Umar Khalid’s mother also joined the protest. Expressing solidarity with the protesting students, she said she shared two relationships with her son – one of a mother and the other of a political opponent.
Khalid, an atheist and a communist, has had a tense relationship with his mother for many years. “As a mother, I am here to lend my support to my child. My son is innocent and must not be punished,” she said.
But all mothers did not wish to be named and requested privacy. “We are here just to lend support to our children. It’s nothing political,” said a mother, requesting anonymity.
Mother of an another student said “ our children are being made victim of political rivalry. We want to see our children doing well in their career and not siting on hunger strike, waiting for the death.”
Meanwhile, JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar, who is out on bail in a sedition case, wrote an open letter to HRD Minister Smriti Irani and asked how can a “mother” punish her children on the basis of biased probe reports and doctored videos.
Referring to the university probe report of the controversial February 9 event, Kanhaiya, who has been attacking Irani for her reference to all students as her children, stated in the letter: “We are trying hard to study in the warmth of your motherly love. Under your reign, we are learning how to study despite police canes
and hunger.”