ISLAMABAD, Nov 20: Had Faiz Ahmed Faiz been alive today, would he be classified as an intellectual terrorist and again incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay or Adiala jail, as he was once in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy case?

The question arose at the Faiz Adabi Conference organized at the Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-e-Azam University, on the occasion of the death anniversary of the poet here on Wednesday.

As Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik, Chairman National Language Authority, quoted verse after verse of Faiz, eulogising the struggle of the weak against the powerful, struggle of freedom and liberty against oppressors with calls for overthrowing the exploitative system of authority and control across borders, one could feel the passion of the rebels and revolutionaries and at the same time wonder what clauses of the anti-terrorism law would apply to Faiz for inciting the feelings of revolution and rebellion now. For the words revolution and rebellion are now considered synonymous with terrorism in a classical Orwellian sense by the authorities all around the world in what is dubbed as “war against terrorism.”

Prof Fateh Muhammad quoted the verses of Faiz from his poem “How we were killed in the dark alleys”, which inspires revolutionaries in the following words: “Picking up our banners from your lanes Caravans of patriotic lovers will emerge Whose agonising distances will be shortened Through our footsteps.”

Prof Fateh Muhammad said the poem was written after Faiz was greatly affected by the trial and death sentence of Rosenberg’s on spying charges by the US. He said though later on history proved them to be innocent, Faiz at that time could visualize the injustice of the justice system of the authorities, which feels threatened by the cranking of chains with every round link of the chain crying out for freedom of the world and love for mankind.

This poem of Faiz, he said, covered the struggles in Kerbala, Najaf, Palestine, Stalingrad, Kashmir and the struggle of people around the world against the Bush-Blair oppression conquering country after country in the name of bringing democracy and liberty to the people.

He said the people who were dubbed as terrorists seem to be taking the message of Faiz to new heights and because of them the US was feeling threatened all around the world.

The revolutionary ideas of Faiz for the downtrodden and the oppressed echo in the recent works of French philosopher, Baudrillard, who while re-animating the ‘Master-Slave’ dialect of Hegel postulated that ‘terrorism was now victorious’.

The master, according to Baudrillard, was always that which ‘gave life’ to the slave, who had no right to his own death’. The suicide bomber, however, reclaims their own death, and thus unseats or deposes the master.

America, still engaged in the work of mourning September 11, is unable to control or ‘own’ its ‘deaths’ and so becomes the slave. As US forces wander around the globe in search of retribution, they merely act a part which has already been written for them. But this revenge can never be exacted.

Prof Fateh Muhammad said Faiz struggled against the complementary forces of Mullah and the state alliance and those who are ready to sell their country to the highest bidder as long as their dynasty remains in power. He said Faiz and Iqbal were a continuation of the link and from where Iqbal left, Faiz continued that idealistic struggle through his poetry.

Dr Riaz Ahmed said the thought-provoking editorials of Faiz had now been published as a separate book and must be read to know another aspect of his personality. He said Faiz wanted a progressive Pakistan but faced opposition from the authorities.

Representatives of the Iranian embassy, Agha Muhammad Hussain, and Professor Naimatullah recited a few verses of Faiz.

One could feel the commotion of struggle, imprisonment, liberty and freedom in the only function organized in memory of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, especially more so as one identified with the students and staff of the Institute who were directed to attend the conference to fill an empty hall.

The speeches by the director of the National Institute of Pakistan Studies and the deputy speaker of the National Assembly were a classic example of how not to pay tributes to Faiz.

The director of NIPS gave a background of the achievements of the Institute for press consumption with little to say about Faiz.

The deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Yaqoob, was honest enough to admit that he was misfit as a chief guest and had come to chair the conference at half an hour notice.

He said, “Basically, I am an engineer and have no relation to poetry. You have invited such a person who does not remember even a single poem. I know about geometry and algebra.”

Perhaps, the speeches by the deputy speaker of the National Assembly and the director NIPS were a unique way of paying tribute to Faiz.