Echoing the sentiments of an average Indian Muslim

Hussain Haidry (above) is yet to come to terms with the fact that his “twopage-long” poem, Hindustani Musalmaan has gone viral, making him an overnight internet star in India. The poem talks about various identities, one imbibes owing to different kinds of lifestyles and emphasises on the fact that religion is just a coincidental factor — not one that shapes identities.

Hussain Haidry’s poem echoes the sentiments of an average Indian Muslim whose identity is not restricted by the fact that he or she is born in a Muslim family. He says: “I wrote the opening lines almost a year back when I was travelling from Kolkata to Bhutan. I wrote it on a small diary and later lost the diary. But somehow, the opening lines remained with me. It is about a personal journey and I had no idea so many people will connect with it. Frankly, there is nothing new in the poem. It is the question of identity that we often face. It is just a personal journey of seeking identity.”