Her poem draws parallels between her motherland, Pakistan, and India, where she had taken refuge during Zia-Ul-Haq’s regime after she was charged with various cases including sedition.
Fahmida Riaz, the renowned progressive Urdu poet passed away in the early hours of Wednesday. We pay our tribute to the fearless poet with a rendition of her famous poem ‘Ab tak kahan chhupe the bhai (Where were you hiding all this time, buddy?)’ . This poem was addressed to the Indian society, to Hindu fundamentalists, more specifically. It draws parallels between her motherland, Pakistan, and India, where she had taken refuge during Zia-Ul-Haq’s regime after she was charged with various cases including sedition.