Amid controversy over postponement of screening documentary, Congress defends Umar Khalid

Amid ongoing controversy over the proposed screening of a documentary on former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader Umar Khalid, the Congress on Tuesday, 15 September, defended him. Karnataka Congress president B K Hariprasad described Khalid as a “nationalist” and criticised the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for opposing the screening.

The documentary, Prisoner No. 626710, was scheduled to be screened at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru. However, it was postponed by the organisers, who cited security and administrative reasons, following protests and opposition from the ABVP and Bajrang Dal. 

Reacting to the ABVP's demand for permanent cancellation of the screening, Hariprasad said, “Umar Khalid is a nationalist. ABVP has no right to speak about him because they adore Nathuram Godse, who was an anti-national and the first terrorist of the country. They have no moral right to speak about Umar Khalid.” 

Other prominent voices have also defended Khalid and called for his release. Sunita Viswanath, co-founder of Hindus for Human Rights, called for Khalid’s freedom on the sixth anniversary of his incarceration.

Advocate Vrinda Grover recently stated that Khalid has spent six years in jail as an undertrial for his alleged role in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, without being tried. Speaking at an online event to mark six years of Khalid's incarceration under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), Grover said he was jailed “for the ideas he holds”.

"What is clear, and on which there is no dispute, is he[Umar Khalid] has been put behind bars for his ideas, for his thinking, for the active exercise of his citizenship, rather than to be a passive person who perhaps goes cast a vote once in a while. That is why he is behind the bars. That is what his chargesheet also says," Grover said.

Prisoner No. 626710 traces Khalid’s journey through people, places, and spaces linked to him and explores his absence following his arrest.

Filmmaker Lalit Vachani, who spent 16 months creating the documentary, said although he never met Khalid, he felt a long association with him. Khalid was arrested in September 2020 over allegations of conspiring to incite the Northeast Delhi riots.

The current controversy intensified after the ABVP and Bajrang Dal opposed the proposed screening in Bengaluru. In a statement on Monday, ABVP Bengaluru said it had submitted representations to Union home minister Amit Shah, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union minister of law and justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, seeking their intervention. 

The RSS-affiliated student organisation cited Khalid’s alleged links to the 2016 JNU controversy, events commemorating Afzal Guru, anti-CAA-NRC protests, and the 2020 Delhi riots as reasons to oppose the screening.

ABVP also demanded a high-level enquiry into NLSIU’s administration, alleging the postponement was a “stalling tactic” to reduce public outrage.

Khalid, a history student at JNU and member of the Democratic Students’ Union, first caught national attention during the 2016 JNU sedition case linked to a commemorative event for Afzal Guru. He was granted bail later.

He later became a prominent voice against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), and was involved with the civil-society movement United Against Hate.

Delhi Police arrested Khalid on 13 September 2020, accusing him of being part of a larger conspiracy behind the Northeast Delhi riots. He denies the allegations. The case includes charges under the stringent UAPA law.