Responding to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani writing a letter to jailed anti-CAA activist Umar Khalid in December, the Indian government on Friday said that public representatives are expected to respect the independence of the judiciary in other democracies.
“Expressing personal prejudices do not behove those in office,” said Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
“Instead of such comments, it would be better to focus on the responsibilities entrusted to them,” he said during a press conference.
On January 1, Umar Khalid’s friends including his partner Banojyotsna Lahiri said on social media that Mamdani had sent a handwritten letter to the jailed activist. It was handed to Khalid’s parents during their visit to the United States in December.
“Dear Umar, I think of your words on bitterness often, and the importance of not letting it consume one’s self. It was a pleasure to meet your parents,” Mamdani wrote, ending the note by saying, “We are all thinking of you.”
Umar Khalid is among more than a dozen human rights defenders, including student activists and Muslim leaders, accused in a case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi violence. He is yet to face trial despite being arrested nearly six years ago.
On Monday, the Supreme Court denied bail to Khalid and another prominent activist, Sharjeel Imam, in the case but allowed the bail applications of five others. The bench said that Khalid and Imam could file bail applications after all protected witnesses were examined or after one year.
In 2023, two years before his New York City mayoral election victory, Mamdani had read Khalid’s notes at a ‘Howdy, Democracy?!’ event in New York. The address was delivered ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to New York in 2023, at a time when Mamdani was a member of the New York State Assembly.
“I’m going to be reading a letter from Umar Khalid, who is a scholar and a former student activist at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi…who organised a campaign against lynching and hate. He has been in jail for more than 1,000 days under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and has yet to face trial, though his bail application has been repeatedly denied. He has also faced an assassination attempt,” Mamdani told the crowd.
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