Dartay Hain Bandooqoon Walay Aik Nihatti Ladki Say; an Urdu Ghazal by Habib 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 “Dartay Hain Bandooqoon Walay Aik Nihatti Ladki Say” (Urdu: ڈرتے ہیں بندوقوں والے ایک نہتی لڑکی سے) a beautiful Urdu Ghazal (غزل) by Habib Jalib. The title of the Ghazal is "Nihatti Ladki" (Urdu: نہتی لڑکی), and he wrote this Ghazal (which means; The gunmen are afraid of an unarmed girl) for Benazir Bhutto. It was the time when She came back to Pakistan during the regime of General Muhammad Zia ul Haq. Jalib was a good friend of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, father of Benazir Bhutto. 

The Ghazal became instant hit and this, once again, took the media hype when Malala Yousuf Zai, a 14 years school girl from Swat, Shot there. The reality of this incident is still hidden behind many doubts. Anyways, forget Malala and Benazir and enjoy the Ghazal. You may disagree with Jalib at some point of the Ghazal.