Faiz’s nazm 'Hum dekhenge' doesn't hurt any religious sentiments, and never intended to

Faiz’s nazm 'Hum dekhenge' doesn't hurt any religious sentiments, and never intended to

Opinion: A poet of many worlds

What recent debates do not recognise is that poets cross national boundaries. That’s poetic freedom. What the current noise seems to ignore is that Faiz, who began his career as a lecturer in Amritsar in 1935, could travel many different worlds through his popular poetry and draw upon many rich traditions across religions. To reduce Faiz to a single frame or identity is to kill and crush his universal language of love, hope and human pathos. In all these forms, Faiz appears more inclusive and open-minded than any other writer of his generation, writes Nonica Datta.