He sat on a throne
and made my Dalits sit on the ground
told my Adivasis to stay at his feet
we folded our hands and stood,
bringing palms together was all he ever taught my people;
changing religion was a rebellion
my people stood shoulder to shoulder
and entered mosques and churches;
his ego received a blow,
so he divides and kills and shows his true colours
once again
like he divided Vali and Sugreeva
he separated the Dalits and Muslims
and as he used the Vanaras
he instigated the Advasis against the Muslims:
isn't that his centuries old heritage?
He poured boiling lead over my people,
broke thumbs so that we couldn't turn the wheel of life,
burnt thousands alive leaving nothing for cremation;
once again
I see my people standing with folded hands,
once again
I see them sit on the ground in fear;
my people who never depended on anyone,
now that he's assumed the form of 'sarkar',
are being told to stretch their hands to plead for help:
that's his Hindu 'raj neeti'*
Before the joy of seeing Dalit wadas** closing in on the villages
could sink in
Muslim wadas started appearing outside the villages.
My translation of Skybaba's (or S.K.Yousuf Baba) Telugu poem 'muslim waaDalu' (from his collection of poetry 'jagnE kii raat').
* raj neeti: statecraft, or politics in general.
* *waaDa: quarter, locality, neighbourhood.