Reimagining Hum Dekhenge

Abstract

This paper investigates Pakistani writer Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s famous poem, ham dekheñge. In recent times, it has become a source of controversy for the language utilized and the Islamic-themes oriented within it, as seen by coverage surrounding the Citizenship Amendment Act protests in India in 2019. Building upon the sayings of literary commentators, this research dwells onto the Qur’anic and Ṣūfī origins for this poem, as well as its distinctly anti-colonial nature. It investigates the relationship with Faiz’s Marxist leanings, the evidently Pan-Islamic motif, and the original context of the poetry as a source of defiance to Zia ul-Haq’s regime in Pakistan by its famous singing by Iqbal Bano in 1986.