ABVP, advocate seek cancellation of Umar Khalid documentary screening at NLSIU
ABVP Bengaluru and advocate Girish Bharadwaj have asked NLSIU to cancel a September 14 screening of a documentary on activist Umar Khalid.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's Bengaluru unit has opposed a proposed screening at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) of a documentary on activist Umar Khalid, and said it has written to the university administration seeking its cancellation.
The organisation said it had not yet received a reply to its complaint against the screening, which is scheduled for September 14. The film in question is Lalit Vachani's documentary on Mr. Khalid, titled Prisoner No. 626710 is Present.
In its statement, the ABVP — the student wing associated with the RSS — said Mr. Khalid's name had been linked to controversies over slogans during the 2016 JNU protests, Afzal Guru commemorations, the CAA-NRC protests and the Delhi riots. The group argued that campuses should be devoted to learning and national integrity rather than what it described as political propaganda.
"Academic campuses must remain dedicated to national integrity and learning, rather than serving as platforms for political propaganda or glorifying civil unrest," its leaders said, urging the administration to withdraw all permissions granted for the event in order to protect the institution's integrity.
Separately, advocate Girish Bharadwaj wrote to the NLSIU Vice-Chancellor and Registrar on September 12, also asking the university to call off the screening. He shared the email with the media.
Mr. Bharadwaj said he had no objection to academic discussions on pre-trial detention, bail, dissent, constitutional freedoms and the criminal justice system, but contended that such themes ought to be addressed through a balanced programme.
"If NLSIU wishes to conduct an academic discussion on pre-trial detention and civil liberties, it should do so through a genuinely balanced programme that includes constitutional scholars, legal experts, national-security perspectives and, importantly, the perspective of victims of terrorism and separatist violence," he said.
He added that academic freedom carries with it institutional responsibility, and asked the university to reconsider the programme in the interests of its students and the values it represents.