Bengaluru, 28 April 

Actor Prakash Raj on Tuesday said that incarcerated activist Umar Khalid was standing and fighting for everyone in the country, and his imprisonment symbolised resistance against a society “turning into a prison”.

Raj made the remarks during a panel discussion and reading of excerpts from a book titled ‘Umar Khalid and His World’ at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC). The panel also included writer-historian Ramachandra Guha and historian Janaki Nair.

The event focused on Khalid’s writings, incarceration, and the broader political and social context reflected in the book.

“As we sit here, the supreme leader of the regime has given a statement during campaigning – ‘Give me your vote, I’ll give you freedom'. I’m here because Umar Khalid is standing and fighting for all of us,” the actor said.

"He is in jail to ensure that this country doesn’t become a prison. For Umar Khalid, jailing is like fermentation where he is brewing," Raj said.

He also expressed hope that when he comes out (of jail), Khalid will speak “richer and deeper”.

Guha said the book featuring a rich and diverse mix of contributors revealed “at least eight different Umar Khalids”, including a thinker, a writer and a democratically minded citizen with a passionate commitment to freedom and justice. He also referred to Khalid’s prison writings.

“For all its hardships, jail has also led to several positive changes in his life,” Guha said, highlighting what he termed an “unquenchable spirit”.

Guha added that the volume was a work of enormous complexity, judgment and balance, noting that it was “easier to write your own book than editing such a collection".

Nair, in her remarks, said the book went beyond an individual narrative and documented a wider historical process. “This book actually represents the archive of a very important historical moment in India,” she said.

The historian added that the book bore witness to the “vilification and dispossession, incarceration, and the death of Indian Muslims in recent years”.

She also criticised the proliferation of terms such as 'Jihad' as a disparaging epithet.

“After today’s event, we can even add 'Book Jihad' to the list. And it is probably going to be added to the lexicon,” Nair said.

She also warned that such narratives had become historical truth with serious consequences.

Khalid, a former research scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), is lodged in Tihar Jail since September 14, 2020, for his alleged role behind the 2020 riots in north-east Delhi.

On 20 April 20, the Supreme Court dismissed his plea seeking a review of a verdict denying him bail, observing that there were reasonable grounds to believe the allegations levelled against him.

The riots in Delhi broke out in February 2020 amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens, leaving 53 dead and more than 700 injured.