On July 11, an FIR was filed with Assam Police against 10 people under various IPC sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy, promoting social enmity and insulting religion – for writing poetry. The author writes this poem in response to the appalling news, closely following the structure and borrowing verses from Hafiz Ahmed’s ‘I am Miya’.
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Arrest
Arrest me too
I am a Poet
And a Muslim.
I do not have a number yet
But, I will soon be a statistic.
My parents hope not
But they know it too,
That you hate me
As you hated Tabrez,
And you hated Lankesh
And some 96 other
Odd numbers.
I write verses
Provocative yet real.
But you’d rather
Live in the comfort,
Of ignorance
That promises
To keep you privileged.
I have always written
For the nation.
And yet,
You brand me anti-national!
Now, you write down
I am
A citizen of a democratic, secular, Republic
But, with lesser rights
Than you have,
Because I am a Muslim,
And a Poet
It doesn’t matter that I’m an Indian,
If you wish you can kill me,
Drive me away from my home,
Snatch away the pen and paper,
The weaker among you can gather a mob,
And you can tear at my flesh
Without any punishment.
Write, I am a Poet
Living in a Muslim ghetto
Chewing on the daily news,
Of violence
And more violence.
My mind is saturated,
My body has gone numb, but
My eyes red with fire.
Be Aware!
I have nothing but anger in stock.
Keep away!
Or
Turn to Ashes.
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Note: The verses in Italics have been borrowed from Ahmed’s poem.
Featured image credit: PTI