The Unfortunate Indian: Maybe a Hindu or Maybe a Muslim

By Akshata Namjoshi – Second Year, B.A.LL.B. (Hons.), NLIU, Bhopal

The ambulance was stuck in a traffic jam,

I was the patient to peep outside the window

I was crying for my life, with every passing second,

I was about to die, i could see the deathly shadow,

The ones fighting ahead for the damage,

Were may be Hindu, may be a Muslim

But I was the one to die inside

I was surely an unfortunate Indian.

One day I paid the price of being a girl,

I was the vulnerable victim to be raped,

The other day i was eve-teased on the road,

They didn’t see the Burkha or the saree i draped,

Those few perverted “Rascals”

Were may be a Hindu, may be a Muslim

But the girl to lose her dignity

I was surely an unfortunate Indian.

I was the one to travel in “local”  & die in bomb blasts,

I drowned in Tsunami, my ribs crushed in earthquake

I was also the unemployed youth to face recession

I also became the child labour for my family’s sake,

I don’t know the religion of my destiny

It may be a Hindu, may be a Muslim,

But dancing on the thorny road of life

I was surely an unfortunate Indian.

A passing by car stopped, a man gave me some money

As I lived on footpath, my kids starving out of hunger,

That day my kids ate well, they didn’t snatch dog’s bread,

I blessed the man, and cursed government out of anger,

The one to give me money that day

Was may be a Hindu, may be a Muslim,

But to live a dog’s life on footpath,

I was surely an unfortunate Indian.

Leaders came and went, things remained the same,

I tried to remain ideal in this world of corruption

I fought for water, I fought for electricity,

I fought for “ration”, I fought for my pension,

All through these years

I was either a Hindu or a Muslim,

I fought every day, with every passing moment,

But then and forever.. I was surely an unfortunate Indian.

—

Lawctopus thanks its college manager for NLIU Bhopal, Swati Baghel.

Image from here.