FAIZ Ahmed Faiz might not have liked the ideological impurities of our times but, as a people’s man, he would have approved of the inspired enthusiasm that currently afflicts his countrymen. He stood for the empowerment of the people and preached expressing the heartfelt. The tradition continues, with some success. There have been a few, even if minor, victories at home that in a way reconfirm workers’ power. And there have been a couple of revolutions in parts of the world that Pakistan shares certain similarities with. How these revolutions pan out only time will tell. But the fact that mighty thrones have been shaken and crowns sent flying into the air renews the people’s hope and longing for a true dawn in the country — one that would compensate for the false, dark beginnings of the past. It’s a moment to celebrate the supremacy of the people and to hum Faiz — the poet who combined subtlety, commitment, tradition and vision for a most effective communication with his audience. Exactly a century after his birth, Faiz accompanies the people in all their struggles against oppressive authorities that can do no better than try and quell free thought and demands for rights.
Faiz is one of the most quoted poets in the country these days, which is a vindication for the gentle soul who was once decried on this very land as a traitor for siding with the oppressed. Today, he also gives expression to the aspirations of the very groups which had openly opposed his thinking, which was as pro-people back then as it is now. But beyond the superficial as well as instances of outright opportunism, it would be in our interest if we were to fully understand and heed the ideas Faiz espoused — not only his views on the system of governance and politics, but his stand on the amalgam called culture which remains very much a taboo subject in Pakistan. Perhaps it is these old taboos that have prevented the government from turning the Faiz centenary into a truly state event. Faiz deserved it, not that he needed it.
