4 organisations join Noam Chomsky, Rajmohan Gandhi in demanding Umar Khalid's release from jail
The Hindu
Mr. Khalid was arrested on September 13, 2020 and has been in custody since then.
Four international organisations, along with scholars Noam Chomsky and Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, have condemned the "incarceration" of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid.
Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council, Dalit Solidarity Forum and India Civil Watch International joined Mr. Chomsky and Mr. Gandhi, in demanding the immediate release of Mr. Khalid, who was arrested on September 13, 2020 and has been in custody since then.
Mr. Chomsky, a renowned scholar-activist, and Mr. Gandhi, a research professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, issued video statements on Saturday condemning the incarceration of Mr. Khalid.
Mr. Khalid's case, Mr. Chomsky said in his recorded statement, "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 honourable tradition of secular democracy".
Mr. Gandhi highlighted Mr. Khalid's scholarly contributions as a doctoral student at the 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".
He alleged that Mr. Khalid's silencing is a "blotch on India's image" before the world.
"Every additional day of detention for Umar and for the others wrongfully detained, who number in the thousands, is a fresh blow against democracy in the world, against human dignity and against India's good name," Mr. Gandhi said.
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