Javed Akhtar termed the controversy over Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poem being anti-national as "absurd and funny". (Photo: PTI)

Indian lyricist Javed Akhtar termed the latest controversy over the recitation of renowned Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz's noted poem 'Hum Dekhenge' at the IIT-Kanpur campus as "absurd and funny".

Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur (IIT-Kanpur) has set up a panel to investigate if Faiz Ahmed Faiz's iconic poem 'Hum Dekhenge' is "anti-Hindu".

Javed Akhtar said that calling Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poem anti-Hindu is so "absurd and funny" that it is difficult to even seriously talk about it.

The lyricist said that Faiz Ahmed Faiz wrote 'Hum Dekhenge' against Zia ul Haq's "communal, regressive and fundamentalist" regime

"Faiz Ahmed Faiz was like a leading star of the progressive writers who emerged in undivided India," Javed Akhtar said.

#WATCH Javed Akhtar:Calling Faiz Ahmed Faiz 'anti-Hindu' is so absurd&funny that its difficult to seriously talk about it.He lived half his life outside Pakistan,he was called anti-Pakistan there.'Hum Dekhenge' he wrote against Zia ul Haq's communal,regressive&fundamentalist Govt pic.twitter.com/nOtFwtfjQ9 ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2020

Javed Akhtar added that Faiz Ahmed Faiz wrote poems when India got independence and the partition took place to express his sorrow over the division of the country and now his work is being termed as anti-national.

"The man who wrote a poem to express his sorrow over the division of India is now being termed as anti-India," Javed Akhtar said.

"He lived half his life outside Pakistan, he was called anti-Pakistan there," Akhtar added.

An IIT-K student sang the poem 'Hum Dekhenge' by Faiz against which a complaint was filed by Dr Vashimant Sharma, a temporary faculty member, and about 16 others including faculty members and students.

The written complaint filed by them with the IIT Director states that the poem had some wordings that could hurt the sentiments of Hindus.