BENGALURU: Police detained around fifty cadres of the BJP’s youth wing, Yuva Morcha, who attempted to protest against a discussion of a book by Umar Khalid, an undertrial in Tihar jail in connection with the Delhi riots in 2020, near Bangalore International Centre on Tuesday.
According to the police, around 5:15 pm, 45 minutes before the discussion on ‘Umar Khalid and His World’ at BIC, the Yuva Morcha cadres arrived near the venue but were swiftly rounded up. Earlier, they had asked the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru, to stop the event.
Anirban Bhattacharya, Banajyotsna Lahiri and Shudhhabrata Sengupta, the editors of the book, recounted their experience with Khalid.
Khalid’s custody reflects political climate: Guha
“This book is an act of friendship and solidarity. It compiles more than the nine articles that Khalid wrote from jail and the three outside of it; it is a compilation of articles on him as well, and excerpts from friends and family. It describes a world that starts from prison cells, but moves beyond to a world that we are trying to reach, of justice and freedom,” said Lahiri.
Also present for a panel discussion were renowned historian and biographer Ramachandra Guha, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor and historian Janaki Nair (who had been a teacher to both Khalid and Sharjeel Imam), and filmmaker/actor Prakash Raj. Guha cited the work to be one of “enormous complexity and balance”, and called Khalid’s prolonged incarceration a reflection of the political climate we live in.
“As we speak, our ‘supreme leader’ is asking for votes in exchange for freedom. I like to think that Umar isn’t in prison. He is standing there to ensure that our country does not become a prison,” said Raj.