I’m not a terrorist, says Umar

JNU student says for the first time on campus he felt he was a Muslim

JNU student Umar Khalid who surfaced on campus, ten days after police began searching for him in connection with a sedition case, says in the last week he got to know things about himself which he never knew.

“My name is, of course, Umar Khalid, but I am not a terrorist. I thank all the students and ‘ comrades’ among the faculty members who took part in what he referred to as a ‘fight’ by the JNU students.

“People have told me things about me in the last week that I never myself knew. I have been to Pakistan twice even when I have no passport. They think I was planning to hold this event in 17-18 universities when I don’t have much of an influence even inside JNU,” he said addressing a gathering of over 500 students at varsity’s administration block in wee hours on Monday.

Khalid, 28, who is pursing PhD on the Adivasi history of Jharkhand, further said, “If Jaish-eMohammed gets to know I’m being linked with them, they might protest against the RSS. For the last seven years since I have done politics on this campus, I have never projected myself as a Muslim. For the first time in seven years, I felt like a Muslim”.

“It's true that some of the slogans used there weren’t ours... If there is a small problem, I see with those slogans, it is that when we are trying to enter into a dialogue with the ‘Indian population’, it creates a lot of antagonism rather than dialogue. The population you are trying to talk with is getting antagonised”.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has said it will decide only the issue relating to violent incidents in Patiala court campus on February 15 and 17 relating to student union leader Kanhaiya Kumar and will not enlarge its scope.

When a lawyer representing Karkardooma bar Association requested the Association be impleaded as the issue pertained to lawyers, the Bench said “We are not concerned with other incidents. We are only concerned with the episode that had happened at the court. There are allegations and counter-allegations, let the reports be exchanged and objections be filed before the matter is heard on March 10.”

If 1947 was our tryst with destiny then this is our tryst with reality. It is up to us to show how we will stand up to this reality

—PTI JNU Students Union general secretary Rama Naga talks to media at the JNU campus in New Delhi on Monday. Naga, one of the five students accused of sedition, returned to the University campus on Sunday

THE CENTRE said police will act as per law against five students, being looked for in a sedition case and who have now surfaced on the JNU campus after being on the run for over 10 days. “Police will take action as per law,” Union MoS for Home Kiren...