Subah-e-Azadi

Faiz wrote this poem in August 1947 . A good poem to turn to in these turbulent times.

ye daaG daaG ujaalaa, ye shab_gaziidaa sahar
wo intazaar thaa jis kaa, ye wo sahar to nahii.n

ye wo sahar to nahii.n jis kii aarazuu lekar
chale the yaar ki mil jaayegii kahii.n na kahii.n
falak ke dasht me.n taro.n kii aaKharii ma.nzil
kahii.n to hogaa shab-e-sust mauj kaa saahil
kahii.n to jaa ke rukegaa safinaa-e-Gam-e-dil

jawaa.N lahuu kii pur-asaraar shaaharaaho.n se
chale jo yaar to daaman pe kitane haath pa.De
dayaar-e-husn kii be-sabr Khwaab-gaaho.n se
pukaratii rahii.n baahe.n, badan bulaate rahe

bahut aziiz thii lekin ruKh-e-sahar kii lagan
bahut qarii.n thaa hasiinaan-e-nuur kaa daaman
subuk subuk thii tamannaa, dabii dabii thii thakan

sunaa hai ho bhii chukaa hai firaq-e-zulmat-e-nuur
sunaa hai ho bhii chukaa hai wisaal-e-ma.nzil-o-gaam

badal chukaa hai bahut ahl-e-dard kaa dastuur
nishaat-e-wasl halaal-o-azaab-e-hijr-e-haraam

jigar kii aag, nazar kii uma.ng, dil kii jalan
kisii pe chaaraa-e-hijraa.N kaa kuchh asar hii nahii.n

kahaa.N se aaii nigaar-e-sabaa, kidhar ko gaii
abhii chiraaG-e-sar-e-rah ko kuchh Khabar hii nahii.n

abhii garaani-e-shab me.n kamii nahii.n aaii
najaat-e-diida-o-dil kii gha.Dii nahii.n aaii
chale chalo ki wo ma.nzil abhii nahii.n aaii

This link provides the translation of the poem. For meaning of specific urdu word look at the literal translation at the end of the page.

Jessica Lall murder case

A Delhi sessions court acquitted all the accused in this murder case. I am stunned, shocked, angry and hopeless. How this happened and what could have been done?

I have dcided to put all the articles, related to this story, I come across on this blog so that later, dear reader, you can refresh your memory.


Hindu reports the acquittal

Fali S Nariman comments

Former Chief Justice of India V N Khare comments

Editorial in Indian Express - I

CEO of Equus Redcell Advertising Suhel Seth vents out his anger

Hindu looks at the problem of hostile witnesses

Vir Sanghvi writes about this case (Pr, thanks for pointing out this article)

Resumed blogging

Dear Reader,

I have been away from blogging for quite a long time. I was in a slumber but after looking at the way things are underway in India, I thought to resume blogging.

The present situation in our country is not very encouraging.

A national newspaper editorial is crying for absence of law; yesterday all the accused in a prima facie murder case got acquitted due to lack of evidence and court saying "Police failed to sustain the grounds on which they had built up their case"; defence minister saying that no action was taken because 'he' didn't think classified document getting stolen as treason. There is a law which says that for this much guilt, you will get this much punishment. Where the hell a minister gets authority to weigh the guilt?

All this makes me cynical and loose hope. But in this situation what will you do, dear reader. Will you keep hope, try again and again till you run out of hope and energy or will you weigh the options and crib about the situation in your drawing room and then proceed to your dinner? Or will you try fruitlessly and foolishly like the boys in Rang De Basanti?

The choice is yours, dear reader and of our civil society whether it just watches and murmurs its disapproval or raises a storm. Where are todays JP, Lohia, Gandhi, Tilak? Have we run out of them, exhausted all of them in our journey to this abyss?

We all who sound so happy and boast about the new India, liberal India are the ones who have never got to do anything with law. The media who should know the truth of this illusion is following us in search of increased readers and more profit.

Our media is very incompetent. So many times I see a reporter, interviewing a personality, unable to retort back if the answer was a white lie. He will just say it's fair and time for break & thus a lie will be aired as a propaganda. The full grand gaze of media has many circles of comfortable blind spots which hides so many things from it.


I guess the normal (and perhaps more sensible) thing will be to proceed for dinner after a long crib in our drawing room. But by doing so are we not accepting the injustices, the wrong doings? How different it is from living with moments when you were humiliated, destroyed and made to feel your helplessness.

The question is in front of all of us, dear reader. If we don't stare at it, it will force us to stare at it.