Inside Iqbal’s Mind: Poetry, Politics, and the Search for Perfection | Faisal Devji

In this thought-provoking conversation, historian Faisal Devji sheds light on the deep and often misunderstood political philosophy of Allama Iqbal. Devji talks about Iqbal’s nuanced views on secularism, showing how Iqbal rejected it not for being irreligious, but for being too religious. Drawing rich comparisons with Mahatma Gandhi, he reveals how both thinkers challenged the boundaries between faith and politics. Through Iqbal’s contradictory poetry, his philosophical writings like The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, and even his letter to Nehru, Devji paints a portrait of a man grappling with the metaphysical crises of both East and West. From nationalism to spiritual perfectionism, this is a journey through Iqbal’s mind like never before.