Hum Dekhenge

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Hum Dekhenge
by
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Original titleویبقی و جہ ر بک
Written1979
First published in1981
LanguageUrdu
Lines21

Hum Dekhenge (

Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz.[1] Originally written as Va Yabqá Vajhu Rabbika (And the countenance of your Lord will outlast all),[2]
it was included in the seventh poetry book of Faiz -- Mere Dil Mere Musafir.

Background

The nazm was composed as a medium of protest against

Zia Ul Haq's oppressive regime.[3] It gained a rapid cult-following as a leftist[4][5] song of resistance and defiance,[6] after a public rendition by Iqbal Bano at Alhamra Arts Council[7][8] on 13 February 1986,[9] ignoring the ban on Faiz's poetry.[10] [11][12][13][14][15][16]

Themes

Faiz employs the metaphor of traditional Islamic imagery to subvert and challenge Zia's fundamentalist interpretation of them; Qayamat, the Day of Reckoning is transformed into the Day of Revolution, wherein Zia's military government will be ousted by the people and democracy will be re-installed.[15][17]

In popular culture

Media

The song was recreated in

Ali Hamza.[18][A] In the movie The Kashmir Files (2022), it was depicted as being sung by students of a left-leaning Indian university to as a song of protest [20]

Protests

The poem gained importance in protests against Pervez Musharraf in the early 2000s.[21][22]

During the

IIT Kanpur took issue with Hum Dekhenge being sung by protesting students in the campus, and alleged it to be "anti-Hindu".[24][B] The IIT instituted a commission to look into the issue.[25] The student media body rejected the charges as being misinformed and communal, which divorced the poem from its societal context.[26][27]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ The Coke Studio rendition however removed some lines, which were arguably the most controversial part of the poem.[19]
  2. ^ The line "sab but uṭhvāe jāenge" and "bas nām rahegā allāh kā" respectively translates to "when all the idols will be removed" and "only Allah will remain", from a very-literal reading. It was thus perceived to challenge idolatry and polytheism, which many Hindus adhere to.

References

  1. The Telegraph. Archived from the original
    on 11 September 2012.
  2. .
  3. .
  4. . Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  5. .
  6. .
  7. ^ "Husn-e-Ghazal". The Hindu. 12 March 2005. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  8. ^ Iqbal Bano ghazal personified Dawn (newspaper), published 22 April 2009, Retrieved 21 June 2018
  9. ^ Hashmi, Ali Madeeh (4 September 2019). "When Iqbal Bano Defied Zia's Dictatorship To Sing 'Hum Dekheinge' At Alhamra". Medium.com. Naya Daur Media. Medium.com. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  10. ^ Bamzai, Kaveree (2 January 2020). "Modi's India unhappy with protesters singing Faiz's Hum Dekhenge. Zia's Pakistan was too". ThePrint. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  11. The Guardian (UK)
    . 10 May 2009., Retrieved 21 June 2018
  12. ^ Khan, M Ilyas (22 April 2009). "Pakistani singer Iqbal Bano dies". BBC News.
  13. S2CID 149998949
    .
  14. .
  15. ^ a b Raza, Gauhar (January 2011). "Listening to Faiz is a subversive act". Himal Southasian. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  16. ^ Media, Naya Daur (4 September 2019). "When Iqbal Bano Defied Zia's Dictatorship To Sing 'Hum Dekheinge' At Alhamra". Medium. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  17. ^ "The story of Faiz's Hum Dekhenge — from Pakistan to India, over 40 years". The Indian Express. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  18. ^ Maheen Sabeeh (24 July 2018). "Coke Studio 11 announces itself with 'Hum Dekhenge'". The News International. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  19. ^ Kaur, Harnidh (26 July 2018). "What Coke Studio did to Faiz's song, Pakistan is doing to its people". ThePrint. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  20. ^ Kumkum Chadha, The Kashmir Files: Pedalling a half truth, Tehelka, 1 April 2022.
  21. ^ Naqvi, Jawed (15 December 2008). "If mullahs usurp anti-imperialism should the secular fight be given up?". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  22. ^ "DAWN - Features; November 22, 2007". DAWN.COM. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  23. ^ "How these poems have defined anti-CAA protests". The Week. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Who's afraid of a song?". The Indian Express. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  25. ^ Service, Tribune News. "IIT Kanpur panel to decide if Faiz poem is anti-Hindu". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  26. ^ "IIT Kanpur students respond to professor who accused them of chanting anti-India slogans".
  27. ^ "Don't communalise the peaceful gathering at IIT Kanpur". Vox Populi. 21 December 2019. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019.

External links