Imran Pratapgarhi (born 6 August 1987, Maharashtra ) is an Indian Urdu-language poet and politician, who is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. Popular, heard by thousands in mushairas, for his protest poetry that particularises the Muslim experience and identity in India and other parts of the world, he is now embroiled in a case, and the Supreme Court, on February 10, came to his rescue in the case that awaits final verdict. Among his popular poems are his Urdu nazms “Madrasa” and “Han Main Kashmir Hoon.” he is recipient of Yash bharati, the highest award given by UP govt in 2016. (Photo courtesy: Live Law.in)
“Please apply your mind to the poem. After all, creativity is also important,” Justice Oka pleaded with the Gujarat State’s counsel while adjourning the matter.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, for the petitioner, said in the Supreme Court, “The (Gujarat High Court) judge has done violence to the law. That is my worry.”
The case indicates the kind and level of polarization of the administration, the police and even the Gujarat High Court. It reveals the viciousness of the new law code launched by Modi regime. It is ominous. It takes place amid Hindutva claims of “tolerance” of highest order.
It also exposes the complicity of the Big media, which ignored or buried, in small print, in inside pages, this significant case of denial of freedom of expression, to a poet.
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“Ae khoon ke pyase, baat suno” (Oh Blood-thirsty, listen)
“Please see the poem. The (Gujarat High) Court has not appreciated the meaning of the poem. It’s ultimately a poem,” Justice Oka told Advocate Swati Ghildiyal, who was appearing for the State.
“It’s ultimately a poem. It is not against any religion. This poem indirectly says even if somebody indulges in violence, we will not indulge in violence. That’s the message which this poem gives that we will quietly suffer the violence but we will not do anything. So that somebody who indulges in violence will be dethroned. That’s the message which the poem gives. It is not against any particular community,” Justice Oka said.
A bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, considering a petition filed by Pratapharhi challenging the Gujarat High Court’s refusal to quash the FIR, observed that the police has not appreciated its meaning.
The bench ultimately adjourned the matter by three weeks at the request of the counsel for the State. “Please apply your mind to the poem. After all, creativity is also important,“ Justice Oka pleaded with the State’s counsel while adjourning the matter.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had granted interim protection from any coercive action against the petitioner by stopping all further steps: “No step shall be taken in pursuance of the FIR (First Information Report) registered.” The FIR was registered over an Instagram post featuring a video clip with the poem “Ae khoon ke pyase baat suno” (Oh Blood-thirsty, listen) running in the background.
The FIR was registered by City A-Division Police Station, Jamnagar, Gujarat. A resident of Jamnagar, aggrieved by the posting of Pratapgarhi’s video, filed an FIR alleging that the lawmaker used a song that was “provocative, detrimental to national integrity, and hurt religious sentiments.”
Registered against Pratapgarhi on January 3, the FIR, states that he was booked by the Jamnagar police for promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, and statements prejudicial to national integration, as well as for abetting the commission of an offense by the public or a group of more than ten people, among other charges.
They are obviously framed to suit the various sections of the draconian laws :
The poem, spreading a message of love and non-violence as per the poet, allegedly contravened Sections 196, 197, 299, 302, and 57 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) , 2023. Section 196 pertains to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.
The FIR further alleged that the Rajya Sabha MP was booked after he allegedly posted the 46-second video clip/poem on December 29 on his X handle, with the poem “ae khoon ke pyase baat suno...” playing in the background.
However, Pratapgarhi vehemently denied these allegations. He had to move the Gujarat High Court for quashing the FIR. In the High Court, the Congress MP argued that “the reading of the song-poem is a message of love and non-violence.”
The Gujarat High Court on January 17, 2025, refused to quash the FIR, emphasizing the need for further investigation and citing Pratapgarhi’s non-cooperation with the investigation process as a factor in its decision.
The High Court noted that the poem’s tenor indicated something about the throne. It recalls the colonial mindset and the notorious sedition law, which Modi regime claimed was repealed by BNS. And that responses to the post suggested a potential disturbance in social harmony:
“Looking to the tenor of the poem, it certainly indicates something about the throne. The responses received to the said post by other persons also indicate that message was posted in a manner which certainly create disturbance in social harmony. It is expected from any citizen of India that he should behave in a manner where the communal harmony or social harmony should not be disturbed and the petitioner, who is a Member of Parliament, is expected to behave in some more restricted manner as he is expected to know more about the repercussions of such post”, the HC stated.
The High Court observed that further investigation was necessary as Pratapgarhi had not cooperated with the investigation process despite being a lawmaker expected to uphold the law and failed to respond to notices issued on January 4 and 15, requiring his presence on January 11 and 22, respectively.
The High Court emphasized the necessity of further investigation and referred to the principles laid out by the Apex Court in previous cases, stating that the court should not quash an FIR at the threshold.
During the hearing in the apex court on January 21, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Congress MP, told the bench, “The order was passed on the first day itself, even without notice.”
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A sharp critic of Modi govt’s policies, CAA etc, he faced witch hunt
He actively opposed CAA and NPR. A file photo of poet-turned-politician Imran Pratapgarhi. | Imran Pratapgarhi/Twitter. Poet Imran Pratapgarhi in 2020 was told to pay Rs 1.04 crore to Moradabad (UP) city for police expenses, incurred by the UP state police during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The police claimed “a large group of a particular section has been gathering for protests at Eidgah” since Pratapgarhi’s call for a demonstration there on February 7, 2020 violating prohibitory orders. The protests started on January 29, and have seen a large number of women participate.
The notice issued by Additional City Magistrate Rajesh Kumar said the amount was calculated on the basis of the daily cost of deploying security personnel at the protest site, Hindustan Times reported. “Keeping in mind the law and order situation, one extra platoon of RAF [Rapid Action Force] and another company-and-a-half section of PAC [Provincial Armed Constabulary] has been deployed, which costs Rs 13.42 lakh per day,” read the notice. “Therefore, the administration can recover 1.04 crore from you.”
The poet, however, had maintained that his visit to Moradabad had concluded peacefully, and he was not aware of any such order. “I had been in touch with the administration days before the protest,” he added. “I had been asked to not visit, and I complied. On February 7, I visited and spoke at the venue. Everything was peaceful. In fact, they [administration] thanked me for it. I only wonder at the level of targeting.”
The poet termed the notice a “witch hunt”, and claimed the Uttar Pradesh government does not want people to speak against officials. “The district administration is using different methods to scare protestors, but we will not be afraid,” Pratapgarhi had said, adding that he would challenge the notice in court.
Said Superintendent of Police (Moradabad) Amit Kumar: “This is not the same as a recovery notice since no public property was damaged. This acts as a deterrent to prevent a person from possibly causing a law and order situation.” The police have reportedly issued such notices to at least 150 people to prevent a law-and-order problem.
The Adityanath government had issued notices to hundreds of people, seeking damages for destuction of public property during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
At least 295 people in the districts of Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Sambhal, Rampur, Bijnor and Bulandshahr reportedly had received the notices in connection with property damage worth at least Rs 1.9 crore. The Allahabad High Court had stayed a recovery notice issued to a Kanpur resident.
The police claimed protestors had been gathering at the city Eidgah in defiance of prohibitory orders since his call for a demonstration there on February 7.
( scroll.in Feb 16, 2020 )
Pratapgarhi, had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Moradabad on a Congress ticket.
Imran Pratapgarhi, is described as “a rockstar poet” who draws tens of thousands of fans at Urdu mushairas. And that led him to be a star campaigner in election rallies too.
He delivered speeches in parliament that were sharp, critical, and laced with his poetry.
He left PM Modi speechless in one occasion, it was reported. “Neend Kaise Aati Hai?” Imran Pratapgarhi posed hard questions to PM Modi and BJP govt in Lok Sabha.
He took to poetry to pass sarcastic remarks over Union Budget 2024. He raised the question of farmers, middle class and rising inflation in Lok Sabha. (He also raised the issue of his state Maharashtra’s flood problem). It had 341,263 views Jul 30, 2024. That led him into troubles, including the case.
A section of the old guard is disapproving of his unrestrained manner, it is said, but Imran Pratapgarhi, a Congressman less than 40 in age, uses his poetry to talk about social and political realities, which is being criminalized.
Jab jab dor patang se katne lagti hai
tab tab koi CD batne lagti hai
Rahul jeet na jaaye bas is dar se
sahib ki GST ghatne lagti hai
Whenever the kite’s thread gets broken
a CD starts getting distributed
to stop Rahul from winning at any cost
the ruler’s GST starts to decrease
It is Pratapgarhi’s ability to encapsulate the prevalent political and social atmosphere in a few lines. These are the lines with which Imran Pratapgarhi began his mushaira session on a cold November (2017) night at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, and the crowd of over 30,000 people – including the chief guest, then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal – broke into rapturous applause.
The second of 10 siblings, son of Mohammed Iliyas Khan, a Unani medicine practitioner, he recounted: “My father wanted me to become a doctor, so I studied science in school but always had an inclination for literature and participated in various literary events. I completed my Masters in Hindi literature from Allahabad University. [When I was at] university, I wrote in Hindi and participated in kavi sammelans (poetry symposiums), but I attended mushairas with keen interest.”
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Protest Poetry against politics of hatred
Pratapgarhi started participating in mushairas in 2008 and the nazm that brought him instant and unexpected fame was Madrasa. According to Pratapgarhi, the nazm was inspired by the intense media focus on madrasas – owing to a spate of terror attacks.
…mila hamesha chahat ka paigham madrason se
mat jodo aatankwad ka naam madrason se koi ilzam madrason se…
…the message of love always emanates from madrasas
do not link terrorism with madrasas, do not taint madrasas…
The reception to Madrasa made him realise that there was a need for someone to talk about marginalised communities and highlight their issues – “I saw that crowds of 20,000-25,000 would gather, sitting all night long to hear shayari. I thought why not use the platform to make people politically aware and inform them about society? I made a conscious decision to infuse my poetry with political and social themes.”
Pratapgarhi has now written over 100 nazms, including Filisteen (about the suppression of Palestinians), Najeeb (about the disappearance of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed), and Umar (about the victims of mob lynchings).
In one nazm, Pratapgarhi summed up Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Patra’s hapless attempt at equating cow’s dung with Kohinoor, the deaths of children in a Gorakhpur hospital, and the test of nationalism that the Uttar Pradesh government wanted the madrasas in the state to go through on August15.
Gobar ko Kohinoor batane me reh gaye
Hindu ko Musalman se ladane me reh gaye
bacche tamam marte rahe aspatal me
wo madraso ki jaanch karane me reh gaye
They stopped short of calling dung the Kohinoor
they stayed busy sowing enmity between Hindus and Muslims
Although children kept dying in hospitals
their attention remained focused on investigating madrasas
The tradition of mushairas has been traced back to the time of Amir Khusrau and its patronage during the Mughal era is well-documented. Weekly mushairas are still held in Indian cities and abroad in places with Urdu-speaking diaspora.
He aided victims of lynching
“I do not consciously sit to write about a particular topic,” Pratapgarhi said. “But most of my nazms have been penned after flashes of inspiration. The poem on victims of lynchings was completed as I walked towards the stage. Throughout the day I had a nagging feeling that I want to talk about Umar.” A dairy farmer, Umar Mohammed was killed and his body thrown on railway tracks, allegedly by cow vigilantes, in the same week as the event at Jamia last November.
…jinko kaata gaya nafrato ke sabab
mai khada hoon har aise shajar ke liye…
…those who killed for reasons for hate
I am standing for every such tree…
That evening, Pratapgarhi announced that he would be donating his fee from the event to Umar Mohammed’s family, and that he had donated the earnings from his appearances over the last two years to other victims of lynching. He also talked about mobilising people to lend a helping hand to the families of victims of hate crimes.
In an act of activism, using his appearances at mushairas and his social media accounts, Pratapgarhi implored Muslims to wear a black band during Eid ul Fitr prayers as a silent protest against the rising hate crimes against the community. He termed the protest Gandhigiri-I. The second part of the protest involved mobilising people to donate blood on August 6.
“I saw that our blood was wantonly shed on the streets and the victims were left to die on streets and trains without anyone coming to their help,” Pratapgarhi said.
“I wanted to tell people, ‘Don’t shed our blood. We will donate it. Use it to help those who need it.’” He added that 2,816 units of blood were collected across India during the initiative. He also mobilised his admirers to help people affected by the floods in Bihar in August 2017. Pratapgarhi has had his fair share of critics, apart from a steady flow of hate mails and threats.
To his critics, Pratapgarhi says that poetry isn’t just about reading out loud what you once wrote. He believes it can raise awareness among the masses, and he is willing to do it even if it comes at the expense of being marginalised by his peers.
Pratapgarhi counts the legendary poet of the masses, Habib Jalib, as his inspiration. Jalib earned fame for his biting commentary on the state of affairs in Pakistan following the Partition of India. He passed away in 1993 but his nazms still ring true in the current political climates of Pakistan and India.
Pratapgarhi, who is currently in the process of finishing a book of nazms, said he would be happy to continue in the same vein.
For more on his poetry, see an article by Wasi Manazir, from which the above points are taken..
A couplet by Dr Rahat Indori, Bollywood lyricist, former Urdu professor and a renowned poet, captures and echoes the spirit of the poet, with which this report may be concluded.
…sabhi ka khoon hai shaamil yahan ki mitti me
kisi ke baap ka Hindustan thodi hai…
…everyone’s blood is part of this soil
India doesn’t belong to anyone’s father, does it?…
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For more on the poet, visit video clips..
For more on the case, see :
Case no. – SLP(Crl) No. 1015/2025 Diary No. 3511 / 2025
Case Title – Imran Pratapgadhi v. State of Gujarat
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Ramakrishnan is a political observer who frequently contributed to countercurrents.org.
