Jailed Without Trial: Umar Khalid's 4-Year Ordeal Ignites Solidarity

Young freedom fighter Jatin Das passed away on September 13, 1929, after a 63-day-long hunger strike demanding better treatment of political prisoners. He was only 25 years old. Drawing a parallel between the death anniversary of Jatin Das and four-year completion of activist and scholar Umar Khalid’s imprisonment without trial on this September 13, Prof. Apoorvanand underlined the injustice faced by Indian political prisoners 95 years on. A professor at the Hindi Department in Delhi University, he was speaking at an event held in Delhi’s Jawahar Bhawan to mark Khalid’s four years in jail and demanding his release. Khalid has been imprisoned without bail or trial in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots “larger conspiracy” case.

Khalid, an activist and former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, is accused of being one of the “masterminds” of the conspiracy to instigate violence during the 2020 riots in the aftermath of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests. He was arrested on September 13, 2020, under the controversial anti-terrorist law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (UAPA). The solidarity event with Khalid screened ‘Prisoner No. 626710 is Present’, a documentary by noted filmmaker Lalit Vachani chronicling Khalid’s political journey, the mainstream media’s vilification of the activist since 2016, and the experiences of his close peers as he remains behind the bar. Other screenings of the film were held on the same day at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Ashoka University. Solidarity was also extended from beyond India’s borders as the Oxford South Asian Society at the University of Oxford also held the film’s screening. Between September 13 and 15, dozens of screenings of the film are being held at different solidarity events across India, including in Kolkata, Mumbai, Karnataka, and Kerala.

“The film screenings across the country were held to mark four years since Umar's arrest, and the injustice he and other anti-CAA activists are facing as they are not even afforded a hearing in courts even while rapists and murderers are allowed bail and parole by the judiciary,” said Apeksha Priyadarshini, a JNU alumna, political activist, and friend of Khalid’s.

On September 13, people took to social media platforms asking for Khalid’s release and a fair trial. Actor Swara Bhasker posted on X saying, “Today marks 4 years of the incarceration of #UmarKhalid without bail, trial or crime. This is a travesty in a country supposed to be a democracy. This is a shame and an embarrassing testimony of our justice system.”

In Vachani’s documentary, writer and art curator Shuddhabrata Sengupta and Khalid’s partner and researcher Banojyotsna Lahiri say that the activist addressed many anti-CAA protest meets before the riots took place and always spoke of upholding the Constitution and peaceful protests. However, the Indian authorities blamed the largely public and peaceful anti-CAA protests for causing the riots, while blatantly ignoring inflammatory speeches given by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and right-wing personalities in the same period.

With clips of TV news, Khalid’s speeches, and his interviews, the film also delves into how a large section of the news media is targetedly portrayed Khalid as a “terrorist” since the 2016 JNU protests, with one news channel going on to make an unsubstabtiated claim about Khalid’s association with terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Shuddhabrata Sengupta, who was interviewed for the documentary, spoke at the discussion after the screening. He pointed out how among the three student activists arrested in 2016 under sedition charges, Khalid was especially persecuted for his Muslim identity. Not surprisingly a murder attempt was made on Khalid in 2018 outside the Constitution Club. However, a Delhi court discharged the two men who allegedly attacked Khalid. The film traces how the continued vilification of the young Muslim activist in media culminated in him being charged with the UAPA in the Delhi riots case.

Priyadarshini, one of the organisers of the event held in Delhi, told NewsClick, “⁠The film is an important documentation, not just of Umar's journey but also of our times. It delves into the details of the events as they transpired in 2020, and unravels the real conspiracy behind the Delhi violence, and why these activists have been blamed for it. It is also deeply personal because it highlights why the continuing incarceration of an activist and human being like Umar Khalid is such a tragic loss for this country.”

“The way mainstream media portrays him is nothing new anymore. But what feels outrageous is that those who actually incited the violence continue to roam free without any consequences. Real justice will not just be the freedom of Umar, Sharjeel [Imam], Gulfisha [Fatima], Khalid [Saifi] and others, but also that the real perpetrators of the Delhi violence are punished for their crimes,” she added.

Prisoner of Conscience and Absence

Underlining the solitary experience of an intellectual and activist in prison, and her own experience as Khalid’s long-time friend, Priyadarshini said, “⁠It is not just this separation which is painful. It is also knowing you cannot offer him any respite from this isolation that makes you feel helpless sometimes.”

Khalid’s another old friend from his JNU days, Anirban Bhattacharya, who moderated the discussion after the film screening at Jawahar Bhawan, said, “One of the biggest parts of the punishment is Umar not being able to have meaningful conversations with likeminded people,” adding that Khalid loves to talk. He mentioned that Khalid keeps himself company with books sent to him in Tihar Jail by his friends and other people and newspapers to keep in touch with the world.

When asked how the imprisoned activist is dealing with loneliness for so long, Banojyotsna Lahiri, who visits him in prison often, said, "He is coping because there is no other option. We have been pushed into this situation, but it's part of the fight. The fight against CAA continues. He is surviving; that is how he is coping."

Speaking about hopes of him being released on bail, Lahiri said, “If there is no date, what's the point speculating?” She added, "It's a robbery of basic liberty.”

"All the youth were on the streets to remind people that political prisoners have been suffering since 1929. So far, the trial has not started, and there is no discussion on whether they are guilty. Only bail applications have been heard, and the next hearing is on October 9th,” Lahiri said at the event.

Speaking on whether Sengupta feels hopeless about the repeated denial of Khalid’s bail applications, he said, "It is my responsibility to keep hope alive, whether bail happens or not. At every hearing, we hope it comes through. If we leave hope, it will crush the hopes of those inside the prison.”

In February 2020, communal violence erupted in northeast Delhi amid protests against CAA. Over four years later, the case against activists accused of planning these riots remains untried. The Delhi police filed charges against 18 individuals, 16 of whom are Muslim. Twelve of the accused have been jailed without trial for over four years.

Khalid’s peers point out that those unable to get bail in the case are also Muslims. Khalid, accused of delivering an inflammatory speech in Amravati before the riots, has had multiple bail applications rejected, only receiving a week's interim bail in December 2022 for his sister's wedding.

In June 2021, the Delhi High Court granted bail to three co-accused student activists, criticizing the state for blurring the line between protest and terrorism. Since then, judges have dismissed at least 60 Delhi riots cases, according to a recent Article 14 report.

Aritry Das is a freelance journalist.