THIS refers to Dr Bhawani Shanker’s letter ‘Kaafir jana’ (March 7). The letter forced me to read Jawed Naqvi’s article ‘Meet Kashmir’s King Lear and Cordelia (March 5).

No doubt the translation of the word ‘Kaafir; as ‘Hindu’ was unfortunate and uncalled-for, but it was not an intentional ‘derogatory remark’ as stated by our oversensitive friend Dr Bhawani. It was just an unfortunate translation.

In fact, there was no need to translate the Urdu verse as we South Asians could fully understand the famous couplet without it being translated. (Zahid-i-tung nazar ne mujhe kafir jana + Aur kafir ye samajhta hei Musalmaan hoon mein).

Considering the plight of the minorities in the country, I understand the writer’s difficulty and do not blame him for being oversensitive.

A Reader

Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2015

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