When Shamsher Bahadur wrote poem on Bloody Eid of Moradabad


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13 August, 1980 – Muslim festival of Eid was being celebrated across India but in Moradabad these celebrations turned into mournings as Police in Moradabad, a district in West Uttar Pradesh famous for brassware work, fired upon a gathering of Muslims offering Eid prayers. Hundreds were killed at Eidgah (ground where Eid prayers are offered) as journalists like BJP leader MJ Akbar and Syed Shahabuddin called it a cold blood murder of Muslims by the police. 

This massacre disturbed most of the Indians and famous progressive Hindi poet Shamsher Bahadur Singh wrote two Rubai (four line poems) bringing out the pain, despair and hopelessness of an Indian when his fellowmen were massacred.

Shamsher Bahadur Singh

 

He titled these Rubai as Bharat Desh ki Eid; 1980: Moradabad (Eid of Indian Nation; 1980: Moradabad)

First Rubai reads;

Vah kaam Moradabad mai hum kar aaye,

Duniya mai uncha apna parcham kar aaye !

Bachcho.n ki, javaano.n ki ummido.n ki wo Eid !

Us Eid ka hum jaa ke maatam kar aaye !!

 

(In Moradabad, we have carried out this operation

We raised our flag proudly in the whole world

Eid which gave hope to children and youth

We turned that Eid into a mourning) 

  In continuation, Singh wrote another Rubai, keeping in mind that the massacre was carried out on 13 August, only a day before Independence day, 15 August. He writes;

 

Rashtriya Swatantrta-divas purv ki Eid-

Aate hi, – Swatantrta-divas par hai shahiid !!

Hai Rashtra mahaan ! Rashtra ke dharm mahaan !!

Ye sab hain Moradabad mai qaabil-e-diid !!

 

(Eid, which arrived on the eve of National Independence Day

Martyred itself on the Independence Day

Nation is great, Faiths of the nation are great

In Moradabad, these are out on exhibition) 

 

  • (Author is a well known Historian & editor of heritagetimes.in)

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Saquib Salim

Saquib Salim is a well known historian under whose supervision various museums (Red Fort, National Library, IFFI, Jallianwala Bagh etc.) were researched. To his credit Mr. Salim has more than 400 published articles on history, politics, culture and literature in English and Hindi. Before pursuing his research and masters in modern Indian History from JNU, he was an electrical engineering student at AMU. Presently, he works as a freelance/ independent history researcher, writer and works at www.awazthevoice.in