“Zulm ki baat hi kya, zulm ki aukat hi kya,
Zulm bas zulm hai, aaghaaz se anjaam tak,
Khoon phir khoon hai, so shakl badal sakta hai,
Aisi shaklen ke mitaao to mitaaye na bane,
Aise shole ke bujhaao to bhujaaye na bane,
Aise naare ke dabaoo to dabaaye na bane”
(What is oppression, what is its standing,
Oppression is but oppression, from beginning to end,
Blood is still blood, it can take myriad forms,
Such forms that cannot be erased,
Such embers that cannot be extinguished,
Such slogans that cannot be repressed.)
The author is a senior Mumbai-based journalist and columnist who writes on politics, cities, media and gender. The views are personal.
