NLSIU Bengaluru: ABVP seeks cancellation of Umar Khalid documentary screening

BENGALURU: The ABVP on Sunday opposed the proposed screening of a documentary on activist Umar Khalid, at the NLSIU here. In a statement, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad Bengaluru said it had submitted a complaint to the NLSIU administration seeking cancellation of the proposed September 14 screening, but claimed it had not received a response.

"ABVP Bengaluru strongly condemns the proposed campus screening of Lalit Vachani's documentary on Umar Khalid, 'Prisoner No. 626710 is Present', at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) ," the organisation said.

ABVP, the student organisation affiliated with the RSS, alleged that Khalid's name had been associated with controversies over slogans during the 2016 JNU protests, Afzal Guru commemorations, the CAA-NRC protests and the Delhi riots. It said educational campuses should focus on learning and national integrity rather than political propaganda.

"Academic campuses must remain dedicated to national integrity and learning, rather than serving as platforms for political propaganda or glorifying civil unrest," ABVP leaders said. It urged the NLSIU administration to "immediately cancel all permissions" for the event, saying this was necessary to preserve the institutional integrity of the university.

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NLSIU Bengaluru

Separately, advocate Girish Bharadwaj, in an email to the NLSIU Vice-Chancellor and Registrar on Saturday, also urged the university to cancel the proposed screening. He shared the email with media. Bharadwaj said there was no objection to academic discussions on issues such as pre-trial detention, bail, dissent, constitutional freedoms and the criminal justice system, but argued that such subjects should be examined 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.

Bharadwaj also said academic freedom came with institutional responsibility and urged the university to reconsider the programme in the interest of its students and the values it represents.