In 2009, I wrote a short book called Offence: The Hindu Case (Seagull) which documented the rise of Hindutva and Hindu intolerance. I had dedicated the book to my mother, Harsha Tripathi (1935-2004), and written a poem, which has since been filmed at the New York University and it briefly had me suspended from the social media platform then known as Twitter. That poem was a letter to my mother. A friend recently wrote to me, to ask how I might write to my children, now that a structure is being erected in Ayodhya, at the controversial site where a mosque had been razed illegally in 1992. Here’s the poem I wrote. My Children’s QuestionsAnd what did you doWhen your mother said “We have just killed Gandhi again”?I wrote. *And what did you doWhen she asked“Can anyone do something like this”? I raged And wrote. *And what did you do When they laid the stones And brought the bricksAnd raised the cashAnd carried the sticksAnd dressed as godsAnd prayed and sangAnd to force othersThey sent their gangAnd went to townSeeking adventureAnd bowed and praisedA half-built structure?*I went to the parkWhere Gandhi Sits still And sang his hymnThose words that healIshwar Allah Tero NaamSab ko Sanmati de BhagwanAnd so many came I wasn’t alone. With candles aflameOur light shone On our lips – Not in our name;In our heartsA country to reclaim.*They screamI write. They shoutI laugh. It gets dark –A candle I light. I hold that candleMy fingers tightThe wax is warmAs it burns bright. Living in hope Isn’t praying for the best –It means you carry onNot stopping to restBecause you knowYou will survive this testLiving in hope meansDoing what is rightNo matter ifThe end is not in sight.Never give upWithout a fight – Long it might seem,It is only the night.Then DawnAnd sunlight. Salil Tripathi is an Indian-born author and editor. He is board member, PEN International, and a contributing editor to The Caravan.
