Javed Akhtar on Nationalism in Urdu Poetry

In this Sunday Special at Jashn-e-Rekhta, Javed Akhtar im conversation with Anisur Rahman, speaks on how ideas of nation, belonging, and identity have been shaped in Urdu poetry over time. He traces how poets responded to their political moment, how the language of patriotism evolved, and how nationalism in verse can carry both pride and critique. The conversation moves between literature and history, looking at what poets chose to celebrate, what they resisted, and how poetry became a way to think publicly without losing emotional depth. A session that places Urdu poetry within the larger story of the subcontinent’s social and political imagination.