– Badri Raina
Agreed you were Adi
Indians,
Long before the Aryans
came;
Agreed we made you
Dalit
To set off the
conqueror’s name.
Agreed you are
illiterate,
Agreed you have no
say;
Agreed you are
untouchable,
Agreed you are kept at
bay.
Agreed that our
development
Makes you resentful,
red;
Agreed, in fact, we
prosper
Upon your sweat and
blood.
Agreed we rape your
women,
Agreed we stray, at
worst;
Agreed you may not use
our wells
To quench your
low-born thirst.
Agreed our
Constitution
Is ours and ours
alone;
Agreed our hallowed
temples
Will not let you in.
Agreed your land, your
forest
We grab, we chop, we
burn;
Agreed our banks, our
markets
Will never serve your
turn.
Even so, your
villainous move
To leave the Hindu
fold –
How could we ever
forgive you
Betrayal so beastly,
bold?
Go tell these priests
who dupe you
That all plants,
animals, men
Were created Sanaatan
Hindus
The minute the world
began.
Do you then prefer
Christian ease
To family atrocity?
How traitorous, how
ungodly
Can this world of
vermin be!