NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday began her Budget speech by quoting Kashmiri poet Dina Nath Kaul “Nadim.”
However, while quoting a verse from the late poet’s, ‘Myon Watan (My Country)’, Sitharaman referred to the poet as Pandit Dina Nath Kaul, omitting the Muslim “Nadim.”
Sitharaman read out the poem in Kashmiri and then translated the lines in Hindi.
Hamara watan, khilte hue Shalimar Bagh jaisa
Hamara watan, Dal jheel main khilte hue kamal jaisa
Nau jawanon ke garam khoon jaisa
Mera watan, tera watan, hamara watan
Duniya ka sabse pyaara watan
The poem recitation during the budget speech came in the backdrop of the scrapping of Article 370 and caused quite a flutter in the Parliament and much criticism than praise on social media.
So who is Dina Nath ‘Nadim’?
Dina Nath Kaul “Nadim,” a prominent Kashmiri poet born in 1916 in Srinagar city, the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Nadim, a trend-setter in Kashmiri poetry and prose has his work written in Urdu, Hindi, English and Kashmiri.
Interestingly, Nadim, the winner of prestigious Sahitya Akademi award was a leftist, a Communist Party leader and also an admirer of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
He was closely associated with the National Conference party founded by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, whose son and grandson former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah are in custody since August 4 a day before the abrogation of Article 370.
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