By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
According to a news report by Iftikhar Gilani in DNA, if SIMI’s ban is extended yet again then Ghalib may be one of the reasons for it.
An affidavit filed by Inspector Shivajirao Tambare of Maharashtra Police in support of continuing the ban on SIMI cites one sher by Ghalib:
Mauj-e-khoon sar se guzar hi kyuN na jaaye
Aastaan-e-yaar se uth jaayeN kya?
Not sure how Inspector sahib translated this Ghalib’s sher into Marathi but Iftikhar Gilani informs us that the affidavit concluded these lines by saying that they speak of bloodshed and animosity.
Ghalib’s mazar is in Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin, Delhi
Ghalib, probably for just this occasion had said:
Huay mar ke ham jo ruswa, huay kyuN na gharq-e-dariya
Na kabhi janaza uth-ta, na kahiN mazaar hota
First, the sher quoted in the affidavit is from a ghazal whose maqta is more famous than any other sher of this ghazal:
Puchhte hain vo ke ghalib kaun hai
Koi batlaao ke ham batlaayeN kya
Since our bright police inspectors have no clue about Ghalib and no idea what Ghalib wrote, how about we try to understand Ghalib by looking at this ghazal itself. Here are the couplets with my translation/explanation in the context of “the war on terror.”
جور سے باز آئے پر باز آئیں کیا
کہتے ہیں ہم تجھ کو منہ دکھلائیں کیا
Jaur se baaz aaye par baaz aaye kya
Kahte haiN ham tujh ko munh diklaayeN kya.
[Police say ok, we won’t do cruelty but then what will we do. Without cruelty what will be the face that we will show?]
رات دن گردش میں ہیں سات آسماں
ہو رہیگا کچھ نہ کچھ گھبرائیں کیا
Raat din gardish meiN haiN saat aasmaan
Ho rahega kuchh na kuchh ghabrayeeN kya
[ heavens are in motion, we don’t control anything anyway, heavens will determine our future, so why should we be worried, say helpless Muslim leaders]
لاگ ہو تو اس کو ہم سمجھیں لگاؤ
جب نہ ہو کچھ بھی تو دھوکا کھائیں کیا
laag ho to us ko ham samjheN lagaao
jab nah ho kuchh bhi to dhokaa khaaiN kya
[one can mistake our hate for love, but there is nothing like that, we care about ratings not truth so don’t get fooled: Media]
A key is required to access Ghalib’s mazaar.
ہو لیے کیوں نامہ بر کے ساتھ ساتھ
یا رب اپنے خط کو ہم پہنچائیں کیا
ho liye kyuuN naamah-bar ke saath saath
yaa rab apne khat ko ham pahunchayeiN kyaa
[our articles rejected many times, still eager to tell our stories; oh Lord! See we are starting our own publications: non-professional Muslim journalists]
موجِ خوں سر سے گزر ہی کیوں نہ جائے
آستانِ یار سے اٹھ جائیں کیا
mauj-e -khooN sar se guzar hi kyuN nah jaaye
aastaan-e yaar se uTh jaayeN kyaa
[However much you spill our blood, we will not leave this land of our beloved: Indian Muslims and their patriotism]
عمر بھر دیکھا کیے مرنے کی راہ
مر گیے پر دیکھیے دکھلائیں کیا
umr bhar dekhaa kiye marne ki raah
mar gaye par dekhiye dikhlaayeN kya
[ all these years, we have been saying we trust the courts but now that our cases drags on for decades we will see the face of justice: victims of “the war on terror”]
Ghalib’s tombstone.
پوچھتے ہیں وہ کہ غالب کون ہے
کوئی بتلاؤ کہ ہم بتلائیں کیا
puuchhte haiN voh ke Ghalib kaun hai
koyi batlaao ke ham batlaayeN kya
[Poor Ghalib, he also turned out to be a terrorist]
Seeing the news story prompted Boston-based poet Vivek Sharma to pen few lines in defense of Chacha Ghalib:
सरकारी सरफिरों की महफ़िल में क्यूँ जाओगे ग़ालिब,
कौन जाने बेवजह आशिक को वहाँ आतिश पुकारा जाए |
“जब आँख ही से न टपका तो लहू क्या है” तुमने लिखा,
करोगे क्या गर इसको वहाँ खून की कशिश पुकारा जाए |
बेहद दर्द, जूनून, जज्बा, जीस्त, इश्क है हर ग़जल में,
बेहुनर बाबुओं में क्यूँ न इसे इकबाले रंजिश पुकारा जाए |
कैसे समझाओगे यह शेर सिर्फ़ लब्ज़ है, स्याही का स्वांग,
अदालत में गर मुद्दा “दम निकले की ख्वाइश” पुकारा जाए ?
पैन्त्राबदल पेशाखोरों से कैसे जिरह करता फिरे विवेक, क्या कहे
तुम्हारे दीवान को गर इन्क़लाबी ख्यालों की नुमाइश पुकारा जाए ?
To quote Ghalib again,
thi khabar garam ke ghalib ke urhenge purze
dekhne ham bhi gaye pe tamasha na hua.
[Photos: TwoCircles.net]