to show the world a perfect view
We coexist like a fabric woven with diverse hues
We pay no heed to religious scorners
On getting secularism killed, we are the mourners
Participate in my country’s success
For repressive minds care less
‘Coz progressive minds will outshine the mess
We had once fought against the whites
Need a revolution against our internal fights
Let our flag bind us together
Add ‘brotherhood’, to your cap, as a special feather
Leave our country; yes you, who wants that one group leave
Not we, your brazen acts suffocate the air – believe me
Trust us, in our country, nobody wants bloodshed
We aren’t alive, watching unrest, deaths, and fear; in our country, we are the living dead.
©Farheen Viquas
Photos from the Net
#IndianIndependence #SecularIndia #People #Country #FoundingFathers #Brotherhood #Poem #DifferentTruths
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