Markandey Katju

Islam and Prophet Mohammed have often been misunderstood. Islam came in the world as a great liberating force, as it spread the great message of equality. It gave social emancipation to the suppressed sections of society ( e.g. dalits in India ), and that is why Islam spread from Spain to Indonesia. 

The great Tamil poet  Subramania Bharati ( 1882-1921 ) wrote (around 1908-1910) powerful verses in favour of women’s emancipation, at a time when probably no one in India, or even in the World, even thought of women’s emancipation, and thus he was far ahead of his times :

But the Holocaust was committed by Germans and their European collaborators, not by Palestinian Arabs. Why should the latter have been punished for crimes committed by the former ? The establishment of Israel led to the Nakba–an Exodus and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, who were subjected to horrible atrocities

NATO was an organization of Western powers, headed by USA, which was created after the end of the Second World War to prevent expansion of the Soviet Union into Western Europe by armed force. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991,and end of the Cold War, NATO should have been scrapped, as its very raison d:etre had come to an end. Now there was no more threat of Soviet expansionism, since there was no more Soviet Union. 

In 1901 Russia was under the despotic and autocratic rule of Czar Nicholas II. There was a strict press censorship, and it was dangerous to criticise the Czar or the government directly, so writers had to write allegorically and symbolically ( just as the Urdu poet Faiz had to do during the martial law regime in Pakistan ).

The fact that he is unusual is the reason he is noticed by the public and he has a track record as a philanthropist and an upright leader with integrity spanning some 30-40 years. The masses appreciate bravery even though it is foolish specially when it comes from someone who has stood by them on the ground, most notably in providing free healthcare in a country where doctors usually advise to let the patient die because it is a matter of spending money on a patient who is going to die anyway due to advanced age or lack of financial means. 

Imran Khan foolishly took cudgels with the American Government, not realising that America controls Pakistan through the Pakistan army. The Pakistan army rules Pakistan, and US Govt controls the Pak army, as the generals of the Pak army are beholden to the US Govt in various ways. 

Before explaining the meaning of this sher, it is necessary to mention that Urdu poetry often carries both a literal, outer, superficial meaning and an inner, deeper, real meaning. Often, one has to wrack one’s brain to understand the real meaning, to know what the poet is really seeking to convey. Urdu poets frequently express themselves not directly, but indirectly — through metaphors, allusions, hints, suggestions, and indications.