Tu idhar udhar kee na baat kar, yeh bata ke qafila kyun luta/
Mujhe rahzanon se gila naheen, teri rahbari ka sawaal hai (Shahab Jafari).
This verse has unnecessarily started a row about the intentions of Azam Khan, Rampur MP after he recited it in Parliament.
It was perhaps first recited by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in Parliament addressing Jawaharlal Nehru some six decades ago. The hallowed hall of Parliament and other meetings have heard this magnificent verse time and time again ever since. In simple translation, it says: do not beat about the bush, tell me in plain words, why we were looted? I do not blame the bandits, I question your leadership.
Shame on us! The new breed of netas claiming to lead India today are so unlettered in our Ganga-Jamuni tahzeeb that they cannot appreciate and enjoy a brilliant verse of finest Urdu poetry, uttered by Azam Khan in Parliament the other day.
Zafarul-Islam Khan
Chairman, Delhi Minorities Commission