Poetry on Combat for Secularism and Democracy

The tragic events that followed the demolition of Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992 in Ayodhya were the culmination of a conflict simmering for almost the entire period of independent India, especially after the 1980s, striking at democracy and secularism, two values on which independent India was built. The Hindi literary world did not remain silent to these developments. However, the literary output that emerged on the subject during this time, though largely known and studied from the perspective of communal conflict and politics, has not been explored in the context of bearing witness by the literary community—their specific gaze as a witness. This article attempts to fill this gap by looking at two poetry collections, Apnī zabān, and Yah aisā samay hai, edited by Asad Zaidī and Viṣṇu Nāgar, and published by SAHMAT in 1994. It offers a contextualised analysis of the creative expression offered by poets acting in defence of a democratic, secular state.