How do I read of thee, O Rama?#
How do I read of thee, O Rama,When your name is a war cry?Not when your Sita is whisked away,But when mobs raise orange flags.How do I read of thee, O Rama,When blood is spilled at your name?Not when Indrajit fells Lakshmana,But when innocent children are slain?How do I read of thee, O Rama,When women are raped for you?Not because you asked, no,But because they veil themselves.How do I read of thee, O Rama,When fire burns saffron in your praise?Agni burns both fakirs and kafirs alike.What does he know of directed malaise?But I do read of you, Rama,Because they don’t.They don’t know all your stories,Or your names, from Raghava to Phra Lam.
Note
This is something I wrote on the spur of the moment after reading Bhisham Sahni’s Tamas, a book on communal hatred.