Pink Floyd is a band that we can comfortably claim has ignited the psychedelic awakening of generations of people over the years. Recently, the legendary band’s bassist and vocalist, Roger Waters was at a protest in London to free jailed Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
While there, he read out an English translation of Aamir Aziz’s poem Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega, in an effort to put Assange’s persecution in a global context.
He introduced Aziz as ‘a young poet and activist in Delhi involved in the fight against Modi and his fascist, racist Citizenship law.’
He recited –
Kill us, we will become ghosts and write
of your killings, with all the evidence.
You write jokes in court;
We will write ‘justice’ on the walls. We will speak so loudly that even the deaf will hear.
We will write so clearly that even the blind will read.
You write ‘injustice’ on the earth;
We will write ‘revolution’ in the sky.
Everything will be remembered;
Everything recorded.
He also emphasised that the protest they were at was in support of those being unfairly persecuted around the world.
Julian is why we are here today, but this is no parochial protest. We are today part of a global movement, a global movement that might be the beginning of the global enlightenment that this fragile planet so desperately needs
Aziz became popular last year after the release of his protest song Achhe Din Blues. Now, it appears his work, which aims to fight against oppression, is getting noticed on a global scale.