Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jaami rudaulvi (1924-????) was born near lakhnau and acquired a classical education including a degree from aligaRh. He went to England for post-graduate studies and settled there.
1
ab apne des ki aab¹-o-hava ham ko nahiN bhaati
Ghulaami ek zillat² thi saraapa³ dard aazaadi   1.water 2.insult, disrepute 3.head to toe
Looking back at the homeland, the poet/émigré finds conditions to have changed. The conditions there are no longer favourable. While slavery/colonization was an insult, independence has turned out to be the embodiment of pain.
2
qayaadat¹ karne vaaloN ko masihaaii² ka daava³ tha
kisi ne laikin⁴ ab tak qaum⁵ ki beRi⁶ nahiN kaaTi     1.lead, guide 2.cure, heal 3.claim 4.but 5.home, community 6.shackles, chains
Our leaders claimed that they would cure our ills but they have not yet cut off the chains on our feet.
3
abhi tak paaNv se chimTi haiN zanjireN Ghulaami ki
din aa jaata hai aazaadi kaa aazaadi nahiN aati   The chains of slavery/colonization are still clinging to the feet. Independence day arrives but we don’t achieve freedom.
4
unhiN aqvaam¹ ke rahm-o-karam² par ab bhi jiite haiN
Ghuroor-e-hurriyat³ ne jin se haasil⁴ ki thi aazaadi    1.nations, communities 2.kindness and benevolence 3.pride of freedom 4.obtain
This was written probably at a time when India was still very dependent on foreign aid, even for food. We are still dependent on the benevolence of the same countries from whom we wrested our independence. The poet/émigré seems to have little to say about internal inequities like many other progressive poets have done.
5
bajaaye¹ fikr-e-nau² raj’at-pasandi³ aam⁴ sheva⁵ hai
haqiqat⁶ meN musalmaaN har jagah hai kushta-e-maazi⁷   1.instead of 2.new thinking 3.harping on ancient glory 4.common 5.occupation, pastime 6.reality 7.victim of past (glory)
Instead of new thinking, everyone harps about ancient glory. In reality the muslim is a victim of his legacy. While this seems to directed at the muslim’s obsession with past glory, today in India, this is a common refrain among many hindus.
6
karachi meN muhaajir¹ aur inglistaan meN kaale
teri taqdir² meN jaami³ likhi hai Khaana-barbaadi⁴      1.immigrant, outsider, refugee 2.fate 3.pen name of poet 4.destruction of home, homelessness
Directed at the muslims who migrated to pakistan or to England, neither succeeded in finding a home – labelled as ‘mohajir’ in one place and as ‘black/brown’ in the other. Homelessness is your fate, O, jaami.