Families, friends and well-wishers of anti-CAA protestors took out a Freedom March in the national capital on Saturday
Following the Delhi High Court’s refusal to grant bail to anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) protestors languishing in different jails, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students’ Union held a solidarity “Freedom March” at the national capital on Saturday, September 14.
From little daughter of jailed activist Tasleem Khan to elderly parents of Gulfisha Fatima and Shadab Ahmed, the Freedom March was attended by several family members, friends and well-wishers of anti-CAA protestors.
Marching from Ganga Dhaba to Sabarmati Dhaba, the air reverberated with slogans, “Rihā karo, rihā karo (Release them, release them),”, “UAPA nahi chalega (UAPA will not be tolerated),” and “CAA nahi chalega (CAA will not be allowed),” demanding their release.
The previous day, Umar Khalid completed five years in Tihar jail without a trial. The student activist, who has a PhD from JNU, was arrested on September 13, 2020, under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots that claimed over 40 Muslim lives, more than 700 injuries, and several were left several homeless.
The Delhi High Court denied bail to activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima and Shadab facing prosecution in a UAPA case, , saying “conspiratorial” violence under the garb of demonstrations or protests by citizens couldn’t be allowed.
Khalid has moved to the Supreme Court since.
His father, SQR Ilyas, who was one of the participants, said the Delhi High Court’s refusal to grant bail pleas was disheartening. “I couldn’t believe it. I fainted. I was trembling while explaining this. We had so much hope… it didn’t happen. Let’s see what the future holds,” reported Maktoob Media.
He said his son has no regrets for fighting against injustice. “Umar fought against the CAA, and they are being punished for standing up to discriminatory laws. Umar Khalid has no regrets, nor has his courage broken,” he said.
JNU Students’ Union president Nitesh said that the “judiciary is completely controlled by the BJP-RSS state.”
“Through this march, we are saying they are not alone; this is a collective struggle. We are marching to save the spirit of the Constitution. All of them were only protesting against CAA-NRC; they weren’t fighting just for themselves, they were fighting for everyone by upholding the Constitution. We will continue this fight until they are released,” he was quoted by Maktoob Media
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This post was last modified on September 14, 2025 5:41 pm