BackWhen FM quoted a progressive Kashmiri poet to convey the idea of New India
Experts believe the ruling party is using language politics to sway the Delhi elections
PremiumNew Delhi: Within minutes of presenting the Budget 2020 in Parliament, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman recited a verse in Kashmiri, a first-time choice for the annual speech.
“Son watan, gulzar Shalimar hyuv, Dal manj, folwoon Pamposh hyuv, navjawan an hund, wushun khumar hyuv, myon watan, hyon watan, son watan, nundwon watan (loosely translated to, Our nation is like Shalimar Bagh, our nation is like the lotus in the Dal Lake, our nation is like the energy of the youth, my nation your nation, our nation, the most adorable nation in the world)," she recited from “Myon Vatan" (My Motherland), a poem by Dinanath Kaul Nadim, which calls for an idea of a nation where there is no one divided on the basis of religion and everyone is identified as human beings. The finance minister then translated it in Hindi.
The use of poetry or couplets by Indian finance ministers is an old tradition. Whether it was P. Chidambaram employing Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar’s words to keep the listeners engaged, or Manmohan Singh reciting Allama Iqbal’s Urdu poetry or Arun Jaitley using Urdu couplets to make an appeal to the public who might be puzzled by highfalutin financial stuff, poetry has served to lighten budget speeches. On 1 February, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman continued the tradition, but also made a statement.
The use of a poem by Srinagar-born Nadim, a Sahitya Akademi award winner who was at the centre of Kashmir’s progressive movement between 1930s and 1950s, in a budget that aims to help India reach the $5 trillion mark is ironic, considering Kashmir’s economy has, as claimed by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, suffered losses of ₹15,000 crore since 5 August, when the government abrogated Article 370 provisions and made it a union territory. Experts also claim the use of Kashmiri is a way to make “see" national integration.
‘LANGUAGE POLITICS IS CLEAR’
“The language politics is clear," says Pradip Kumar Datta, professor of comparative politics and political theory at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of International Studies. “Nadim’s legacy is being suppressed as a way of promoting national integration. The line, ‘Dal Lake mein khilte huye kamal jaisa’ makes it clear; they are using poetry to function symbolism into election manifesto," he explains.
The absence of once-favourite Urdu in Saturday’s budget also points to the recent consistent efforts of erasing its presence from the Indian way of life, he adds. “After the Faiz incident (referring to the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act/National Register of Citizens) it has become much clearer that Urdu is identified with religion, not culture."
Ellora Puri, assistant professor (political science) at the University of Jammu, on the other hand, is glad the finance minister used a Kashmiri verse because it will help make the vernacular language popular. “Whatever helps to make people know more about Kashmir," she says. She, however, is worried about how the digital push will happen in her home. The government will be setting up data centre parks in the country as well as making a push for BharatNet, Sitharaman said in her budget speech. “How will it happen here? We can’t even access the Internet fully," says Prof. Puri.
Naseem Shafaie, 65, the first Kashmiri woman to win the Sahitya Akademi Award, hopes things will get better because “it can’t get any worse". “Husn jab buda, jab beemar ho jata hai (when body becomes old, sick), it needs to be taken care of. Kashmir too needs help. They say budget will help. Hum yeh bhi dekh lenge (we shall see that also)."
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