Archive · 15 Sep 2026
Hariprasad’s Umar Khalid Remark Sparks NLSIU Documentary Screening Row
A university in Bengaluru planned to show a documentary about Umar Khalid.
The event was connected to discussions about people held in prison before trial and political freedom.
The university committee postponed the screening, saying there were logistical and security concerns.
The ABVP reportedly asked the central government to intervene over the screening’s cancellation.
Congress leader B. K. Hariprasad then called Khalid a nationalist.
He also criticized the ABVP and mentioned Nathuram Godse.
The documentary was linked to the imprisonment of Khalid and Sharjeel Imam under a national security law.
This created a political argument about the event and the people involved.
Karnataka Congress president B. K. Hariprasad called jailed activist Umar Khalid a “nationalist.”
Hariprasad criticized the ABVP and invoked Nathuram Godse in defending Khalid.
The NLSIU Law and Society Committee postponed a planned screening of a documentary about Khalid.
The committee cited logistical and security considerations for postponing the September 14 event.
The screening was intended to discuss political imprisonment, pre-trial detention, bail, dissent and democratic freedoms.
- Who
- B. K. Hariprasad, the ABVP, the NLSIU Law and Society Committee, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.
- What
- A dispute followed Hariprasad’s description of Umar Khalid as a nationalist and the postponement of a documentary screening at NLSIU.
- When
- The remarks were reported on September 15, 2026; the screening had been scheduled for September 14.
- Where
- The National Law School of India University in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- Why
- The university committee cited logistical and security considerations for postponing the screening, while the event was planned to discuss political incarceration and democratic freedoms.
Defense of the Screening and Khalid
Objections and Calls for Intervention
Umar Khalid’s political standing
Defense of the Screening and Khalid
B. K. Hariprasad called Umar Khalid a nationalist and said the ABVP had no moral right to criticize him.
Objections and Calls for Intervention
The article reports that the ABVP sought central government intervention over the proposed screening of a documentary about Khalid.
Status of the university event
Defense of the Screening and Khalid
The Law and Society Committee described the event as a forum on detention, bail, dissent, incarceration and democratic freedoms.
Objections and Calls for Intervention
The ABVP sought intervention over what it described as the permanent cancellation of the screening, while the committee’s own note said the event had been postponed because of logistical and security considerations.
References to Nathuram Godse
Defense of the Screening and Khalid
Hariprasad characterized Nathuram Godse as anti-national and a terrorist while criticizing the ABVP.
Objections and Calls for Intervention
The article reports that Hariprasad made this comparison in response to the ABVP, but does not provide a separate response from the organization to that characterization.
- Documentary
- Prisoner No 626710 is Present
- Scheduled screening
- September 14 at 7 p.m.
- Organizing body
- The Law and Society Committee of the National Law School of India University
- Stated reason for postponement
- Logistical and security considerations
- Related legal issue
- The proposed discussion included pre-trial detention, bail, dissent, political incarceration and democratic freedoms.
- Incarceration mentioned
- The event marked six years of Umar Khalid’s incarceration and six-and-a-half years of Sharjeel Imam’s incarceration.