NEW DELHI 09 : The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday delivered a sharp rebuke to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his handwritten note to jailed student activist Umar Khalid, saying that public representatives must respect the independence of the judiciary in other democracies. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that “expressing personal prejudices does not behove those in office,” adding that it would be better for elected officials to focus on the responsibilities entrusted to them.
Mamdani, who was sworn in as mayor on January 1, 2026, becoming the first Muslim and Indian-origin leader to head America’s largest city, had penned an undated handwritten note to Khalid expressing solidarity. “Dear Umar, I think of your words on bitterness often, and the importance of not letting it consume oneself. It was a pleasure to meet your parents. We are all thinking of you,” the note read. The letter was shared on social media by Khalid’s partner Banojyotsna Lahiri last week.
Khalid’s father, Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, told TOI that the family met Mamdani in early December 2025 during a visit to the United States to meet Khalid’s sister. The meeting lasted around half an hour, during which they discussed Khalid’s incarceration and the developments in his case. Mamdani reportedly said he follows the case and has read Khalid’s letters from jail.
Umar Khalid, a former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader, was arrested in September 2020 and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly conspiring to incite the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots that left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. Khalid, along with 17 others, faces allegations of indulging in a “larger conspiracy” to cause the riots between February 23-25, 2020, charges he has consistently denied. He was granted temporary bail in December 2025 to attend his sister’s wedding, marking his third visit home in over four years of detention.
