- They joined Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), Indian American Muslim Council, Dalit Solidarity Forum, and India Civil Watch International in demanding the former JNU student leader’s release.
American scholar and philosopher Noam Chomsky and Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Rajmohan Gandhi, have condemned the prolonged incarceration of scholar and activist Umar Khalid. They join four human rights organizations — Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), Indian American Muslim Council, Dalit Solidarity Forum, and India Civil Watch International — in demanding his release. Khalid, a former JNU student leader, was arrested on Sept.14, 2020, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), for his role in leading protests in early 2020 against the discriminatory, anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act.
In a recorded statement, provided by HfHR, Chomsky said “Khalid’s case is one of many that shed a grim light on India’s system of justice during a period of repression, and often violence, that has been visibly undermining free institutions…as part of the large-scale government effort to dismantle India’s honorable tradition of secular democracy.”
Gandhi highlighted Khalid’s scholarly contributions as a doctoral student at JNU, stating that “in [Khalid], India possesses one of its finest minds, reinforced by a sensitive conscience…this brilliant young son of India has now been silenced for 20 continuous months.”
Khalid’s hearing was scheduled on July 3 but was adjourned by the Delhi High Court on July 4 “due to the non-availability of his counsel,” as reported by Asian News International. “His counsel senior advocate Trideep Pais has contracted COVID-19,” the report said, adding that the case will be heard on July 27.
In its press release, the calls the UAPA “a draconian law which gives the state broad authority to designate any individual as a ‘terrorist’ and detain them without a fair trial.” It also notes that “Khalid is just one of the countless activists, dissidents, and human rights defenders who have been unjustly jailed under this law.”