Why is the BJP scared of displays of support for Umar Khalid?

In recent weeks, the authorities in several Indian cities have taken action against protesters who have reportedly displayed support for jailed activist Umar Khalid.

On August 7, the police in Mumbai arrested Abhirup Paul, a former student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, for allegedly chanting slogans in support of Khalid at a campus event.

Two days later, in Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University officials withdrew permission for a discussion on Khalid’s book, Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power.

Last month, while youth protesters were demanding the resignation of the education minister, a first information report was filed against a demonstrator in Bengaluru for carrying a poster that said “Umar Khalid zindabad”. Long live Umar Khalid.

Around the same time, Instagram complied with a demand made by the Modi government and restricted access to a profile named “Free Umar Khalid” in India.

Shortly after, two protesters in Goa were detained for expressing their support for Khalid at an event to celebrate the education minister’s resignation.

Legally, there is no basis for these actions, asserted Arvind Narrain, a Bengaluru-based lawyer, academic and president of the Karnataka unit of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties. “At worst, he [Khalid] is an accused,” he explained. “Article 19 of the Constitution includes the right to advocate for the release of those accused under any law, including the...

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