Two students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) have been asked to vacate their hostels by the authorities after they drew graffiti on the walls of the canteen which, claimed the administration, had a ‘threatening tone’. The graffiti was drawn by second-year cinematography student Anu Shersa and final-year direction student Rohan Diwanji on Thursday. The graffiti comprises a line drawing of a fish, an abstract depiction of a human face and two words: hum dekhenge.
The words are from the opening line of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s 1979 poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ (we shall see), which enjoys immense popularity in the subcontinent. The poem had acquired a cult status in1985 when Iqbal Bano, one of Pakistan’s most popular singers, defied then President General Zia Ul Haq to sing the poem to an audience of 50,000 people at a Lahore stadium. During the performance, Bano wore a black sari, an attire banned by General Zia as part of his Islamisation drive. FTII authorities claimed the duo made the graffiti at 4 am on Thursday and paid no heed to security guards who tried to stop them.