Betrayal Beyond Belief

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    Betrayal Beyond Belief


     
    – Badri Raina

    Agreed you were Adi Indians,
    Long before the Aryans came;
    Agreed we made you Dalit
    To set off the conqueror’s name.
    Agreed you are illiterate,
    Agreed you have no say;
    Agreed you are untouchable,
    Agreed you are kept at bay.
    Agreed that our development
    Makes you resentful, red;
    Agreed, in fact, we prosper
    Upon your sweat and blood.
    Agreed we rape your women,
    Agreed we stray, at worst;
    Agreed you may not use our wells
    To quench your low-born thirst.
    Agreed our Constitution
    Is ours and ours alone;
    Agreed our hallowed temples
    Will not let you in.
    Agreed your land, your forest
    We grab, we chop, we burn;
    Agreed our banks, our markets
    Will never serve your turn.
    Even so, your villainous move
    To leave the Hindu fold –
    How could we ever forgive you
    Betrayal so beastly, bold?
    Go tell these priests who dupe you
    That all plants, animals, men
    Were created Sanaatan Hindus
    The minute the world began.
    Do you then prefer Christian ease
    To family atrocity?
    How traitorous, how ungodly
    Can this world of vermin be!

    (From Modest Proposal and other Rhymes for the Times, SAHMAT, Delhi, 2000.)