The Nation Is Not a Map Drawn On a Piece of Paper

[Translation of: देश कागज पर बना नक्शा नहीं होता]

If one room in your house

is ablaze

Can you

just go sleep in another one?

If in one room of your house,

corpses rot and decay,

Then can you

just pray in another one?

If yes,

Then I have nothing

to say to you.

The nation is not a map

drawn on a piece of paper

so that even if an edge frays

the remaining parts stay intact;

and rivers, mountains, cities, villages

hold fast to their places

unperturbed.

If this is not your belief,

Then I do not want to live

with you.

In this world, there is nothing greater than a man’s life

Not god.

Not knowledge.

Not elections.

Any text written on a piece of paper

can be torn

And buried under

the seven folds of the earth.

A judgment

that stands bolstered by corpses

is blind.

A reign

that flows from the barrel of a gun

is the trade of assassins.

If this is not your belief,

then I no longer

have to bear with you,

even for a minute.

Remember:

The murder of a child

The death of a woman

The gaping wounds on the body

of a man rent by bullets,

are the defeat of not one regime

but the whole nation.

Such blood does not flow

to soak into the earth.

It rises to stain black

the flags that flutter in the sky.

The earth that bears the imprint of army jackboots

on which corpses fall

If that earth does not become fire

and course through your veins,

Then understand

that you have turned into a wasteland.

You have no right to even take a breath here

This world is no longer for the likes of you.

A last word, straight up.

Do not ever forgive

a murderer.

Be he your friend

Or the stakeholder of religion

Or the renowned chowkidar

of your democracy.

❈ ❈ ❈

देश कागज पर बना नक्शा नहीं होता

सर्वेश्वर दयाल सक्सेना

यदि तुम्हारे घर के

एक कमरे में आग लगी हो

तो क्या तुम

दूसरे कमरे में सो सकते हो?

यदि तुम्हारे घर के एक कमरे में

लाशें सड़ रहीं हों

तो क्या तुम

दूसरे कमरे में प्रार्थना कर सकते हो?

यदि हाँ

तो मुझे तुम से

कुछ नहीं कहना है।

देश कागज पर बना

नक्शा नहीं होता

कि एक हिस्से के फट जाने पर

बाकी हिस्से उसी तरह साबुत बने रहें

और नदियां, पर्वत, शहर, गांव

वैसे ही अपनी-अपनी जगह दिखें

अनमने रहें।

यदि तुम यह नहीं मानते

तो मुझे तुम्हारे साथ

नहीं रहना है।

इस दुनिया में आदमी की जान से बड़ा

कुछ भी नहीं है

न ईश्वर

न ज्ञान

न चुनाव

कागज पर लिखी कोई भी इबारत

फाड़ी जा सकती है

और जमीन की सात परतों के भीतर

गाड़ी जा सकती है।

जो विवेक

खड़ा हो लाशों को टेक

वह अंधा है

जो शासन

चल रहा हो बंदूक की नली से

हत्यारों का धंधा है

यदि तुम यह नहीं मानते

तो मुझे

अब एक क्षण भी

तुम्हें नहीं सहना है।

याद रखो

एक बच्चे की हत्या

एक औरत की मौत

एक आदमी का

गोलियों से चिथड़ा तन

किसी शासन का ही नहीं

सम्पूर्ण राष्ट्र का है पतन।

ऐसा खून बहकर

धरती में जज्ब नहीं होता

आकाश में फहराते झंडों को

काला करता है।

जिस धरती पर

फौजी बूटों के निशान हों

और उन पर

लाशें गिर रही हों

वह धरती

यदि तुम्हारे खून में

आग बन कर नहीं दौड़ती

तो समझ लो

तुम बंजर हो गये हो-

तुम्हें यहां सांस लेने तक का नहीं है अधिकार

तुम्हारे लिए नहीं रहा अब यह संसार।

आखिरी बात

बिल्कुल साफ

किसी हत्यारे को

कभी माफ मत करो

चाहे हो वह तुम्हारा यार

धर्म का ठेकेदार

चाहे लोकतंत्र का

स्वनामधन्य पहरेदार।

[Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena (1927-1983) was a renowned Hindi writer, poet, columnist and playwright. Translation by Ayesha Kidwai. Ayesha Kidwai is a linguist who teaches at JNU, New Delhi. She translates between Hindi/Urdu and English bilingually. Courtesy: India Cultural Forum, a group of cultural activists and academics, who see India as part of a rich and plural heritage, and seek to build on this heritage for a more just, egalitarian and humane society.]

Janata Weekly does not necessarily adhere to all of the views conveyed in articles republished by it. Our goal is to share a variety of democratic socialist perspectives that we think our readers will find interesting or useful. —Eds.

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