ABVP’s Continued Efforts to Halt Documentary Screening
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Bengaluru has announced its ongoing efforts to cancel a documentary screening about political prisoner Umar Khalid at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU). This comes after the university decided to postpone the event.
NLSIU’s Decision to Defer the Screening
The Law and Society Committee at NLSIU had initially planned to screen Lalit Vachani’s documentary, titled Prisoner No. 626710 is Present, on September 14. The event was intended to commemorate Political Prisoners’ Day on September 13 and mark the sixth anniversary of Khalid’s arrest.
However, insiders indicate that the decision to reschedule was not influenced by ABVP’s protests. Instead, the screening was postponed due to potential security challenges associated with its original date, which coincided with Ganesh Chaturthi, a significant festival that typically requires heightened security measures.
ABVP’s Position and Actions
Despite the university’s stated reasons for rescheduling, ABVP Bengaluru perceives the postponement as a partial victory in its campaign against the screening. The organization remains steadfast in its objective to have the event cancelled altogether.
In a press release issued earlier, ABVP condemned the planned documentary showing, labeling it “outrageous.” They referenced Khalid’s involvement in the 2016 Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sloganeering incident, Afzal Guru commemorations, and protests related to the Citizenship Amendment Act-National Register of Citizens (CAA-NRC) and Delhi riots.
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Communications with NLSIU
ABVP has reportedly emailed a formal complaint to the NLSIU administration, urging the university to revoke all permissions for the documentary screening. As of now, ABVP claims they have not received a response from the university regarding their demands.
