New Delhi: Two years after his sudden passing, friends and colleagues continue to recall the life and work of Dr. Mishab Irikkur, a former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and principal of Ideal College, Uliyil, Kerala. Mishab, who died at 36 from cardiac arrest on October 7, 2023, is remembered as a thoughtful intellectual, a practicing Muslim, and a committed defender of secular values. He is survived by his wife, Sulaikha SVP, and their three children.
A heartfelt tribute was penned by Dr Abhay Kumar for Counter Currents dot org. A PhD scholar in Arabic Literature at JNU, Mishab played a quiet yet influential role in academic and political debates. Alongside his friend and fellow scholar P.Z. Abdur Raheem, he frequently participated in hostel discussions on politics, communalism, and minority rights. His intellectual openness stood out. Though deeply rooted in his faith, he welcomed diverse perspectives and never hesitated to question even those he admired.
Mishab believed in engaging directly with pressing issues. He co-organized discussions on communal violence, including a landmark meeting on the 2008 Kandhamal attacks against Christians. In 2014, he was instrumental in arranging an interview with Jamaat-e-Islami Hind President Syed Jalaluddin Umari, during which he asked candid questions on secularism, minority politics, and the Indian Constitution. He also supported interviews with political scholars and activists to raise awareness on rising communalism.
Friends describe him as collaborative, encouraging, and unselfish, often pushing others into the spotlight rather than himself. His sudden death, they say, was not only a personal loss but also a blow to the secular intellectual tradition he embodied. For those who knew him, Mishab remains a symbol of humility, integrity, and the struggle to safeguard India’s pluralism.
