Write me down, I am an Indian, my name is Ajmal: A poem of protest for these troubled times

After Mahmood Darvesh in Palestine, Agha Shahid Ali in Kashmir and the Mia poets in Assam *** Write me down I am an Indian Write it down My name is Ajmal I am a Muslim and Indian citizen We are seven at home all are Indian by birth Do you want documents?   Write me down that I am an Indian I am a Moplah My ancestors were untouchables Hindus in your language Slapped on the face of Manu they changed their names when they were given dignity centuries ago before forefathers of your ideologues were born Are you suspicious?   Write me down I am an Indian My ancestors tilled the soil here They lived here and died Their roots are deeper than the roots of these banyan and coconut trees Though they weren’t landlords but only peasants this land is their root The scent of their root is the scent of this land The colour of their skin is the colour of this land Do you want documents? [caption id=“attachment_6824191” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Representational image. REUTERS[/caption] Write me down I am an Indian Do you still need documents? Then I will dig the graves in Malabar and many others I want to show you the boot and bullets on their chests when they fell down with the British bullets Do you still need documents? I know What documents you have The copy of a confession at Cellular Jail And The blood stains of Gandhi on your hand Do you want me to remind you more those ?   I say Shut the fuck up If you ask me for documents.   Write me down I am an Indian Remember I have not forgotten that you sent people to demolish Masjid But now you have demolished the Constitution the soul of this land I am angry How dare you? How dare you?   Write me down I am Indian This is my land If I have born here I will die here There for Write it down Clearly In bold and capital letters On the top of your NRC that I am an Indian.   The author teaches at Ashoka University and Ambedkar University The verses are in the style of Mahmoud Dariwsh’s ‘ Write down! I am an Arab’, Hafiz Ahmed’s ‘ Write Down, I am a Miyah’  Read on Firstpost:  A Traitor's Testimony by Malathi Maithri, and Aditi Angiras' Seance in Kashmir