Joli No Udhim Kittei. (Why Shall I not Resist! __ originally written in Chakma and Bengali) by Kabita Chakma

Poem by Kabita Chakma, translated by Meghna Guhathakurta
Recited today ( 16th November, 2012) at the Hay Festival, Bangla Academy, Dhaka
Joli No Udhim Kittei. (Why Shall I not Resist! _?
Why shall I not resist!
Can they do as they please –
Turn settlements into barren land
Dense forests to deserts
Mornings into evening
Fruition to barrenness.
Why shall I not resist
Can they do as they please –
Estrange us from the land of our birth
Enslave our women
Blind our vision
Put an end to creation.
Neglect and humiliation causes anger
the blood surges through my veins
breaking barriers at every stroke,
the fury of youth pierces the sea of consciousness.
I become my own whole self
Why shall I not resist!
(Chakma, 1992.7)