Published Sep 13, 2026 | 8:45 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 13, 2026 | 11:06 PM
Umar Khalid
Synopsis: The ABVP demanded the cancellation of a documentary screening on Umar Khalid, saying campuses should not become platforms for political propaganda or glorifying civil unrest. The screening is scheduled for 14 September.
A screening of a documentary on incarcerated student leader Umar Khalid at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, was rescheduled amidst protest by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parsihad (ABVP) on Sunday, 13 September.
In a communication, the Law and Society Committee (LawSoc), a student organisation at NLSIU, said it was rescheduling the screening of the documentary, Prisoner No. 626710 is Present, “due to logistical and security concerns”.
Lalit Vachani-directed documentary was originally scheduled to be screened at 7 pm on Monday, 14 September.
“We are rescheduling the event surrounding the Political Prisoners’ Day, namely, the screening of Prisoner No. 626710 and larger conversations beyond these two cases around pre-trial detention, bail, dissent, political incarceration, and the relationship between criminal law and democratic freedoms [sic], LawSoc said.
Though the organisation did not specify a fresh date for the screening, it said the “event will be conducted this trimester”.
It said it was making necessary arrangements to ensure the event could be held “safely and without compromising the well-being of the student community”.
LawSoc clarified that it was not backing out because of pressure from anyone. “The postponement is a precautionary step taken to ensure that the screening can be held in a safe and responsible manner.”
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Earlier, the ABVP urged the university authorities to cancel the screening of the documentary.
ABVP Bengaluru Secretary Abhinandan Mirji said in a media statement that the organisation “strongly condemns the proposed campus screening”.
He said ABVP had emailed a formal complaint to the NLSIU administration, urging the university authorities to stop the event. He said the administration had not responded so far.
“ABVP emphasises that academic campuses must remain dedicated to national integrity and learning, rather than serving as platforms for political propaganda or glorifying civil unrest,” the statement said.
Khalid, a student leader at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was arrested exactly six years ago on 13 September 2020, following the February 2020 riots in Northeast Delhi. He has since been in jail, with the trial yet to reach a substantive stage.
The prosecution alleged that he was involved in a conspiracy that led to the riots, which killed 53 people. Khalid has denied the allegation.
NLSIU students said the university was not screening the documentary for the first time. They claimed that it had also been screened last year, on the occasion of Political Prisoners’ Day, marking the death anniversary of Yatindra Nath Das, a comrade of Bhagat Singh, who died while on a hunger strike on 13 September 1929.
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Incidentally, in April 2026, the BJP urged the Bengaluru city police commissioner to cancel a programme titled Umar Khalid and His World, in support of Khalid, at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur, on 28 April.
All Lawyers Association for Justice (ALAJ), People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), and Bahutva Karnataka organised the Domlur event.
