As citizens deeply committed to Constitutional values, we condemn the arrest of Umar Khalid who has been subjected to a malicious investigation targeting peaceful anti-CAA protestors. He has been booked under several charges including UAPA, sedition and conspiracy for murder. With deep anguish we have no doubt in saying that this investigation is not about the violence in February 2020 in the national capital, but on the completely peaceful and democratic protests across the country against the unconstitutional CAA.
Umar Khalid was one of the hundreds of voices that spoke up in favour of the Constitution across the country during these anti-CAA protests, always foregrounding the need for peaceful, non-violent and democratic means. Umar Khalid has emerged as a strong and powerful voice of young Indians in favour of the Constitution and of democracy. The repeated attempts by the Delhi police to implicate him in a number of fictitious cases of conspiracy for the Delhi violence are part of a brazen attempt to try to suppress his voice of dissent. It is very significant that of the 20 arrested, 19 are under the age of 31. Of which 17 have been charged under the draconian UAPA and have been imprisoned on charges of a conspiracy for the Delhi violence whereas those who actually instigated and participated in the violence have not been touched. Of the ones incarcerated, five are women, except for one all are also students.
The essence of our democracy is the freedom of conscience and the strength of any country is in its young minds. We strongly condemn the targeting of Umar Khalid and other young activists, both women and men.
The right to life, is not just to be allowed to eat, live and breathe; it is to live without fear, with dignity and with freedom of expression, including dissent. The nature of investigation has been mainly to silence democratic voices and instill fear, and this is precisely the objective of this witch hunt.
Given the past precedence of physical attacks in court premises in the instance of Kanhaiya, and the attempt on Umar’s life in 2018 by gunmen in public, we urge that it is imperative that all measures are taken to avoid any threat to his life and safety so long as he remains in the custody of the state / judiciary.
It has also been observed by the court that the media is peddling false information and selective leakages in an attempt to conduct a full-fledged media trial and are also trying to influence the course of justice. This must cease by all means. If we let law take its own course, we are confident that justice would prevail.
—-Signed,
Ravi Kiran Jain, V Suresh, Mihir Desai, ND Pancholi, Satish Deshpande, Mary John, Apoorvanand, Aakar Patel, Harsh Mander, Farah Naqvi, Biraj Patnaik, Nandini
SIGN UP FOR COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
