Duration: 5:11

567 views

20

This song. Protest against anarchy. Are synonymous.

I have been wanting to cover this song, but when I actually started singing, I couldn’t dare change chords, lest I lose the vocal notes - and yet I did, on multiple occasions. And here it is, the rendition of the super-melodious and super-meaningful song backed by a flat C-chord on an Ukulele all throughout the song.

On 13 February, 1986, not only did Iqbal Bano sing the poem in protest against Zia-up-Haq, but she did so clad in a black sari - black, the colour of protest; sari, the attire Pakistan’s then President had banned.

Faiz wrote this poem in 1979, two years after a military coup in Pakistan by General Zia-us-Haq. Under this regime, Pakistan’s democracy was flailing and he submitted it to an Islamic state laden with religious symbolism. This poem called out Zia, who was a worshiper of power and not of Allah.

Iqbal Bank’s iconic performance in 1986 came at a time when Pakistan and its people had been forced into submission by Zia’s military regime - Faiz might have written the words but it was Iqbal Bano who made it the potent symbol of protest it is to date. The song still forms a mark of protest against anarchical and dictatorial governments.

While still being on topic let’s talk about anarchical and dictatorial governments. Quite recently, on December 17, 2019 students in IIT Kanpur gathered in support of the students of Jamia Millia Islamic, Delhi (who were assaulted by the police during their anti-CAA agitation). These IIT Kanpur students recited the poem ‘Hum Dekhenge.’ As a response to this, the government-funded IIT Kanpur set up a panel to consider whether the poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ is “anti-Hindu.”

I could not have been more happy. The smart people of IIT Kanpur got together to deliberate on if “Hindu khhatre me hai” from this song. I hope you get sarcasm. And I hope that God bless India towards real well-being.

I am a Hindu. And I love my country. And I love this song against dictatorial and anarchical governments. And there couldn’t be a better time than to try and emulate this song. #Jai_Hind