Umar Khalid’s 4 years in jail turns Modi govt’s global shame

NT Correspondent Bengaluru: Student leader Umar Khalid completing four years in prison last month has reignited debate on the harsh treatment meted out to him for his opposition to the policies of the Prime Minister Narendra Modiled Union government. Noted English daily The New York Times (NYT) in their October 22 edition published a full-page feature entitled “Four Years in Jail Without Trial: The Price of Dissent in Modi’s India”, for international audiences. Umar, a 37-year-old research scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), known for peaceful anti-government protesters, came under greater scrutiny when he participated in the 2019-2020 anti- Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests. The demonstrators, mostly Muslims, argued that coupled with a pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC), the law sought to snatch the statehood of the country’s marginalised Muslims who couldn’t prove their Indian lineage by way of documents.

2019 LS result fillip to regime; Emboldened by the massive 302 seat majority given to the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Modi proceeded to push for Hindu nationalist hobby horses, one of which was the CAA. The Centre also abolished article 35 a, allowing outsiders to own land in Jammu and Kashmir, a disputed region, vulnerable to demographic change. Another win for Modi was the Supreme Court (SC) clearing the way for the Ram Mandir, which was built on the spot where the Babri mosque was destroyed. The anti-CAA protests in Delhi were met with incendiary speeches by some BJP leaders followed by rioting from Hindutva groups. The violence left at least 53 dead, most of whom were Muslims. However, Delhi police, which comes under the control of the Centre, responded by going after Muslim youth and anti- CAA protesters from the community and spared the rioting mobs and BJP leaders who delivered hate speeches. Cops were also accused of participating in the anti-Muslim violence.

 UAPA proves vice grip The crackdown included Umar’s arrest on September 14, 2020 under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which allows accused persons to be labeled terrorists and jailed indefinitely. The NYT feature describes how Umar’s parents Qasim Rasool Ilyas and Sabiha Khanum deal with his four-year-long imprisonment by comforting themselves with weekly video calls with their son and his sevenday release to attend his sister’s wedding last year. Although Umar styles himself a “hardcore communist” and “not a practising Muslim”, his father tells NYT that he was targeted for his faith identity. “One has to pay a price for speaking the truth,” Ilyas said. “And it is very easy to frame someone with a Muslim name these days,” he added. Moreover, Umar’s bail has been postponed at least a dozen times. On a couple occasions, he has been taken to court only for the judge to recuse himself. “As they say, the process is the punishment,” Ilyas said. “Sometimes the judge recuses himself, sometimes the lawyers are not available,” he added.