ham kaun hain bataenge bas intezar kar
ji bhar ke ham ko khun ke aansu rula tu aaj
kal ham tujhe rulaenge bas intezar kar
jab tak qalam se kaam chalega chalaenge
phir tegh bhi uthaenge bas intezar kar
khamosh hain to gunga samajh baitha hai hamein
ham shor bhi machaenge bas intezar kar
masnad pe tujh ko ham ne bithaya hai ye na bhul
ham hi tujhe uthaenge bas intezar kar
“We will show you our splendour — only wait. We will reveal who we are — only wait. Weep us our fill of blood-tears today; tomorrow we will make you weep — only wait. As long as the pen will serve we will use the pen, then we will raise the sword too — only wait. We are silent, so you have taken us for mute; we will raise an uproar too — only wait. Do not forget — it was we who seated you on that throne; it is we who will lift you off it — only wait.”
हम कौन हैं बताएँगे बस इंतिज़ार कर
जी भर के हमको ख़ून के आँसू रुला तू आज
कल हम तुझे रुलाएँगे बस इंतिज़ार कर
जब तक क़लम से काम चलेगा चलाएँगे
फिर तेग़ भी उठाएँगे बस इंतिज़ार कर
ख़ामोश हैं तो गूँगा समझ बैठा है हमें
हम शोर भी मचाएँगे बस इंतिज़ार कर
मसनद पे तुझको हमने बिठाया है ये न भूल
हम ही तुझे उठाएँगे बस इंतिज़ार कर
The verse in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
A poem of held power. Every couplet is patient on its surface and unanswerable underneath — the refrain 'only wait' is not a plea but a verdict. It is the voice of the governed reminding the ruler that silence was a choice, never an incapacity, and that the throne itself was always a loan.
Patience is not the same as powerlessness. Some restraint is simply a decision being kept in reserve. The line worth carrying out of this poem: the one who seated you can unseat you.
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →