Decoding the Sharjeel Mindset

Finally, the veil of democratic, peaceful protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Shaheen Bagh and other similar places has fallen and the real face is exposed. The video of Sharjeel Imam, the IIT-turned-JNU activist, and his subsequent arrest has rattled many who wanted to showcase national flags and national anthem to cover up the radical narrative that was being played in the name of CAA protest. Even though a part of Sharjeel’s video where he is talking about the cutting-off Assam and Northeast from rest of Bharat got extensive publicity, his speech in entirety needs scrutiny for three reasons.

Assam and Chicken-neck narrative is the old one, and at one point Jinnah also dreamt of taking over Assam through demographic invasion. Sharjeel is just taking that forward and time and again making it clear that these protests are not about CAA. His entire narrative is about Islamic Supremacist narrative and what he calls ‘Nizam ki Taqreer’ (the struggle of the whole community). He is clear that the system we got in 1950 is anti-Muslim and Muslims together should be clear about that. The protest is not about CAA or NRC but to fight for the injustice of 70 years against one community. This perceived insecurity and injustice cannot be addressed by protests based on rumour-mongering. Remember, Sharjeel is not an uneducated or ill-informed villager; he is a well-educated, researcher who is misguiding the commoners.

He denounces the Constitution and the very idea of ‘nation’ which he considers as the enemy. He wants to create an army of intellectual soldiers who can build not just Islamic supremacist narrative but fight the battles on the ground. He keeps on giving numbers of demographic superiority. The Islamic State supremacist narrative goes on when he says that we need non-Muslims who can support Muslims on the Islamic terms. Nation and sacred land not acceptable to ‘Purist Islam’ and we should bring everyone on the lines of ‘Nara-e-Taqbeer’. This conditionality of Muslims in supporting the freedom struggle led to the Partition.

The worst part is he is not leaving any political party or ideology. Not just that, he says ‘Gandhi was the biggest fascist of the twentieth century’ who imposed Hindu Nationalism on ‘us’. From BJP-RSS to Congress-Communists, all parties and ideologies are painted as anti-Muslims. Using the anger of ‘community’ for productive purpose is the crux of this speech. Sensitising is not in ‘our’ control but controlled by the Congress and Communist is his major problem; ‘the ones who are worshipping the Indian Nation are controlling the narrative’, including the Communist and Congress is the point he is reiterating. ‘Whoever speaks of nation and nationalism is our enemy’, and executive and judiciary of the country are our enemies are the most seditious arguments. Raising the force that will not just fight the armed forces and police but will have clarity that ‘we’ cannot have any affinity with Gandhi and nation are the key elements of his strategy for the communal frenzy mob. ‘Nation of India is the biggest fascist project’ which should be fought against is the ultimate goal. Such a mind is getting support not just from Islamists but from eminent journalists, and Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) is even more worrying.

The words and possible actions of Sharjeel depicts a classic Communo-Jihadi mindset that is being perpetrated in the name of opposing CAA. Invoking the ‘Tarikh’ – history from the Muslim point of view – is nothing but what Dr Ambedkar had analysed in his book on Pakistan – the invasion to make entire country Islamic. Women and children getting trapped in this narrative is an emanating danger for the future unity and harmony of this country. Sharjeel mindset should be understood and countered with this perspective. Mere State response on the ground of treason will not work in such case, but a creative and constructive societal response is needed to deal with the people infected with a Sharjeel virus.