Never underestimate the power of Faiz's poetry, says daughter Saleema Hashmi

It is not "sad" but "funny" to call Faiz Ahmed Faiz's "Hum Dekhenge" anti-Hindu, says the daughter of the famous Urdu poet, asserting her father's words will always speak to those who need to express themselves.

Asked about IIT-Kanpur forming a committee to inquire into a complaint against the recitation of 'Hum Dekhenge' on campus by students to protest against the amended Citizenship Act, Saleema Hashmi on Thursday said she is not worried about the controversy as it may ultimately lead to Faiz's words seducing those who are critical of the poem.

In an exclusive interview with PTI, Hashmi said, "A group of people investigating the poem's message is nothing to be sad about, it is very funny. Let's look at in another way, they may end up getting interested in Urdu poetry and it's metaphors. Never underestimate the power of Faiz."
"All of which is anathema to fundamentalist thinking which thrives on exclusion of the 'other' and a strange kind of self-hatred which spews hate for others."
"Faiz was always controversial in his lifetime and beyond - yet those who hated his ideas, confessed to loving his poetry and were seduced by its sheer love of life and human kind. So controversy always makes the curious turn to the source of the controversy and hopefully they will end up succumbing to the power of Faiz's words."