Omer Sultan
I wrote this poem to address the illegal imprisonment of Aasif Sultan, the Assistant Editor of Kashmir Narrator, a monthly magazine. Aasif, my brother was arrested on the intervening night of 27th and 28th of August 2018. He dropped me to the airport a day before his arrest. Ironically, before I boarded the international flight, I called to remind him to take care of our parents as he does in my absence since the last 7 years. Some hours later our house was raided, and he was arrested for his journalistic work including reporting on Burhan Wani, a rebel commander who was killed in a shootout in 2016 by the Indian army. After 76 days of Aasif’s illegal imprisonment based on ludicrous charges, my family and I were expecting his homecoming. He was supposed to get bail because no charge sheet was filed against him. We expected the bail to be given without any hindrance. Yet, the bail was rejected on flimsy grounds.
Brother
We are from the same womb
Ow! but your absence gloom,
The enemies of humanity
And the enemies of life,
They want to fight sanity
Spreading trials and strife.
You hold a pen
They hold a gun,
Coz they fear real men,
They want to cage, the sun?
They want to cage the light!
Coz they are, only seekers of the night;
Afraid of those who are right
Blinded by what is bright
Frame-up charges and flimsy fight
Intolerant of the truth in sight
But they are useless and run
And remember you have won
Because they are tyrants and none.
Tyranny doesn’t last
As light will cast
So be patient my heart
And lose not everlasting part
On the day of fear
The tyrants will useless care
So, don’t lose heart
But enjoy the patience sort.
Omer Sultan is an Assistant Professor of English.