New York Mayor Mamdani Pens Letter to Umar Khalid
Hours after taking oath, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote a letter to former JNU student and activist Umar Khalid, who is currently awaiting trial in Tihar Jail on UAPA charges.
Democratic Socialist Mamdani became mayor of New York City just after midnight Thursday, marking her name as the first Muslim, Indian-origin mayor of America’s largest city.
“Dear Umar, I often think about your words about resentment and the importance of not letting it consume oneself. It was a pleasure to meet your parents,” Mamdani wrote, ending the note by saying, “We are all thinking of you.”
Khalid is an accused in a case related to the conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots and is yet to face trial after his arrest on September 13, 2020.
In 2023, years before his New York City mayoral election victory, Mamdani recalls Khalid’s ‘Hi, Democracy?!’ He read the notes from the meeting. The incident in New York. The address was made ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to New York in 2023, where Mamdani is a member of the New York State Assembly.
“I am going to read a letter from Umar Khalid, a scholar and former student activist at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University who has campaigned against lynching and hatred. He has been jailed for over 1,000 days under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and is yet to be tried despite his bail application being repeatedly rejected. He also faces an assassination attempt,” Mamdani told the audience.
