JNU Student Umar Khalid Compares Hizbul Chief Wani to Che Guevara

The comparison sparked off another controversy, leading the ABVP to make a statement in response.

Umar Khalid, a PhD student at JNU and an activist. (Photo: The Quint)

JNU student Umar Khalid, who was out on bail in a sedition case on Sunday, sparked another controversy by comparing Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen commander who was gunned down earlier last week, to a revolutionary.

I don’t care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting. These were the words of Che Guevara, but could have just been Burhan Wani’s too.

Umar Khalid

Khalid was earlier a centre of controversy as he was one of the organisers of the controversial event in JNU against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.

He praised Wani for his bravery and said, “Burhan wasn’t scared of death, he was scared of a life lived in subjugation. He detested it. He lived a free man, died a free man ...”.

His remarks on Burhan did not go down well with the RSS student wing ABVP which has been locked in an ideological battle with left-affiliated groups in JNU campus.

After supporting Afzal Guru, Khalid has now expressed his sympathies with Burhan, this is an indicative of his association with terrorists and his support for them. Such anti-nationals are more dangerous for society than terrorists. I demand that his bail be cancelled and investigation about his links be conducted.

Saurabh Sharma, ABVP

(With PTI inputs.)

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