My confusion grows as we converse, for Shamshad dispels the a priori impression of mine that he would be a bumbling rustic, residing as he does in Basta village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district. He dismisses as balderdash the theory of the Delhi Police, spelt out in FIR 59/2020, that a band of activists, opposed to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, conspired to trigger the riots to bring the Indian state into disrepute. Since they have no evidence to prove their theory, they are in no hurry to commit to trial the case in which Shadab and 16 others are accused, he argues.

Shamshad is also familiar with India’s ideological battles. In 1984, he was among the 450 people whom Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram, still a few years away from acquiring fame, addressed in Bijnor. Ram’s agenda of uniting the Dalits, OBCs and Muslims prompted Shamshad to become a BSP activist. He divided his time between sitting in the family-owned grocery store and doing grassroots work for the party. Since the past few years, though, he drives his e-rickshaw, hopping from one village to another, hawking items such as biscuits and buns.

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Shamshad’s talk of Allah’s will, on the face of it, is at odds with his quest for social change. Yes, the arrest of his son is a misfortune because he did not “kill or rape; he participated in the anti-CAA protest to protect the Constitution”. And yes, his arrest hit the family’s finances hard, for Shadab would send R10,000 every month to Shamshad from the Rs 17,000 that he earned working in a micro-enterprise producing mops and wipers for domestic use. “After his arrest, my sales zoomed. Allah ensures I do not become dependent on anyone but Him,” says Shamshad.

A graduate in computer application, curiosity pulled Shadab to the anti-CAA sit-in at Shaheen Bagh, where he would go with his friend Suhail, who owns a car repair shop, after working hours, in the evening. Soon, they were visiting other protest sites in the Capital. Shadab befriended a group of students, whose commitment to opposing the CAA inspired him to offer his services for managing the stage at the sit-in of Chand Bagh residents.

About his sudden lurch toward activism, Shadab told his father, “Everyone lives for himself. But some must live for society at large, for the poor.” The activist in the father agreed.

Chand Bagh was among the localities in Northeast Delhi that were scarred by the 2020 February riots. Shadab was made an accused as he was deemed to have participated in the mob violence that killed Ratan Lal. His lawyer, however, accessed the call data record to show that Shadab was 2 km away from the spot when Lal was lynched at around 1 pm. He was granted bail.

But, a sessions court has yet to decide on Shadab’s petition for bail in the conspiracy case.

Shamshad asks: Did the state imprison all those who violently protested against the Agnipath scheme? Did the state incarcerate those who lampooned the Prophet? Why were the 11 convicted of gang-raping Bilkis Bano and killing 14 released from jail? “My son and other protesters have been dumped into jail in order to frighten Muslims from protesting again,” says Shamshad.

Yet, his bitterness is dissolved in the faith he has in Allah’s will, pointing out that even prophets were subjected to trials and suffered reversals of fortune in their lives. Shamshad narrates the story of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph to Christians), who survived the plan of his brothers to kill him and was, later, packed off to prison on a charge as fictitious as the one levelled against his son. Shamshad’s belief in Allah springs from his own experiences. For instance, eight years ago, the car Shadab was travelling in collided with a truck near Bijnor. Shadab was the only one of the five passengers who survived.

“Nothing happens without Allah’s will,” he repeats.

I ask: Why would Allah banish Shadab to the harshness and isolation of jail life?

Shamshad replies, “We can never know His plan in advance. Did Nelson Mandela not spend 27 years in jail?” The political significance of his example stuns me into silence.

The writer is a senior journalist
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