Everything has been tried—
From cajoling to condescension,
Gentle pellets to ammunition.
These are people of a different
Kind; they think they have
A right to their own mind.
They do not know that democracies
The world-over have long left
That sort of thinking well behind.
Have we not interlocuted for
Many a year? Have we not told
Them what they must hear?
Whatever may be said has been
Said; it is their wish to proliferate
The valley with the dead. Alas,
What other course is there now
But honest-to-the-nation force?
Always and ever, what we do is
For their own good; the better
Their prospects the sooner
This is understood. Thus, shoulder
To the gun, and fire away; how
Else may democracy win the day?
Badri Raina