Delhi riots case: Activists stand in solidarity as Umar Khalid completes 1,000 days of incarceration

By PTI

NEW DELHI: Scores of scholars, civil rights activists and media personalities gathered right here on Friday to specific solidarity with former JNU pupil chief Umar Khalid after he accomplished 1,000 days of incarceration within the 2020 northeast Delhi riots case.

The activists gathered on the Press Club to speak about ‘Democracy, Dissent and Censorship’, saying Khalid’s 1,000 days of imprisonment equals “1,000 days of resistance.”

The occasion was earlier scheduled to be held on the Gandhi Peace Foundation, however the activists claimed police pressured the venue managers to cancel their reserving.

Khalid was arrested by Delhi Police in 2020 and charged underneath the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code. Police claimed he was the mastermind of the northeast Delhi riots which had left 53 folks useless and over 700 injured.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha stated, “This is 1,000 days of imprisonment as well as 1,000 days of resistance. Umar Khalid will be very happy to know that in this scorching heat, hundreds of people gathered to defend democracy.”

“This solidarity is not just for Umar, but for every political prisoner. This is a fight of memory. A dominant memory is mainstream today, while the memories of marginalised communities are ignored,” he stated.

Senior journalist Ravish Kumar stated the street to the door of justice has been stretched too far for these like Khalid. “Remember 1,000 days that have passed. Remember that these are not just 1,000 days since Khalid’s incarceration, but also 1,000 days of shame for the Indian judicial system,” he stated.

Present on the occasion was additionally Khalid’s father SQR Ilyas who stated the confines of the jail partitions has not dampened the spirit of his son. “Has 1,000 days of jail dented Umar’s confidence, has it dampened the spirits of his friends? Absolutely not. When I see all those who have been jailed during their court hearings, I see confidence in their faces, they know that they are in jail for a cause,” he stated.

He stated his son is preventing for the nation and democracy.

Ilyas demanded the discharge of all ‘political prisoners’, together with his son, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi, Shifa Ur Rehman and others.

On the row over the occasion’s venue, Supreme Court advocate Shahrukh Alam stated the venue was cancelled following an intervention by the Delhi Police.

“We were told Delhi Police gave a notice to the management of the earlier venue that the booking should be cancelled. They did not quote any sections under which the order was made,” she claimed.

Khalid, who accomplished his PhD on tribals in Jharkhand from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was arrested on September 14, 2020.

Ilyas stated Khalid was not in Delhi when the riots occurred, however the police refused to just accept it as “evidence of his innocence.”

Meanwhile, RJD MP Manoj Jha additionally slammed the BJP-led Centre over the sedition legislation.

“Now the Law Commission is recommending that more stringent punishment should be given under the sedition law… That would mean those who cannot be targeted by agencies like the CBI and ED will be booked under the UAPA to crush dissent,” he stated.

Opposition events, together with the RJD, have been alleging that the Union authorities is misusing probe companies just like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in opposition to their leaders.

Prabhat Patnaik, Professor Emeritus, JNU stated the continued detention of Khalid isn’t just a private tragedy, however a “social waste” of a expertise.

“Even in the colonial days, Gandhi was never in jail for more than two years. Nehru was longest in jail at one go for 1,041 days… Umar has now been in jail for 1,000 days,” he stated.

“This is against democracy, anyone can be put in jail on the flimsiest of pretexts,” he added.

Journalist Ravish Kumar, writer Arundhati Roy, activist Shabnam Hashmi, former Planning Commission member Sayeda Hamid had been amongst these current on the solidarity occasion.

Khalid had just lately acquired eight days bail to attend his sister’s wedding ceremony.

NEW DELHI: Scores of scholars, civil rights activists and media personalities gathered right here on Friday to specific solidarity with former JNU pupil chief Umar Khalid after he accomplished 1,000 days of incarceration within the 2020 northeast Delhi riots case.

The activists gathered on the Press Club to speak about ‘Democracy, Dissent and Censorship’, saying Khalid’s 1,000 days of imprisonment equals “1,000 days of resistance.”

The occasion was earlier scheduled to be held on the Gandhi Peace Foundation, however the activists claimed police pressured the venue managers to cancel their reserving.googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

Khalid was arrested by Delhi Police in 2020 and charged underneath the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code. Police claimed he was the mastermind of the northeast Delhi riots which had left 53 folks useless and over 700 injured.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha stated, “This is 1,000 days of imprisonment as well as 1,000 days of resistance. Umar Khalid will be very happy to know that in this scorching heat, hundreds of people gathered to defend democracy.”

“This solidarity is not just for Umar, but for every political prisoner. This is a fight of memory. A dominant memory is mainstream today, while the memories of marginalised communities are ignored,” he stated.

Senior journalist Ravish Kumar stated the street to the door of justice has been stretched too far for these like Khalid. “Remember 1,000 days that have passed. Remember that these are not just 1,000 days since Khalid’s incarceration, but also 1,000 days of shame for the Indian judicial system,” he stated.

Present on the occasion was additionally Khalid’s father SQR Ilyas who stated the confines of the jail partitions has not dampened the spirit of his son. “Has 1,000 days of jail dented Umar’s confidence, has it dampened the spirits of his friends? Absolutely not. When I see all those who have been jailed during their court hearings, I see confidence in their faces, they know that they are in jail for a cause,” he stated.

He stated his son is preventing for the nation and democracy.

Ilyas demanded the discharge of all ‘political prisoners’, together with his son, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi, Shifa Ur Rehman and others.

On the row over the occasion’s venue, Supreme Court advocate Shahrukh Alam stated the venue was cancelled following an intervention by the Delhi Police.

“We were told Delhi Police gave a notice to the management of the earlier venue that the booking should be cancelled. They did not quote any sections under which the order was made,” she claimed.

Khalid, who accomplished his PhD on tribals in Jharkhand from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was arrested on September 14, 2020.

Ilyas stated Khalid was not in Delhi when the riots occurred, however the police refused to just accept it as “evidence of his innocence.”

Meanwhile, RJD MP Manoj Jha additionally slammed the BJP-led Centre over the sedition legislation.

“Now the Law Commission is recommending that more stringent punishment should be given under the sedition law… That would mean those who cannot be targeted by agencies like the CBI and ED will be booked under the UAPA to crush dissent,” he stated.

Opposition events, together with the RJD, have been alleging that the Union authorities is misusing probe companies just like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in opposition to their leaders.

Prabhat Patnaik, Professor Emeritus, JNU stated the continued detention of Khalid isn’t just a private tragedy, however a “social waste” of a expertise.

“Even in the colonial days, Gandhi was never in jail for more than two years. Nehru was longest in jail at one go for 1,041 days… Umar has now been in jail for 1,000 days,” he stated.

“This is against democracy, anyone can be put in jail on the flimsiest of pretexts,” he added.

Journalist Ravish Kumar, writer Arundhati Roy, activist Shabnam Hashmi, former Planning Commission member Sayeda Hamid had been amongst these current on the solidarity occasion.

Khalid had just lately acquired eight days bail to attend his sister’s wedding ceremony.