‘Lotus blooming in Dal lake’: With Kashmiri couplet, FM Nirmala Sitharaman makes a political point in Budget 2020 speech

Nirmala Sitharman recites Kashmiri poem Myon Watan, Union Budget 2020: If you thought that the use of Urdu poetry or shayari in the course of long, boring Budget speeches were just meant to break the monotony, you may want to reconsider that thought. Union Budgets, through the years, have been used by governments of the day to convey a political point. Be it through the outlining of their policies or announcements for the coming year, the Budget conveys the path a government seeks to take to the electorate. It also uses subtle references to ensure that the government’s messaging to the constituency that it wishes to address is clear. Budgets are and have always been, a political document.

From Pranab Mukherjee to Arun Jaitley, from Yashwant Sinha to P Chidambaram, FMs have peppered their speeches with Urdu poetry either to lighten the mood or target the Opposition. So, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the course of her Budget 2020 speech that she wishes to recite a couplet, one thought it would be on similar lines.

However, Sitharaman used the opportunity to convey a strong political message on Kashmir, an issue that has become the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s biggest poll plank following the abrogation of Article 370. Sitharaman ditched the usual practice of Urdu poetry or shayari and instead chose a Kashmiri couplet from ‘Myon Watan’ by noted poet Dina Nath Nadim, a Sahitya Akademi awardee.

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After reciting the couplet in Kashmiri, Sitharaman went on to offer a translation that left BJP members, especially Home minister Amit Shah all smiles. Here is the translation of the couplet as read out by Sitharaman:

“Hamara vatan, khilte hua shalimaar bagh jaisa,
Hamara vatan, Dal Lake mein khilte hua kamal jaisa.
Naujawaano ke garam khoon jaisa,
Mera vatan, tera vatan, hamara vatan, duniya ka sabse pyara vatan.”

Sitharaman’s rendition drew loud applause from the Treasury benches. The mention of a Lotus, the BJP’s poll symbol, blooming in the iconic Dal lake in Srinagar came as music to the ears of the BJP members. Home minister Amit Shah, who has been credited with driving the legislation to abrogate Article 370 in Parliament, appeared particularly impressed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also seen thumping the bench in applause.

The government abrogated Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in August this year, stripping it of the special status granted to it under the Constitution. The Bill to amend the Constitution was passed by both houses of Parliament with a clear majority. The government also bifurcated the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.