Hindi poem 'Kashmir to hoga, lekin Pakistan nahin hoga' gone viral is plain bigotry
I am angry that 18 Indian Army men were killed by militants in Uri. Militants who almost certainly were carrying out orders issued by someone in Pakistan. I want those responsible for the murder of these innocent men caught and punished.
Many who are as or more angry than I am have been sharing this video of a policeman reciting a Hindi poem that calls for the destruction of Pakistan.
In rousing tones, he reminds Pakistan that India has beaten it in many wars, and let it off lightly after each defeat. He accuses Pakistan of stoking trouble and violence in Kashmir.
But you won’t find me sharing and forwarding this video on Twitter, Facebook or WhatsApp. Here is why.
The poem, titled "Kashmir to hoga, lekin Pakistan nahin hoga", warns Pakistan to stop its mischief and to lay off Kashmir, or else be ready to face the consequences. Kashmir will always be there, goes the poem’s refrain, but Pakistan will cease to exist. Pakistan ka namo nishaan nahin rahega – Pakistan will be wiped out.
I want to know; how do you wipe out a country. Drop nuclear bombs and kill millions of men, women, and children who live there? Or maybe, defeat the Pakistani army in a war and make Pakistan a part of India again. What happens after that? Pakistanis will become Indian citizens overnight and we will live together happily ever after?
So, maybe this is all empty bombast and it is pain and rage in the wake of Uri that is making everyone share the poem. If I find it in dubious taste, then that is my problem.
But I feel that my unease becomes more than just a matter of taste, when the policeman begins the poem with these words:
Hum sher hain aur sher kisi se darte nahin, jaake bataa do un mullon ko aur Pakistaniyon ko
"We are lions and lions are not afraid of anyone, tell that to the mullas and Pakistanis."
Okay, so there are the Pakistanis and then there are the "mullas". Who are these mullas? Is the poet issuing ultimatums to mullahs or muslim clerics, along with Pakistanis?
No, he is not. He is using a demeaning and derogatory slur for Muslims. He has already addressed Pakistanis, so that leaves the non-Pakistani Muslims. Maybe, he is referring to Muslims living in Nigeria, Yemen, Indonesia and all the other places in the world. Or, maybe, he is referring to Indian Muslims.
These lines are uttered at the poem’s beginning, so all the indignation, warnings and threats in the rest of the poem are addressed not just to Pakistanis but also to "mullas".
In a classic feint, the poem later mentions the bravery and supreme sacrifice of Veer Abdul Hamid, who blew up many Pakistani Patton tanks in the 1965 war before being killed by the enemy and was posthumously awarded the ParamVir Chakra. The reference to Abdul Hamid – no other Indian martyr is mentioned in the poem – seems suspiciously like a fig leaf. Look how much I revere Veer Abdul Hamid who died for India, so you can’t accuse me of spewing hate against Muslims.
It is interesting in light of all this to look at the poem’s source. Much before it became viral post-Uri, it makes an appearance online when it was recited by a 13-year-old "sadhavi" or female mendicant at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad gathering. Listen to her hysterical diatribe in this video and think for a moment about those among us who can fill the mind of a little girl with so much hate.
Video credit: Tvideos.
The girl’s words before she recites the poem make it plain that there is no line separating anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim sentiment. If you insist on clinching proof, listen to the words with which she prefaces the poem. (at 4:22 minutes)
Bata do un mullonko, Pakistaniyon ko, isaiyon ko…
"Tell those Mullas, Pakistanis and Christians that…"
So we have the hated Pakistanis clubbed with Indian Muslims and Christians. The message is unambiguous -- if you are not a Hindu, you can never really be an Indian. You are no better than a Pakistani.
Our policeman has borrowed her introduction word to word, but dropped the reference to Christians.
Fact is, that every terror attack on the Indian soil becomes a god-sent opportunity for bigots to spew hate against Muslims. The bigot claims that he or she is just being "patriotic" and "nationalist".
And that is just what those who launch these attacks from across the border want. The aim of each and every terror attack is to elicit a reaction that undermines a secular India where minorities really enjoy the equal rights and privileges guaranteed to them by our Constitution.
And by clubbing together "mullas" and Pakistanis, we are only following the script.
Television channels aired "Kashmir to hoga, lekin Pakistan nahin hoga" and mainstream websites featured it. I can only say, beware! The poem is the thin end of the wedge; it seeks to make fascist thinking mainstream.
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This might sound like a mushy cliché, but hate only begets hate. Only love can conquer hate.
As far as acts of terror go, one of the most heartrending in recent times was the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014 that claimed the lives of 141 people, out of which 132 were school children.
The song "Mujhe Dushman ke Bachchon ko Padhana Hai" was released on the first anniversary of the tragedy. The title sums up the song’s guiding sentiment– "I have to educate the children of my enemy." Little children sing that they will avenge the murder of their schoolmates, but only by educating the killers’ children.
Video credit: Studioworld 09production.
Okay, so this video was produced by the Pakistani Army. But tell me, in your heart of heart of hearts, which song moves you more?