‘Better Focus On…’ India Slams New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani Over Letter to Umar Khalid, Ask Him To Respect Judicial Independence

On Friday, India fired back at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for writing to Umar Khalid, the activist and 2020 Delhi riots accused currently in jail.

India slams Zohran Mamdani over writing letter to Umar Khalid 

The government made it clear: elected officials should respect the independence of the judiciary in other democracies. At a press briefing, the Ministry of External Affairs didn’t hold back, calling Mamdani’s letter both inappropriate and misplaced.

“We expect public representatives to respect the judiciary in other democracies. Personal biases don’t suit people in the office.

They should focus on their actual responsibilities, not on making these kinds of comments,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in New Delhi.

What did Mamdani write in his letter to Umar Khalid? 

Mamdani, who just took office as New York City’s mayor on January 1, reached out to Umar Khalid, who’s locked up in Delhi’s Tihar Jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The letter went public right around Mamdani’s swearing-in. He’s made headlines as New York’s first Muslim and Indian-origin mayor, and is also one of the youngest people ever to lead the city.

Mamdani’s letter to Khalid wasn’t dated, but in it, he mentioned meeting Khalid’s family and offered personal support. “Dear Umar, I think of your words on bitterness often, and the importance of not letting it consume oneself.”

Mamdani wrote. “It was a pleasure to meet your parents. We’re all thinking of you.” The letter surfaced at the same time as eight US lawmakers wrote to India’s ambassador in Washington, raising concerns about Khalid’s continued detention.

‘I’m going to read a letter from Umar Khalid’

This isn’t the first time Mamdani has spoken about Khalid. Back in June 2023, at a “Howdy, Democracy?!” event in New York just before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit, Mamdani read from Khalid’s prison writings. “I’m going to read a letter from Umar Khalid, a scholar and former JNU student activist in Delhi who campaigned against lynching and hate. He’s spent more than 1,000 days in jail under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and still hasn’t faced trial,” Mamdani told the crowd.

Khalid, now 38, was arrested in September 2020 on several charges under the IPC and UAPA. Courts have turned down his regular bail requests multiple times, only allowing brief interim releases for things like attending his sister’s wedding—and even then, under strict conditions.

Umar Khalid denied bail

On January 5, the Supreme Court turned down bail petitions submitted by Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the conspiracy case in the 2020 Delhi riots noting that the material on record indicated their participation in a criminal conspiracy. The court of the two Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria opined that the prosecution had provided substantial evidence to prove a prima facie case against the two defendants.

Simultaneously, the court placed five other people involved in the case under bail, including Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed. The bench made a clear distinction between Khalid and Imam and other accused persons, observing their roles were qualitatively different going by the side of prosecution and the material of evidence on which they based on. 

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