Mujeeb Jaihoon’s tribute to Abdul Gani Goni, a Kashmiri teacher, acquitted after illegally imprisoned for 23 years
Justice embarrassed
In the mirror of humanity
Patience wept
In the lap of forgiveness
A mother’s heart
Scorched in the furnace of pain
For a glance of her son
Stolen by the Blind State
For 23 Light Years
A shallow story the State framed
Only to admit in the end
They had shamelessly erred
With neither personal vengeance
Nor legal recourse
That Son of India gifted
His foes with forgiveness
The Maryada of the Nation of Ram,
The Purushothaman
Is in forgiving the foe:
So taught the Kashmir’s slandered Teacher.
July 28 2019. Edit 2024
Notes
A mother’s heart: Gani’s mother died while he was in prison. Despite her multiple attempts for parole, she could see her son on the deathbed.
Maryada Purushothaman: Literally meaning the ‘Perfect man’, Lord Ram, the Hindu deity, is known for his virtues of forgiveness and kindness.
Well narrated
Touching indeed. Your writings are superb !
Nice poem (especially the first four lines) and a tragic story. How the state tramples carelessly on the individual and wreaks havoc is unnerving
I have read… you have effectively portrayed the monumental failure of our system