Sharjeel Imam, the former Jawaharlal Nehru University scholar and activist lodged in Tihar Jail since 2020 in connection with cases related to the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 protests under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), reflects on politics, history, religion and prison life in this interview with Arka Deb. The interview was conducted before the recent announcement of his week-long parole to attend his brother’s wedding. This interview was conducted via written notes.You describe yourself as an educated Muslim with a duty to enter politics. What specific reforms do you envision for addressing minority rights in India and in your home state of Bihar?In my studies and research on Partition, I came to the conclusion that any solution to bring peace between the communities and nations of South Asia must follow the blueprint of the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946, which envisioned a loose confederation of decentralised nations.But in the short term, we need to struggle for four systemic changes, necessary for Muslims and other marginalised sections. First, decentralisation and empowering urban and rural local bodies – this should be fundamental and sacrosanct, so that snatching away democracy from an autonomous state like Jammu and Kashmir and converting it to a Union Territory should be unimaginable.Second, the first-past-the-post system should be abolished, as it is the most undemocratic way of conducting elections, unsuitable for a diverse nation like India. Nations across the world are moving towards proportional representation or mixed systems – Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, Turkey. Even in South Asia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are discussing proportional representation.Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party was the third-largest party in India with a 4% vote share in 2014, but got zero seats. Similarly, in the Bihar Assembly election of 2025, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and allies got 38% of the votes but under 15% of seats. This is how first-past-the-post suppresses the voice of the marginalised.Third, reservation for religious minorities in all branches and departments of the judiciary, executive, universities and institutions, with internal quotas for backward and marginalised castes and sections.Fourth, a democratic mechanism for complete religious autonomy, such as the Waqf, to be handled by an elected Muslim body – and elected by Muslims.Why did you decide to contest the Bihar elections from Bahadurganj, and what lessons did you draw from it?Many youth and residents from Bahadurganj had proposed this idea to us and suggested that we contest from there. Bahadurganj, a Muslim-majority constituency, is in Seemanchal, the poorest and most neglected region of Bihar, which is already the poorest state.As a political actor arguing for minority empowerment, I cannot be an enabler for the BJP by contesting from seats where it might win because of a split in Muslim votes. It is our responsibility to defeat the BJP, but where it doesn’t contest or can’t win – that is the only space we have in our first-past-the-post system, and we have to use it.If released, what would be your priorities – continuing academic work, electoral politics or grassroots activism?I will try to finish my thesis ASAP, a couple of months’ archival work is pending and after that I will keep researching and writing. As a software engineer and coder, I am better equipped than most historians to harness the digital revolution and AI in the service of history writing.But my academic life will be accompanied by activism and politics. I will hold discussions with friends, comrades, sympathetic intellectuals, civil society representatives and other people to chart out a course of action. My experiences, academic and practical, will be used in the service of the struggle for change, improving the condition of not only Muslims but all marginalised peoples.First, we have to foreground and articulate the Qur’anic message of universal, non-sectarian, anti-caste monotheistic faith, while maintaining and explaining the unique historical mission of the Prophet and the Islamic ummah.Also read: Can We Fault Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid for Dreaming of a Better World?These ideas have been emphasised by many scholars, including Iqbal, Maulana Azad, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, and others in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Enlightened monotheists advocating equality and rationalism among other religious communities are – always have been – allies of enlightened Muslims.Beyond monotheists, we have the Quranic motto of peaceful coexistence with all – “Lakum deenukum wa liya deen” (109:6) (To you be your religion/faith; and to me mine), or “La ikraha fid-deen” (2:256) (Let there be no compulsion in religion).It is the responsibility of Muslim scholars to make these ideas commonplace in order to undo the damage done by narrow-minded bigots among Muslims as well as non-Muslims.A related issue is of undoing the harm done by literalists, especially with respect to the readings and exegesis of the Holy Quran.Second, we have to stop seeing our history through the prism of “nationalism” and start seeing it as a collection of humans and communities, and a patchwork of autonomous entities over thousands of years.For the Muslim youth, I will invoke Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s slogan: “Educate, Organise, Agitate.” Struggle against casteism, superstition and communalism, and build alliances with other marginalised classes to agitate for systemic changes so that we become a just and equal society.You have been reading Allama Iqbal and Ali Shariati’s books for a long time. How have these shaped your views? I have read hundreds of books with renewed interest and concentration; in that respect, these years have been the most productive ones of my life.Iqbal is one of those rare thinkers who absorbed twentieth-century revolutions in physics (such as relativity and quantum theory) and biology (evolution), grasped their significance, and set out to “reconstruct” Islamic religious thought based on the Quranic fundamentals of monotheism, personal accountability, justice and equality, shedding the accidental and sometimes plainly superstitious traditions that had latched on over centuries.Iqbal made me understand social justice, scientific enlightenment and empiricism as an integral part of Islam. He transformed me from a practising Muslim to a thinking Muslim, from a sectarian boy to an empathetic Muslim.A friend in JNU introduced me to Ali Shariati through a book in 2013. I could read Persian, but what hooked me was listening to him. Shariati’s audio lectures – hundreds of them on YouTube – are powerful, articulate and pleasing to listen to, almost musical. That led me to a deep exploration of the Islamic revolution of 1979 in Iran, of which Shariati, as a young professor of history, was a major architect; although he died in 1977 after being imprisoned by the Shah.Iqbal from a Sunni family and Shariati from a Shia family, are both non-sectarian and enlightened Muslims and humanists. Brought up in a Sunni household, I was ignorant of the nuances. They taught me to respect not only all sects of Islam but also all monotheistic traditions in the world.What role has your mother, Afshan Rahim, played in your legal battle?When I surrendered to Delhi Police in Kake, she was there. She said to me, “You are God’s gift to me, I am returning you to His custody.” She tells me to be patient, have faith in God, read the Quran and not be restless. She also tells me not to become too headstrong and listen to others, especially my brother. She, along with my brother, had to face financial hardships because of my incarceration. But she never complained. At this stage, when she needed me most, I am unfortunately not there for her.Also read: The Union Govt’s Counter-Terror Policy Paper Raises More Questions Than AnswersYou have helped secure bail for co-accused from prison; what systemic barriers do you see in legal aid for marginalised prisoners, and how can they be addressed?One of the most conspicuous and prohibitive barriers is language. Most long-time inmates, whether undertrials or convicts, do not know English, the language in which almost all business of courts is carried out. Almost all legal literature in jails is also in English, including jail manuals.Over the years, I have translated orders, laws, witness statements, etc., for hundreds of inmates. I have observed that those with a keen interest in their case are quick to react in a meaningful way once they comprehend the larger legal landscape and the details of their cases.The language issue is even more important than class, the next most important barrier [to justice]. Poor inmates are regularly swindled by crooked lawyers.In this age of AI, the least the courts can do is to arrange dynamic translations for all court proceedings and orders in regional languages. There should be stricter scrutiny of how lawyers are paid – at least some accountability has to be there, especially for poorer inmates. The legal aid offered by the state should be made more attractive for sincere and hard-working lawyers.Finally, whatever little help I could provide was only possible because of my lawyers, especially Ahmad Ibrahim, Talib Mustafa, Ayesha Zaidi and Jeet Chakrabarty. And this long legal struggle could not have been possible without the help of a few friends, especially from the IITs – almost all of them non-Muslim.How has your daily routine in Tihar Jail evolved, and what helps you maintain mental and emotional resilience?I go through many newspapers daily. Then, reading books, badminton, watching TV news, namaz in congregation in our ward mosque. And a little FM radio before sleeping. That’s pretty much it. And yes, I observe and am also involved in the lives of the cats in and around my ward, through the perspective of Chhotu, a male cat that has been with me 24×7 since its birth around four years ago.Do you follow global events such as the Iran-Israel War, Gaza crisis, and the role of US President Donald Trump? How do you evaluate global politics nowadays?Yes, I follow international news through whatever newspapers we get and some TV channels. In Iran, I think, Ayatollah Khamenei was and will remain the leader not only of Shia Muslims but of all Muslims around the world. His martyrdom is a loss for all justice-loving people and humanity.And salaam to the brave and revolutionary people of Gaza, whose struggle against Israel continues. The realisation has dawned among Muslims that Palestinians are the vanguard of the anti-imperial and anti-colonial movement.The other big development is the revival of Russia from its lowest point twenty years ago. Three decades of absolute unipolarity are over.Capitalists looked for cheaper labour across the globe, and US elites accumulated the profits, de-industrialising their country in the process. A major consequence of this has been the rise of China as a manufacturing powerhouse. Now America’s Rust Belt is hitting back in the shape of Donald Trump, rocking the boat with tariffs. As the US reverses supply chain linkages and Europe wanes into geopolitical irrelevance, blocs such as Russia, China, Iran, ASEAN or West Asian groupings will emerge as prominent movers.The best path forward for us would be to make peace and integrate with our neighbours in South Asia, in order to realise our economic, cultural and geopolitical potential. But for that, we will have to do away with anti-Muslim poison first.Do you plan to write about your years in jail?Jail has brought innumerable lessons about human nature, state bureaucracy, legal affairs and animals – especially cats. I will definitely write my memoirs when I am out. But for now, the more important thing is our political discourse – a clear message – jail is a small price to pay for our political rights.