Umar Khalid, a young man, who is being linked with terror organisations and questioned on the basis of his religious identity, is a Muslim only by birth, his friends say.
A hardcore communist, Umar does not believe in any religion. He has always stood up for various causes, be it for the Dalit cause, gender issues or the Kashmir cause.
In his own words, he believes in the Kashmir cause and has always stood up for the people of Kashmir. A PhD student at School of Social Sciences at JNU, Umar has been a part of the vibrant culture of the university for the last four years. In these years, he has organised and been part of debates and discussions on all kind of issues, including the ones that make others uncomfortable.
According to a friend, like all true communists, he doesn’t believe in any power superior to human beings. “He is no supporter of Pakistan and believes that the State is just an organ of class rule to his communist eyes,” a friend of Umar’s wrote on Facebook. The event on Afzal Guru at the JNU campus was also organised by him. His name was also mentioned in the posters that were displayed on the walls of the campus.
However, the event is not new for the university. An event marking the death anniversary of Afzal Guru had been happening on the campus since three years. The Democratic Students’ Union (DSU), which Umar was a part of, but had resigned from last year, had been organising this event all these years.
He comes from a middle class family in Delhi and was born and raised here.
Published - February 19, 2016 12:00 am IST
