Student activist Umar Khalid has said that years of imprisonment have deprived him of his "humanity" and, at times, his "sanity", while alleging that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government is overseeing a society in which hatred and misinformation have become normalised.
In his first interview since his 2020 imprisonment carried out by The Guardian via his family and friends due to limits imposed by his detention Khalid detailed the psychological impact of spending almost six years in Delhi’s Tihar Jail without facing trial.He even hears whispers from other inmates he has eaten with, branding him a terrorist when he is not present. This propaganda strips him of his humanity in the eyes of others, Khalid told The Guardian. "Humanity is treated as a privilege, one that is denied to people like me."
Looking back on his years in prison, the 38-year-old said that the public persona created around him has frequently eclipsed who he is as an individual.
When you are reduced to nothing more than an image whether favorable or unfavorable it can become challenging to preserve your sense of humanity and, at times, even your sanity,
Even those who feel for you, or depict you as someone greater than you truly are, overlook the fact that I am a human being with my own vulnerabilities, fears, and flaws. These many years in prison have devastated my mind and body and intensified all these anxieties within me.
Khalid was detained in September 2020 under anti-terrorism legislation after being accused of serving as a "key conspirator" in the 2020 Delhi riots and of planning a "violent regime change." Khalid has repeatedly rejected these accusations. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asserted that India’s judiciary operates independently and that his prosecution is not politically motivated.
Khalid stated to The Guardian that his time in prison has not altered his perspective on the nation’s political situation. He expressed concern over what he described as the "normalisation and glorification of hate speech and genocidal language".
"The process of India becoming a post-truth society is near complete," he said.
‘I feel isolated’
The former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader also criticised what he called the silence of political opponents and sections of civil society over the incarceration of activists and dissenters.
“Six years on, I must admit that I am deeply disappointed and even feel isolated,” he said. “The silence of opposition parties, civil society organisations, and celebrity activists who have built careers by riding on popular movements only encourages this regime to target more dissenters.” Despite spending years in jail, Khalid said he has not renounced his beliefs. Reflecting on the message he delivered during the anti-citizenship law protests in 2019, he restated the principles that shaped his activism. "We won't respond to violence with violence. We won't respond to hate with hate. If they spread hate, we will respond to it with love."
Khalid's fresh bail plea
Weeks ago, a Delhi court issued notice to the Delhi Police in fresh bail applications filed by Umar Khalid seeking bail in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.
Additional sessions judge Sumedh Kumar Sethi of Karkardooma courts listed the hearing of arguments for July 4.Khalid, in his bail application, has cited a change in circumstances, highlighting the judgment pronounced on May 18 by a Supreme Court bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan while granting bail to Jammu and Kashmir resident Syed Iftikhar Andrabi in a narco-terror case being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The apex court had voiced strong concerns about the reasoning used in the January 5 judgment earlier this year, noting that it did not properly apply the binding principles established by a larger three-judge bench in Union of India v. K.A. Najeeb (2021). That precedent held that extended imprisonment and delays in trial can outweigh the statutory limits on bail under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA. The court further objected to the directive that Khalid and Imam could seek to renew their bail applications only after the protected witnesses had been examined or after one year had passed, whichever occurred first.