Bengalureans send emails for Umar Khalid’s release

Four years after political activist Umar Khalid’s incarceration, a group of activists from across the country has started an email campaign, addressed to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the President of India. Many Bengalureans have sent out these emails.

Some of the demands include urgent consideration of a bail plea for Khalid to ensure his timely release, charges against Khalid to be re-evaluated, and an unbiased and thorough investigation into the events of the 2020 Delhi riots. The reassessment of laws like the UAPA was another highlight.

One of the organisers, Osama Rawal, a student activist from Thane, says their aim “is to construct solidarity among the people, which is important in any movement”. The team is aiming for 1 lakh emails to be sent within a month. The CJI and the President’s offices haven’t responded to the campaign yet.

Khalid was incarcerated on September 13, 2020, under the UAPA law. It is referred to by activists as “a draconian law”.

Activists believe that such campaigns are important to create a discourse among the people against unfair happenings.

Activist Vinay Kumar of #ReclaimConstitution, who participated in the campaign, says, “Anyone with a decent understanding of civil liberty and constitutional rights will know about Khalid’s unfair incarceration”. He adds that “normalising such acts can have far-reaching consequences across generations”.

Vinay says that “1,500 days without a fair trial will go down in history as one of the darkest times of our judiciary”. “The Supreme Court will be celebrating 75 years soon. Every freedom fighter fought for liberty. It’s these ideas that built the Constitution and today those basic tenets are being violated,” he adds.

Organisations like All India Student Association (AISA) also took part. Talking about political prisoners, Sachin Kumar, president of the Bengaluru unit of AISA, says that “most of those who were incarcerated were talking about democratic and Adivasi issues”. He adds that Umar was talking about CAA and NRC, which “probably scared the people in power”.

A year ago, Khalid expressed to his friend about anxiety of being forgotten. His friends launched a campaign called 'Dear Umar', asking people to write to him, expressing solidarity, love, and strength to fight the system.