The Sanctioned Ignorance and Incarcerated Voice:

Sharjeel Imam and the Re-Imagination of Muslim Politics in India

Nizamuddin Ahmad Siddiqui

Saqib Rasool

 

Abstract: In 2019, India's political situation was tumultuous. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) amended the 1955 citizenship law through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA). The CAA introduced religion as a criterion for citizenship, risking the citizenship rights of Muslims of India. People across the disciplines opposed the CAA. Initially, protests began at Muslim minority educational institutions such as Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), New Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh. These student-led protests opened up space for participation by the general citizenry, led by Muslims. This is how the “Shaheen Bagh” protest – the most prominent Muslim-led protest in independent India - took birth. Shaheen Bagh, initially started by a group of not more than 20 women, soon attracted thousands to its fold. The protest, which some identified as a movement, was replicated throughout the country. With this as the backdrop, the paper situates Sharjeel Imam's story, who many believe initially designed the Shaheen Bagh protests. Reading Imam’s speeches, writings and letters from the jail, the paper moves beyond existing rhetorics and engagements on Imam. It attempts to critically analyse and understand his framing of Muslim politics in India around citizenship. The paper argues that the Imam’s politics envision (re)imagining an alternative politics for Muslims in India, with democracy, equality, belonging, and social cohesion as its main pillars. The paper also highlights incoherence in his politics and method. It is further argued that, although rooted in history, his version of politics still faces sanctioned ignorance among intellectuals and incarceration by the State.