सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना

सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है
देखना है ज़ोर कितना बाज़ू-ए-क़ातिल में है

(ऐ वतन,) करता नहीं क्यूँ दूसरी कुछ बातचीत,
देखता हूँ मैं जिसे वो चुप तेरी महफ़िल में है
ऐ शहीद-ए-मुल्क-ओ-मिल्लत, मैं तेरे ऊपर निसार,
अब तेरी हिम्मत का चरचा ग़ैर की महफ़िल में है
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है

वक़्त आने पर बता देंगे तुझे, ए आसमान,
हम अभी से क्या बताएँ क्या हमारे दिल में है
खेँच कर लाई है सब को क़त्ल होने की उमीद,
आशिकों का आज जमघट कूचा-ए-क़ातिल में है
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है

है लिए हथियार दुश्मन ताक में बैठा उधर,
और हम तैयार हैं सीना लिए अपना इधर.
ख़ून से खेलेंगे होली गर वतन मुश्क़िल में है,
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है

हाथ, जिन में है जूनून, कटते नही तलवार से,
सर जो उठ जाते हैं वो झुकते नहीं ललकार से.
और भड़केगा जो शोला सा हमारे दिल में है,
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है

हम तो घर से ही थे निकले बाँधकर सर पर कफ़न,
जाँ हथेली पर लिए लो बढ चले हैं ये कदम.
ज़िंदगी तो अपनी मॆहमाँ मौत की महफ़िल में है,
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है

यूँ खड़ा मक़्तल में क़ातिल कह रहा है बार-बार,
क्या तमन्ना-ए-शहादत भी किसी के दिल में है?
दिल में तूफ़ानों की टोली और नसों में इन्कलाब,
होश दुश्मन के उड़ा देंगे हमें रोको न आज.
दूर रह पाए जो हमसे दम कहाँ मंज़िल में है,
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है

वो जिस्म भी क्या जिस्म है जिसमे न हो ख़ून-ए-जुनून
क्या लड़े तूफ़ान से जो कश्ती-ए-साहिल में है
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है
देखना है ज़ोर कितना बाज़ू-ए-क़ातिल में

This one is too close to my heart. So thought to have it as a post on my blog ... :)

What “Law” cannot shield its own countrymen?

The feeling was one of deep sadness and failure when upon reading the morning newspapers I got to know that Kasab had still not been punished. Further to aggravate everything, even if he gets the death sentence (which he fully deserves) it would still be almost a year when he’s actually hanged. And before that he can still appeal to the President for mercy. Until that time, the state shall be incurring costs for his food and security.

Fair amount of people in our country will advocate this a demonstration of the fact that the Indian Law is above all and does justice to everyone. But I do not see how it does justice to its own countrymen. We take over a year to convict a murderer who was caught on video mercilessly killing innocent people. I somehow cannot get around the fact that we need to even give him some trial. The fact that he’s a foreign terrorist and has murdered “Indians” should be enough to “feed him to the wolves”.

By delaying the process of convicting a criminal what are we portraying? Somehow is it that anyone can come into this country, commit an act of terror and then we’ll treat him to good food and secure accommodation. Why? Why should the taxpayers of this country even pay for his food. In some sense we are ourselves not sending hard signals to those sitting in Pakistan and hence encouraging them to treat us as weak and commit terror attacks time and again.

Can’t we learn anything form Israel and MOSAD? After the Munich massacre those guys literally hunted down all those responsible and murdered them with equal brutality, no matter where they were in the world. They have replied whenever it was required. And today, their enemies fear to attack them. Some people would say that I’m advocating violence. Well I’m not. All I’m advocating is the protection of my countrymen at all costs. And I’m not attacking at first. Be my friend and I shall be yours. But no one gives anyone the right to attack the citizens of this country.

One of the very noted journalists in this country wrote in his coloumn in the Hindustan Times, that we are targeting the muslims in India unnecessarily when there are protests against Dilip Kumar’s acceptance of award from Pakistan or Sania Mirza marrying into that country. My opposition is not against the muslims of this country. (When I wrote on Google Buzz against Sania’s marriage, which raised certain eyebrows I never even mentioned the word “Muslim”.) Let us take it case by case. The easier one first: Dilip Kumar’s. Well India was at war with Pakistan when they gave him the award in 1998. So you have a state that has been eternally responsible in killing your citizens in some form or the other. And they are very proud of the fact that they not only shot Indian soldiers, but they aimed and shot their eyes. Common, do you have no consideration for the families of these soldiers? Compare this situation when recently Amitabh Bachchan delined an award from Australia because Indian citizens were racially targeted there. To me Bachchan has character and Dilip Kumar is simply not an Indian. You do not bridge gaps when your countrymen are being killed and murdered specially those who lay down their lives at the front not caring about their own families.

Israeli PM Begin once wrote in a letter to President Regan, "My generation, dear Ron, swore on the Altar of God that whosoever proclaims the intent of destroying the Jewish state or the Jewish people, or both, seals his fate." This is the conviction of the Israeli’s and what do we do? Accept awards and marry into the country that is responsible for killing our citizens!

To the argument that not all the Pakistani’s involved in the terror attacks here. Well they are. They have a constitution that they themselves adopted. They themselves made a choice to stay in that country. They do not accept and neither feel sorry for the attacks in India. And that they do not do anything to stop the process is reason enough to hold each Pakistani guilty and responsible. For this I can’t have any feelings but that of revenge for all my people. Even if every one ends up with a “blind eye”, it should not be the case that only Indian’s end up with blind eyes. So yes Sania Mirza and Dilip Kumar are traitors and we are being extra soft at this moment. Our reaction and answers should match that of Israel if we hope for peace anytime soon in this country.