On 9th June 2023, liberals and Islamists in Delhi organised a program in the Press Club of India as it marks 1000 days of Islamist Umar Khalid being in jail. The program contains addresses by so-called secular lawmakers, propagandists, self-proclaimed activists, and a Muslim lawyer. The panel discussion is titled, ‘Democracy, Dissent, and Censorship’. It is followed by the show of a play. Hashtags like Free Umar, 1000 Days of Injustice, free all political prisoners, etc. were mentioned in the poster of the program.
The apologists of Islamism who called themselves ‘concerned citizens’ participating in the panel discussion include Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, JNU professor Prabhat Patnaik, propagandist and YouTuber Ravish Kumar, Supreme Court lawyer Shahrukh Alam, and Umar Khalid’s father SQR Ilyas. The session will be moderated by self-styled activist Gurmehar Kaur. Notably, a Twitter handle demanding Umar Khalid’s release is also active since September 2020.
आज JNU के पूर्व छात्र उमर ख़ालिद को जेल में 1 हज़ार दिन पूरे हो गए हैं। इसके संबंध में आज दिल्ली स्थित प्रेस क्लब में एक कार्यक्रम है 3 बजे। @FreeUmarKhalid1 pic.twitter.com/rUqmEMW6Ps
— Shyam Meera Singh (@ShyamMeeraSingh) June 9, 2023
This discussion is followed by a play by the Jatan Theater group of Haryana. The play is titled ‘Tanashahi Ke SamayPrem Ki Dastan’ which means ‘a love story in the times of dictatorship’. The play is written and directed by Naresh Prerna and Nooruddin Hassan is playing the lead role in the play.
It is pertinent to note that several Islamists who pretend to be neutral have been trying to portray Umar Khalid as an innocent ‘activist’ while the chargesheet filed in the Delhi Riots case proves that he was one of the chief instigators of the Delhi Riots.
Co-founder of AltNews, Muhammad Zubair, who regularly spreads fake news and attempts to whitewash Islamists and their crimes also took to Twitter to declare the innocent of Umar Khalid.
PhD student Umar Khalid completes 1,000 days in jail without a trial or bail for Umar Khalid, denied bail despite false allegations, fabrications & inconsistencies. #1000DaysOfInjustice https://t.co/FsLgUhmr4L
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) June 9, 2023
Interestingly, one of the people who would be a speaker at this event is SQR Ilyasi – Umar Khalid’s father. It is important to note that Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas is a former member of the banned Islamic Terrorist organization, SIMI. He had left it in 1985, well before Umar Khalid was born. In the year 2019, he also contested the Lok Sabha Elections from West Bengal on a ticket from the Welfare Party of India (WPI) from the Jangipur constituency, a Muslim-dominated seat in the Murshidabad district. The former SIMI member is now a member of the Central Advisory Council of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and AIMPLB.
On 14th September 2020, Umar Khalid, former JNU student and son of an ex-SIMI member was arrested for his role in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots that broke out on the 24th of February. He, along with others, was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA and relative provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for being the masterminds of the riots. Notably, 53 people lost their lives, and 700 were injured during the riots that spurred on the pretext of the Citizen Amendment Act 2019 and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
In October last year, the Delhi High Court dismissed Khalid’s bail plea. It said that prima-facie, the anti-CAA and NRC protests that resulted in the riots, were orchestrated at various meetings he had attended. Though a Delhi Court had acquitted him and one other accused in one of the cases linked to the Delhi Riots 2020, Umar Khalid remained in jail for the connection in other cases.
What was the role of Umar Khalid in Delhi anti-Hindu riots 2020
Umar Khalid, son of Ilyas on the other hand admitted to the Delhi police that he was involved in organizing Muslim groups, instigating them, and preparing for the large-scale violence. He had mobilized the Muslims against the law, by asserting that the new law was ‘against Muslims’ and had also planned to involve women and children in the ‘Chakka Jam’ amid the visit of US President Trump to India. He had allegedly met the former AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain and another accused Khalid Saifi to assure logistical support during the riots through his contacts in the PFI.
According to the reports, the agencies have been watching and warning about the nexus between Maoists whose front organization Khalid is aligned with, and hardline Islamists allegedly represented by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Welfare Party of India, and banned outfit SIMI.
The first evidence of Umar Khalid’s role in the Delhi Riots came when a speech made by him surfaced. The speech was allegedly made on the 20th of February in Amravati. In the speech, he was clearly heard saying that on the 24th of February, when President Donald Trump visits India, Muslims should ‘show’ the visiting US president that the people of India are fighting against the ruling party of India.
The entire speech was about 17 minutes long where Khalid invoked the false narratives of ‘targeted mob lynching’ against Muslims and then went on to say that when the Muslims did not revolt against the Ayodhya judgement by Supreme Court, the government took it for granted that they can bring any law against Muslims.
Inciting the crowd further, saying the CAA has been brought to harm Muslims, Khalid says that the people should show the government its ‘Aukaad’, and take to the streets to throw it out. He further says that if enough people take to the streets, first the CAA will go, then the NPR and then NRC, eventually the government will also go.
It was 4 days after this speech, on the 24th of February, as Umar Khalid had predicted, that riots broke out. Ankit Sharma was stabbed over 50 times by the mobs of Tahir Hussain. Dilbar Negi’s arms and legs were chopped off and he was burnt alive by Muslims. Amidst chants of Allahu Abkar and Nara e Taqbeer, Hindus were specifically targeted.
The Left and Islamist cabal found nothing wrong with this speech. They, in fact, called it a peaceful speech and said there was nothing in it that incited violence. They find nothing wrong with the fact that Umar Khalid, only 4 days before riots broke out, had specifically mentioned the date 24th of February and said that on that day, they will “show” how they fight with the government.
But was Umar Khalid’s role limited to just this speech?
By insinuating that the speech was the only thing for which Umar Khalid was arrested, is a gross misrepresentation of facts. In several chargesheets, Umar Khalid’s role in the larger conspiracy has been mentioned in details. The Special Cell has 180 days to file a chargesheet against Umar Khalid specifically, however, his role has been hinted in abundance in the other chargesheets and FIRs filed.
In the chargesheet filed in FIR 114, the role of Umar Khalid in the conspiracy hatched is mentioned clearly. It says that Tahir Hussain was connected to Khalid Saifi of United Against Hate Group and through Saifi, he was also in touch with Umar Khalid. Khalid Saifi, it says, had arranged a meeting between Umar Khalid and Tahir Hussain on the 8th of January at Shaheen Bagh. In that meeting, it was decided to take ‘big action’ so the government gets shaken up on the issue of CAA and NRC and also, ensure that the international community takes notice of that action.
In the chargesheet, it is also mentioned that Umar Khalid had told Tahir Hussain not to be concerned about the funding for the riots as the Popular Front of India (PFI) would provide the funding as well as logistic support. It was categorically mentioned that the riots were to take place when President Donald Trump would visit India.
From everything that is alleged in the chargesheet, it is clear that Umar Khalid was perhaps one of the masterminds who was also constantly in touch with Pinjra Tod activists who are also accused of grave sections. Khalid Saifi of UAH, who is also a close associate of Umar Khalid was coordinating with Tahir Hussain after their initial meeting in Shaheen Bagh on the 8th of January. Further, Tahir Hussain was coordinating with other rioters and instigators.
