Anuj Lugun, “Red Indians, Once Again: 'To you, this land is nothing more than enemy territory.'" (2013) (poem translated from Hindi)
Original poem here
This translation was assisted by ChatGPT
(Once, a white officer made an offer to take over the land of the Red Indians. In response, the tribal chief engaged him in a long debate about the nature-bound life of the Red Indians and flatly refused to give up any part of their land. He said, "To you, this land is nothing more than enemy territory that you conquer and move past.”
Later, one day, the village elder Dode Vaidya told a young Gond from Gondwana:
“Tell the Kond Dongria, Ho, Munda, Santhal, Oraon, Kharia, Chik, and Asur—
to stop the footsteps of the officers and traders right here before they come any closer to their lands.”)
There, you planted your flag
and trampled the crops as you marched ahead.
Then a river stood in your path—
you drank from it, and then muddied its waters
so no one else could drink.
Still, the thirsty quenched themselves with that dirty water,
so you drained it dry.
Now the birds and butterflies are dying without water.
You moved forward, seized another river.
You cleared every forest that stood in your way—
the animals that could adorn your pride,
you locked in cages,
and the rest you slaughtered en masse.
You claimed the mountains,
and carved down their heights.
You have orphaned every living being on this earth
and declared yourself the victor.
To you, this land is nothing more than enemy territory—
something to conquer and move beyond.