Banojyotsna Lahiri on her ‘long distance relationship’ with activist Umar Khalid: ‘We have court dates, pun intended’

Khalid and Lahiri first met in 2008 when he was doing his Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Delhi University and she was pursuing her Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) at Jawaharlal Nehru University

By: Lifestyle Desk

New Delhi | May 26, 2023 12:00 PM IST

4 min read

Umar Khalid and Banojyotsna Lahiri's love story is winning everyone's hearts (Source: Banojyotsna Lahiri/Instagram)

JNU student activist Umar Khalid, who was arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2020 over his alleged role in the 2020 Delhi riots, continues to be lodged in Tihar Jail. As such, his relationship with partner Banojyotsna Lahiri has been long-distance despite being in the same city, the latter shared with ‘India Love Project’. For the unversed, ‘India Love Project’ is a social media page run by journalists Samar Halarnkar, Priya Ramani, and Niloufer Venkatraman, which tells stories of love and marriage “outside the shackles of faith, caste, ethnicity, and gender”.

Sharing how the couple is sustaining their relationship with Khalid being in prison for the past three years, Lahiri said, “We meet once a week— across a glass partition in Delhi’s Tihar Jail and talk on an intercom. We laugh, joke, and don’t discuss sad things. It’s only when I walk out alone that I feel sad. He calls me too, and we have court dates, pun intended.”

She further shared that when in court, the duo talks in sign language. “Yesterday I told him his haircut looked stupid. Your Messi’s haircut is like that too, he replied. Know your place, I said. He doesn’t understand football so no conversation is possible on that front. He watches the IPL and actually asked me which team I support. I’m not a cricket fan. Is IPL really cricket?” Lahiri said.

But, how did the two meet? Lahiri said that Khalid and she met in 2008 when he was doing his Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Delhi University and she was pursuing her Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) at Jawaharlal Nehru University. “We both went to show solidarity with Jamia Millia Islamia students after the Batla House encounter. As the years passed, we questioned the radical left position on gender and caste and drifted away from that school of thought.”

It was this journey “to envision a just and equitable society” that brought Khalid and Lahiri together and the duo started dating in 2013. However, life since hasn’t been the easiest for the two, she admitted.

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“In 2016, a national TV debate targeted us, particularly Umar. Since then life has been about dodging state repression and media trials while doing everyday things—with this looming over our heads, always. I was standing beside him when someone tried to assassinate him in 2018. I saw the man pull out the revolver, police said you’re lucky the gun jammed,” Lahiri shared, adding that when you go through these things together, you grow into each other.

While the two clash over their different choices in sports, the couple bond over their shared love for the same books. “I’ve already started buying new bookcases for everything he’s read in jail.”

Concluding, Lahiri said that her parents are immensely proud of Khalid and his parents bestow equal love on her, too. “They took Umar’s liberty away, but for happiness, we are still fighting. We have grown closest in these years when we have been forced to be apart,” she said.

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