Not Against, But For

 

Not Against, But For

= B SAMAL =

General Secretary

Confederation of Central Govt Employees and Workers

Odisha State CoC, Bhubaneswar

I do not shout out of hatred or spite,

Nor in anger, nor for some personal fight.

My voice rises from the heartbeat of pain,

Of workers toiling through hardship and strain.

I shout like a mother cries out in fear,

When her child is hurt and no help is near.

Not for myself, but for every broken soul,

Whose silent suffering has taken its toll.

I shout not against the nation or law,

But for those crushed beneath injustice's claw.

For those whose backs are bent by the weight

Of promises broken by the hands of the State.

I raise my voice like a burning flame,

To awaken hearts gone silent in shame.

My cries are not noise, not meant to divide,

But the song of the unheard, amplified.

Some say I shout too loud, too long,

But how else can I correct what's wrong?

When truth is hushed and wrong glorified,

Silence is betrayal—so I have never complied.

I shout not with bitterness, nor for fame,

But for dignity lost in power’s name.

I speak for my people, my colleagues, my kin,

For every worker forgotten, cast in a bin.

Yes, my words are sharp—they pierce the air,

But they rise from love, from duty, from care.

From every denied promotion, unpaid due,

From every promise the rulers never knew.

Don't mistake my fire for mindless rage,

It’s the call of justice, the cry of an age.

It’s the echo of footsteps that march unseen,

Of revolutions born in alleys unclean.

I will shout, and I will not stop—

Until the last exploited stands on the top.

Until labour is honoured, not sold on demand,

Until fairness rules across this land.

So don’t say I’m shouting against the State—

I shout for those whom the rulers negate.

And if my voice disturbs your peace,

It means your comfort rests on others’ grief.

*****