Bengaluru: Actor Prakash Raj has said that jailed activist Umar Khalid is “fighting for all of us” and that his imprisonment symbolises resistance against a society that risks turning into a prison. He made the remarks during a panel discussion and reading of excerpts from the book Umar Khalid and His World at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC) on Tuesday, April 28.
The panel also featured writer historian Ramachandra Guha and historian Janaki Nair, and the event focused on Khalid’s writings, his prolonged incarceration, and the broader political and social context they reflect. Raj drew a sharp contrast with the current political moment, quoting a campaign promise by the ruling party leader: “Give me your vote, I’ll give you freedom,” before asserting that he was present at the event because Khalid is standing and fighting for the entire country.
“He is in jail to ensure that this country doesn’t become a prison,” Raj said. “For Umar Khalid, jailing is like fermentation where he is brewing,” he added, expressing hope that Khalid will emerge from prison “richer and deeper” when he is finally released.
Guha described the book as a richly layered work that reveals “at least eight different Umar Khalids” – as thinker, writer, student, and passionately committed democratic citizen. He spoke of the positive impact of incarceration on Khalid’s outlook, calling it a space of inner growth and resilience, while praising the “enormous complexity, judgment and balance” required to edit such a diverse collection.
Nair argued that the volume goes beyond a personal biography and instead constitutes an archive of a crucial historical moment in India. She spoke of the “vilification and dispossession, incarceration, and the systematic targeting of Indian Muslims in recent years,” and criticised the casual use of terms like “Jihad” as a derogatory slur. She warned that such rhetoric has hardened into a sort of “historical truth,” with dangerous consequences for the idea of citizenship and dissent.
Khalid, a former research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), has been in Tihar Jail since September 14, 2020, in connection with the 2020 north east Delhi riots. On April 20, the Supreme Court dismissed his plea seeking a review of its January 5 judgment denying him bail in the larger conspiracy case, saying it did not find “good grounds” to revisit the order.
The riots erupted in February 2020 amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens, leaving at least 53 dead and over 700 injured, and have since become a flashpoint in debates over free speech, state action, and minority rights.