No, not the poet, now long dead, but the 17-year-old named after him, the son of the man hanged by the Indian state for his alleged involvement in the 2001 terror attack on the Parliament. One would presume that Afzal Guru’s son would have grown up in his native Kashmir with bitter memories and resentment towards India. Last week, Ghalib Guru made headlines for scoring 95 per cent in his board exams and saying he has no truck with ‘azaadi’ and wants to be a doctor and study at the All India Institute of Medical Studies in Delhi. He spoke about meeting his father in prison and remembered that the only advice he got from him was to study hard. His father, incidentally, had also had an MBBS degree. It is heartening to see that while the Pathankot terrorists may have cited Afzal Guru as motivation for the attack, the son clearly begs to differ.
In Praise Of Ghalib
Waxing Sapphic Gently 
