1
A father and a son were locked.
They were getting beaten up
in a corner where the CCTV couldn’t peep.
Their knees busted.
Lathis were shoved inside their asshole
after stripping them off their clothes.
Their body was throbbed and they bled
and bled again.
All these were not the reason
of their death. The report said
it was heart attack
and fever.
2
A young man was taken
into custody at night
on Sunday.
A joint team of army
and police came
to pick him up.
Next morning
his breathe went missing
only his body was found.
his life was worth a job
and a few lakh rupees.
I guess
life can be commodified.
3
I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe
in my AC room, but the Kashmiri
crushed by the jeep can.
On Facebook, I will change
my cover picture and use
#BlackLivesMatter
and when a safai-karamchaari
will come to my house
I will sprinkle ganga-jal
on her “filthy” body
mind you
I am not a hypocrite
India is just not the same
as the west.
Sutputra Radheye is a poet and commentator from Assam. He has written on cultural and political issues for several publications, such as Frontier, Countercurrents, Janata Weekly, and Culture Matters.

is a poet and commentator from Assam. He has written on cultural and political issues for several publications, such as Frontier, The Quint, Countercurrents, Janata Weekly, and Culture Matters.