New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has written a letter to former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student and activist Umar Khalid, who is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, made history after midnight on Thursday by becoming the first Muslim and Indian-origin mayor of America’s largest city.
In the handwritten note, which surfaced on social media platform X, Mamdani reflected on a previous interaction with Khalid and expressed solidarity with him, reported Deccan Chronicle.
“Dear Umar, I think of your words on bitterness often, and the importance of not letting it consume one’s self. It was a pleasure to meet your parents,” Mamdani wrote “We are all thinking of you.”
The image of the letter was shared on X. The Telegraph Online could not independently verify the letter.
Banojyotsna Lahiri, Umar’s friend, who also shared the letter, told The Telegraph Online: “Umar’s parents were in US (in December). There they met several people including Mamdani.”
Khalid, a former JNU scholar, was arrested in September 2020 for his alleged role in a larger conspiracy linked to the Delhi riots earlier that year.
While he has been discharged in one FIR by the Delhi High Court, he remains in custody in another case under the UAPA.
His bail pleas have been rejected multiple times over the past five years. In December 2025, the Supreme Court reserved its judgment in the matter.
Mamdani had previously spoken publicly in support of Khalid. In June 2023, at a ‘Howdy, Democracy?!’ event held in New York ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, Mamdani read excerpts from Khalid’s prison writings.
At the time, Mamdani — then a member of the New York State Assembly — told the audience: “I’m going to be reading a letter from Umar Khalid, who is a scholar and a former student activist at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi… who organised a campaign against lynching and hate. He has been in jail for more than 1,000 days under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and has yet to face trial, though his bail application has been repeatedly denied. He has also faced an assassination attempt.”
A Democratic Socialist, Mamdani rose to national prominence through grassroots campaigning and previously served as a member of the New York State Assembly before securing the mayoral office.