Umar Khalid, a 38-year-old Muslim activist and student organizer, has been held in Delhi’s Tihar prison since 2020 without trial. He was arrested following deadly sectarian riots in Delhi in February 2020, accused of conspiring to engineer communal violence and coordinate what authorities describe as armed rebellion against the state—charges he characterizes as dystopian. Khalid maintains he was 1,000 miles away during the riots.
Khalid became a prominent public figure in the years preceding his arrest. Growing up in a Muslim-majority neighborhood, he said he witnessed Hindu nationalist political movements fracture Indian society along religious lines. While pursuing graduate studies at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, he became involved in student activism. In 2019, after the government passed a citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, Khalid became a leading voice in nationwide protests against the measure. He delivered speeches calling for responding to hate with love rather than violence. The BJP government and Modi administration have repeatedly denied allegations of religious discrimination.
International human rights organizations have condemned Khalid’s prolonged detention without trial as unjust. Several bail applications have been denied, with judges repeatedly delaying, adjourning, or recusing themselves from hearings. While other co-defendants in the same case have been granted bail, Khalid’s remains pending. The BJP has denied involvement in his case while openly welcoming bail rejections. Delhi police have faced separate accusations of fabricating evidence and forging witness statements in related cases stemming from the riots, though they have not responded to these allegations.
In his first interview since incarceration, conducted through family members due to prison restrictions, Khalid described the psychological impact of years in captivity and the effects of what he calls a propaganda campaign that has dehumanized him publicly. He expressed frustration with political opposition and civil society groups for insufficient advocacy on behalf of political prisoners in India’s jails. His doctoral thesis, examining fractured communities in India, is being published as his first book.
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