Honorable Court And An Asking Poem by Pranab K Chakraborty

Milord!
I'm a country-child of remote village

I've been deprived of my mother's breast
Her breasts did not produce milk to feed me
due to malnutrition after my birth

I have also heard later on
Another neighbor-woman of our locality
Fed me her own breast for long time
To provide my growth
I knew her as my mum also
I called her also addressing 'Maa'!

After few many years during my growing ages
In the ambiance of this independent country
One morning hearing chaos outside
Came to know miscreants at midnight
Burnt the house of that ‘Mother' woman
Along with other members of that family
While they were sleeping!

Seniors of our family told me in silence
‘They were not of our religion and belonged to other community and...'

Milord
The memory faded out during my growing ages
Because we used to live day after day in starvation
We used to awake long sleepless nights
During rain and winter seasons
But those group of religion-keeper did not appear again
With their naked sword and long oiled sticks in hand
To ask ‘How do you live, dear, citizen! how...! '
Never and never they did enquire!

Just a long years after of deadly keeping existence
Today with hard labour more or less
We can arrange our own food at least once in a day
These days they came again together with their sword and knives
To sanctify our choice of meat we eat
To investigate their sanctioned food
Ransacked entire our household
Threated our family by beating almost to death!

My tortured father died lastly
Assaulted sister became a patient by body and mind
And me with broken hands and legs
Suffering from foodless days and nights!

Milord
No signature of any caste in my blood corpuscles ever reported
No signature of any religion ever informed in my blood group
No signature of any community ever encrypted there

By birth I am an Indian,
By birth I belong to human community
And my only religion is strictly I believe
Love and compassion

Milord
As far my knowledge concern
Your chair does not carry any signature of any caste
Your chair does not carry any signature of any religion
But they with their sword and knives
Appeared to enquire my caste and religion

They did not ask me whether I have any earning or not
They did not ask me whether I have any permanent residence or not
Whether any treatment available or not during my illness
Did not ask any question about my educational opportunity

Milord
Those self-declared religion-keeper patriots
Who ransacked our food-bowl and home
In search of meat they imposed ban to eat
Those self-declared religious communal hooligans
Who burnt a family by name of other community
I ask You, Milord-

Who are they?
Are they at all Indian by their identity?
Are they at all the child of any Indian mother! !

© Translated from own Bengali writing by Pranab K Chakraborty himself.

Pranab k c
02/03/2016