; Detail the background of the work "I Want to be Killed by an Indian Bullet" and comment on the use of irony in the poem and title. Thangjam Ibopishak‘s poem "! want to be killed by an Indian Bullet” was originally written in the Manipuri language which was later translated into English by Robin S. Ngangom. Ibopishak is a noteworthy Manipuri poet who lives in Imphal and was born in 1948. He has published six volumes of poetry. He has won several prestigious awards, including the Manipur State Kala Akademi Award. He is currently teaching Manipuri at GP Women’s College, Imphal. The picture he paints in this poem is bleak; the indictment of a region gripped by insurgency, terrorism, ethnic conflict, and state brutality is corrosive and unyielding. . This poem extends obedience to arbitrary forces emerging out of the State to the point of comical subversion. In such a land, the speaker at gunpoint claims to be a patriot who wants to die only by an Indian bullet. On a lighter note, the poem also talks about one time in Manipur when freedom of speech was crushed. The poem is a conversation between the killers and the poet. It is written in blank verse. The killers were on the lookout for the poet, and they wanted to execute killing at any cause. They have been comingoff and on to kill the poet. The poet had been so far lucky not to meet them in person. But he couldn't keep on avoiding it so; he confronted the killers one day and asked them: - “When will you kill me?’ The leader replied: - ‘Now. “We'll kill you right now. Today is very auspicious. Say your prayers. Have you bathed? Have you had your Meal?” The killers in the poem are ‘Fire, water, air, earth, sky' which are the basic component of human life came looking for the poet to shoot him to death for penning ‘gobbledygook and drivel’. The satirical aspect here with the killers is that a very basic component of human life needs to kill another human. The poet was completely unaware of his crime. He had no idea why he was going to be murdered. That is the harrowing situation in Manipur. While speaking with the killers, the poet appears to be concerned and attempts to confront them calmly. The killers wanted to know what type of writer the poet is. “Or a madman.” The poet confronted that he was not what they thought he was. The killers were not ready to listen to him thereafter and they said that they are going to kill him as their mission is to kill people. At the surface reading of the poem, one will get a feeling that it's a normal conversation between the killers and the poet however there is asatirical tone throughout the whole poem. We see in the poem that the poet wants to die with a bullet made in India and not by a foreign- made bullet which is a wish that cannot be fulfilled as they do not use guns that are made in India. This wish is a mockery of the powers that reduce humans to mere toys, which on the one hand are incapable of securing human rights, while on the other, perpetrate violence against some. The poet says: “With which gun will you shoot me then? Made in India or made in another country?” The poet is referring to the "Made in India" movement, which encourages companies to manufacture their products and increase their investment in India. The poet appears to support the movement, as he expresses his desire to be killed by an Indian bullet. China goods were banned, particularly in Manipur, and there was some destruction, but it did not last long enough to sustain what they started. Moreover, Manipur's international market is still brimming with Chinese goods. In Manipur, the BJP claims that their government is free of corruption, but corruption still exists. People are afraid to pinpoint and speak out in public because they are afraid powerful people will come and kill them. The poet through the lines says that Indian products are good. Here it is not particularly talkingabout the production of the material, the pun here is the empty promises made by many officials to bring about peace and prosperity in Manipur. According to the killers "When asked to make plastic flowers India can only produce toothbrushes", the line depicts how in the name of bringing peace so many killings are happening in Manipur like AFSPA( Arms Forces Special Power Acts). This act had taken many lives. The people of Manipur expected a ‘flower' which represents beauty, peace, and prosperity but it's only the ‘toothbrush’ India could give to the people of Manipur. What the people get from Manipur Government as well as from the Centre are merely empty promises. Manipur is in a war zone-like situation for the past three decades. Many politicians visited but they did nothing much to bring about changes in Manipur. The plight of the common people is left unheard. The poet targeted the wrongdoings of some powerful people who are destroying Manipur in the name of progress. The poet has made the vice laughable and/or reprehensible and thus brings social pressure on those who still engage in wrongdoing. “We don’t use guns made in India. Let alone good guns. India cannot even make plastic flowers. When asked to make plastic flowers India can only producetoothbrushes.’ | said: ‘That’s a good thing. Of what use are plastic flowers without any fragrance ?” The poet seeks reform in public behaviour, a shoring up of its audience's standards or at the very least a wake-up calls in an otherwise corrupt culture: The poet through these lines wants to wake the citizen of India, especially the Manipuri people. Loving a nation is their duty but blindly following is wrong. Being proud of one’s motherland is a question of pride and duty but not to extent that people start killing in the name of religion and fanatic beliefs. In Manipur, many innocent lives have been sacrificed in the name of getting freedom from India. Many bullets made in India have killed its brother and sister in Manipur. The poet is not in favour of killing innocent people. The poet was adamant to die with the bullet made in India rather than any other place. Thanngjam Ibopishak narrates the two perceptions of India prevalent among the elder and the new generation : “Whatever it may be, if you must shoot me please shoot me with a gun made in India. I don’t want to die from a foreign bullet. You see, | love India very much.”‘That can never be. Your wish cannot be granted. Don’t even mention Bharat to us.” The last line, ‘You see, | love India very much. It has a sarcastic tone. Why the killer would want to kill a person who is a real devotee of India? The poet is a true Indian. Satire is witty, ironic, and often exaggerated: These are the concluding lines of the poem. The poet is ultimately saved from being killed because he demanded to die with the Indian bullet. ‘Don't ever mention Bharat to us’, it seems like the killers are against being term as ‘Bharat’. It indirectly points to the people who hated Bharat and wanted to kill the Poet. It is unclear why the killer was after the poet. The poet is fortunate not to be killed by the killer. Does he love India is the unanswered question left for the readers? Probably there is not one on this earth who does not love one's motherland. The poet asks whether one must keep shouting that he/she loves their motherland all the time to prove it. Many people silently love their nation and work for the benefit of its progress. The poet mocks the mission of the Indian army, commissioned to kill people whether they are poets, seers or mad man and the lack of skill in India, forcing it to be dependent on other countries for everything.The mockery and humour go side by side. People of the Northeast are targeted for killing as they are blamed for not being patriotic. “Being fastidious about death | escaped with my life.” The last line of the poem mentions ‘Bharat’ when ‘India’ is used throughout the poem, thereby intensifying the ‘performance’ of the victim-patriot. The guns are foreign, the laws are arbitrary, and the dehumanized person is farcically a patriot. The poem addresses conflicts, war-like situations, violence, and terror. He talks as five elements of nature, presenting the violence as subtle. On one level violence is shown and on the other, the poem is humorous as it makes fun of India, with the Indian army not having Indian bullets. He toned down the seriousness of the situation by using a mocking tone. By giving the name of five basic elements of life to the army, it is depicted as both a preserver and destroyer. The same magnitude of power is given to the army while Northeastern people are helpless in comparison to them. Witty, ironic, and often exaggerated satire is seen in the poems. The corruption and brutality present in the region are portrayed using symbolism. Though the poem is a mockery, few things stand the truth. The killer in the poem could be any symbolicrepresentation, like an ethnic clash in Manipur, geographical boundary issues, AFSPA, fake encounters, unemployment, no proper law and order, drug smuggling, and child trafficking to name a few. The poet advocates for the people to rise for personal gain and work for the progress of humankind."Many of them haven't gone to school yet. And now they have this heavy word to carry in their backpacks along with the weight of their papers and books. | repeat, the mission was a terrible success. “Sometimes | wish everyone could have parents from different countries or ethnic groups so they would be forced to cross boundaries, to believe in mixtures, every day of their lives.” Share your opinion on the statements and justify the same drawing instances from the text. Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet, songwriter, and novelist. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1952. Her father was a Palestinian refugee, and her mother was an American of German and Swiss descent. Nye is the beneficiary of numerous honours and awards for her work. Being of mixed horizons, Nye gives voice to her experience as an Arab American through poems about heritage and peace that overflow with a humanitarian spirit. Much of Nye's work has been regulated by her experiences with cultural differences and different cultures. She is known for her poetry that introduces ordinary events, people, and objects in a new light. The subjects of her poetry are carved by the prevailing cultural issues in our society. Nye has travelled by and large to promote goodwill through the arts, including trips to the Middle East and Asia. Nye is acclaimed for her sensitivity and cultural awarenessThe title “To Any Would-Be Terrorists” refers to all the people who are or might be involved in terrorist activities. Nye hates the very usage of the word ‘terrorist’ however she uses it to gather attention. She mentions that Middle Eastern people have worked immensely hard to get rid of their direct stereotypical connection to terrorism. Further, she describes the inhumanity committed to thousands of innocent people during the 9/11 attack and how it has scared their families forever. Through the example of her father, mother, and neighbour she is trying to prove that not every Arab is a terrorist. She mentions that her father came to the United States as a college student. Currently, he is 74 years old and still homesick. She mentions that he has planted fig trees and invited all the Ethiopians in his neighbourhood to fill their little paper sacks with his figs. He has written columns and stories saying the Arabs are not terrorists, he has worked all his life to defy that word. Arabs are businessmen and students and kind neighbours. She adds that there is no one like him and there are thousands like him — gentle Arab daddies who make everyone laugh around the dinner table, who have a hard time with headlines, who stand outside in the evenings with their hands in their pockets staringtoward the far horizon. She says that her hard-working American mother has spent 50 years trying to convince her fellow teachers and choirmates not to believe stereotypes about the Middle East. She always told them that there is a much larger story and if they knew the story, they would not jump to conclusions from what they see in the news. However, the mess created by present-day media is indescribable. She establishes the fact that Arabs have always been famous for their generosity. She expresses her desire that everyone could have parents from different countries or ethnic groups so that they would be forced to cross boundaries and believe in mixtures. She mentions that many of the Palestinian children have not gone to school yet. In addition to that, they must carry the burden of the heavy word ‘Terrorist’ along with the weight of their papers and books. She emphasizes twice the fact that the propaganda created by the media was a terrible success. She says that several unfair laws and policies have been issued against Arab people in the United States. She says that many people have been raising their voices for Arabs, not just Arabs even Jews who were once treated even poorly by the Germans. She is amazed at how people always express these views to her andunderstand the intricate situation and have strong, caring feelings for Arabs and Palestinians even when they don’t have to. And it will be peace, not violence, that fixes things. She regrets the fact that she is an ordinary citizen and must abide by the laws however she believes in the free power of free words. She requests us to talk to more kids of the ‘Seeds of Peace Organization’ meaning to understand their innocence and purity. She announces that some people want one religion to persist everywhere which is wrong because unity or speciality is in diversity. There is no way everyone on earth could travel on the same road or believe in the same religion otherwise it would be too crowded. She talks about her Palestinian grandmother who lived 106 years old and did not read or write, but even she was much smarter than the people who wants one religion. The only place she ever went beyond Palestine and Jordan was to Mecca, by bus, and she was very proud to be called a Hajji and to wear white clothes. The writer describes how hard her grandmother has worked to remove the accusations and opinions inscribed on her religion by peace and wanted people to worship God in whatever ways they felt comfortable. Her grandmother is extremely proud of not losing her inside peace andto her, Islam was a welcoming religion. Ever since her home in Jerusalem was stolen from her, she lived in a small village that contained a Christian shrine so she felt very tender toward the people who would visit it. She narrates an incident when a Jewish professor tracked her down a few years ago in Jerusalem to tell her that she changed his life after he went to her village to do an oral history project on Arabs. He asks us not to think she only mattered to us instead she gave him a whole different reality to imagine. Arabs could never be just a ‘project’ after that. Reading about Islam since her grandmother died taught her that “tolerance” was always “typical of Islam”. She talks about the Muslim leader Khalid ibn Al-Walid who signed a Jerusalem treaty which declared, “in the name of God, you have complete security for your churches which shall not be occupied by the Muslims or destroyed.” Further she talks about the factors affecting this stereotypical mentality about Arabs. American media has instilled fear in people towards Muslims due to which the entire community suffers. She believes that the USA should apologize to the whole world for sending hatred out into the air and for paying people to make it. She talks about one of the best-selling books of poetry inthe United States in recent years which is the Coleman Barks translation of Rumi, a mystical Sufi poet of the 13th century, and Sufism is Islam who brings out the reality that cliché is not true. The prejudice established is that Americans are against Muslims. No matter how different the cultures are but we should be ‘one’. Further, she begs Americans to listen to her. She makes two requests to Americans. Firstly, she requests people who use God’s name to propagate terrorism because even God would hate it. She asks them to respect the difference in opinions and let people enjoy freedom. Secondly, she requests such people to speak up and let everybody know about their true intentions. She asks them to read and understand people and understand their sufferings because their killings do not explain anything. She says that poetry humanizes us in a way that news or even religion struggles to do so. She talks about a great Arab scholar, Dr Salma Jayyusi, who said, “If we read one another, we won’t kill one another.” The writer asks such people to find a friend who is different from them, and they would not believe how much they have in common. Nye related to the current situation of Israel/Palestine for this part of the world. The past conflicts of the situation between Israel andPalestine have been happening for a while in the last decades for example the Palestinian war in 1948 when five Arab nations which were Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and invaded the territory of former Palestinian mandate, which lead the United Nations to declare Palestine and Israel their own country. For writers like Nye, however, the process of understanding 9/11 and its repercussions is marked by an insistence on challenging simplistic dichotomies opposing authentic and hyphenated Americans, Sameness and Difference, Insider and Outsider, and patriotic and unpatriotic citizens.