Hum Dekhenge

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

Hum Dekhenge (Urdu : ہم دیکھیں گے - In english We shall see) is a popular Urdu nazm, written by the 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.

Contents

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]

Media

The song was recreated in Coke Studio Season 11 on 22 July 2018, under the aegis of Zohaib Kazi and Ali Hamza. [18] [upper-alpha 1] 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 Citizenship Amendment Act protests in India, [23] faculty members of IIT Kanpur took issue with Hum Dekhenge being sung by protesting students in the campus, and alleged it to be "anti-Hindu". [24] [upper-alpha 2] 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.

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References

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