Against screening of documentaries on Umar Khalid at NLSIU, students say screening is nothing new
File photo of the National Law School of India University. | Photo credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
Following reports from the Law and Society Committee (LawSoc), a student organization at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), organizing a screening of a documentary on activist Umar Khalid, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) raised objections and wrote to the vice-chancellor of the university to cancel the screening.
However, students who spoke to The Hindu said that the screening of a documentary on Umar Khalid was not being done at NLSIU for the first time and that they had also screened it last year on the occasion of Political Prisoners Day.
A documentary titled ‘Prisoner No. 626710 Is Present’ by Lalit Vachani is scheduled to be screened on September 14 from 7:00 to 8:30 by LawSoc, followed by discussions on detention, bail, dissent, political imprisonment and the relationship between criminal law and democratic freedom. The screening also coincides with the date of Khalid’s arrest in 2020 in connection with the Delhi riots under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Abhinandan Mirji, secretary of ABVP, Bengaluru, condemned the proposed screening in a statement, saying, “ABVP expresses deep outrage at allowing educational spaces to be used for screening targeting individuals linked to anti-national slogans during the JNU controversy, Afzal Guru memorial events and the provocative mobilization of ABC during the CAA-NR and CAA protests. Campuses must remain committed to national integrity and learning rather than serving as platforms for political propaganda or celebrating civic riots.
Mr. Mirji added, “Despite sending a formal complaint via email to the NLSIU administration asking to stop the event, ABVP has not yet received any response. It reiterates its demand that the administration immediately withdraw all permissions for the event to preserve institutional integrity.”
Speaking to The Hindu, an NLSIU student said, “This is nothing new. Last year we screened the same documentary on the same day. The problem is that our communication has leaked, but the response we are getting from ABVP is not democratic. They are trying to threaten us with protest. Our student organizations within NLSIU appreciate that the students and the democratic space are practicing a very progressive and our democratic dialogue.”
Another student said: “Right now the university has no plans to cut the program or cancel it and that’s the last response we’ve had from them. Discussing issues of law is the norm in law school. If we’re not going to discuss laws and policies, where else is it going to be discussed? I think it’s appropriate that on Prisoner’s Day we’re talking about Khalid because for all of us he’s been locked up for six years.”
Meanwhile, TV Mohandas Pai, former CFO of Infosys, reacted to the controversy and wrote on his X account, “NLSIU should uphold the rule of law and not celebrate terrorists. These are accused of serious crimes, several courts have denied bail. They are not political prisoners but terrorists.”
Girish Bharadwaj, an advocate in the Karnataka High Court, also said on his X account that he had written an email to the vice-chancellor and registrar of the university to cancel the screening of the documentary.
Mr. Bharadwaj wrote, “As the custodian of the values and legacy of the institution, the VC has the responsibility to ensure that NLSIU does not become a platform for glorifying terrorism, separatism or those associated with such politics.”
Attempts to get a response from the Vice-Chancellor of NLSIU went unanswered.
Published – 13 Sep 2026 19:54 IST