Mere Hamdam Mere Piyaray Hamdam; a Beautiful Urdu Poem by Jabib Jalib

Habib Jalib

Habib Jalib (Urdu: حبیب جالب) (Real name: Habib Ahmad) (Urdu: حبیب احمد) was a Pakistani revolutionary Urdu poet, left-wing activist and politician who opposed martial law, authoritarianism and state oppression. 

Jalib was a Marxist-Leninist and aspired to the ideals of Communism. He was a member of the Communist Party of Pakistan; later when the Communist Party was banned and started working under the banner of National Awami Party (NAP), he joined the NAP. His views led to imprisonment. 

His poetry shows that, being a communist, he was pro Russia and China. He wrote many poems and Ghazal against USA and in many of his poems he even mentioned Ronald Reagan, the than President of USA, and showed his dislike to him. 

In the following enjoy reading “Mere Hamdam Mere Piyaray Hamdam” (Urdu: میرے ہمدم میرے پیارے افضل) (English: My Companion, My Dude Afzal) a beautiful Urdu poem (نظم) by Habib Jalib, in which he expresses his grief over the law and order situation of Karachi which was badly disturbed by the clash between Muhajir and Pakhtoon people of Karachi. The poem is quite relevant, even, to the contemporary situation of Karachi and now the city has become a no-go area for other Pakistani citizens due to the deadly Target Killings, taking place everyday in, almost, every area of the metropolitan and economic hub of Pakistan which used to be known as the mother of poors and city of lights.