•Seema Chishti: Some years ago, when you took a stand against banning Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, you were targeted by hotheaded people who happened to be Muslim. Now you have some people in the BJP accusing you of supporting terrorists. How has this affected you?

The opposition of certain sections did not deter me from pursuing my intellectual agenda because I have no political interests. There has been no change in my understanding of the dangers inherent in fundamentalist positions, whether they are political or religious. I believed then, as I believe now, that an enlightened liberal and secular position is a position that both the majority and the minority communities must pursue. It’s been a difficult journey in many ways but then I suppose, as people say, one has to pay a price for taking positions.

•Shravan Sen: Would you say your university is being victimised just because it’s a minority institution?

We are not a minority institution. We’re created by an Act of Parliament, we’re accountable to Parliament, we have no reservations for minorities, for Muslims. We have the usual reservations for SC/STs and OBCs. If you want to see how a genuinely secular and liberal institution works in India, come to Jamia.

•Pranab Dhal Samanta: What practical measures, if any, are you now taking to prevent or to reduce the chances of such incidents being linked to your institution?

The day after the incident, I addressed students in our auditorium and said the answer to this is to be more secular, to be more liberal in your outlook, to be more enlightened in your perspective. The next day we organised a peace march. We had a big demonstration for peace and against violence and terrorism. It is being made out as if for the last 60 years, Jamia has been the hotbed of ‘sedition’. The assumption is quite ridiculous because nothing has ever happened on the campus.

... contd.